NBA Street Homecourt: The Beginning of the End

In 2007 EA Sports released the fourth installment of the NBA Street franchise with NBA Street Homecourt. The game followed a very underwhelming NBA Street Volume 3 and it was clear that this game needed to do something special to please fans and have any hope of continuing the franchise. The key upgrades in the game come in two distinct categories: Gameplay, and Game story. Let's break it down:

Gameplay: The genesis of the Street franchise made its bones on dramatic cartoonization of not only the players but the games sports fans love. Blending elements from pickup street games with an over the topness that fans loved from day one. Moves that were very clearly fictional and less than plausible, but grounded in enough realisim that fans couldn't get enough of these games. Player's soaring in the air for alley-oops, passes off the backboard, running up walls, and an overall swagger that was matched by none. The characters in the games played in a very braggadocious and cocky way, something that fans clamor for more of in real life. The difference is these characters aren't held back by media standards and press conferences. NBA Street Homecourt decides to ramp up the fictional moves in this category with the addition of the double dunk. A move that again is less than plausible, and certainly less than legal, but one that captured the imagination of fans everywhere. I myself only bought the game to see this feature as I couldn't even imagine it. It sounded like the coolest thing in the world to me, but more on that later. This game upped the ante with the gameplay and specifically this move.

Game story: 2007 was a great year in basketball and a great year for this game to be released. With cover athlete Carmelo Anthony and the rest of the banana boat taking the league by storm, it only makes sense to give fans these generational athletes in a street style game not bound by reality. These rosters are fucking tight. But unlike in other street games, the storytelling in Homecourt is not lazy but it is immersive. The concept of tying in these real players into the fictional world of NBA street is downright genius. Until now we as an audience just had to accept the premise that 10 of our favorite NBA players were getting together for a pickup game. But by tying multiple star players to their home town cities and have a gauntlet style story mode of taking over the streets it feels so much more real. Playing these players where many of them first picked up a basketball made the stakes so much higher and the pride could be felt through the entire game. It meant something to steal a player. Every win counted. And in the end, you felt like you had earned the company you now found yourself in with NBA greats. You climbed to the top by owning the streets just like they did.

Both of these new features certainly drove the game sales but in the eye of the general public the double dunk was the new main asset. It had such a magic to it that when the rumors spread of the triple dunk I was mesmerized. I thought they were just rumors until it happened to me. Obviously when I did it I lost my shit. But years later I realized that's when the beginning of the end was. The double and triple dunk, the thing that revived the NBA Street franchise, also killed it in cold blood. This new move was so far removed from reality it didn't feel like you were playing an actual basketball game anymore. As your character soars through the air, at least 20 ft off of the ground, it is obvious that things have been taken too far. The best thing about any of the Street games is that while you knew they weren't real, they still kind of felt like they were. Who's to say Mike Vick in his prime couldn't run up a wall and bomb a fifty-yard pass on the money with his eyes closed? I've never played pick up football with him but I know he's doing some crazy shit. But I know one thing. No NBA player is dunking it three times at once in a pickup game and if they did I don't know who in their right mind would let it fucking count for three points. It completely changed the integrity of the entire game. The 2k franchise would have a similar experience in 2009 with The Bigs 2. Their new additions of superpowers changed the game and in the end, makes the game unplayable. I could play The Bigs for hours but not even five minutes of The Bigs 2 and believe me I've tried. The saddest thing about NBA Street Homecourt is that the double dunk truly makes the game unplayable and a game with such a great roster and such a great story mode it needs to be played. Steet did not get another game in the series after this one and I'm sure there are a variety of reasons from the NBA image to the next-gen consoles but I myself attribute it to one reason: the double dunk. Street went all-in on it and lost. They had to though to get one more hand in the game. It would have been a shame if they folded after the less than notable Street Volume 3. I'm glad they gave it another shot but for me Street Volume 2 is where this franchise ends and begins.