NBA Ballers: Chosen One is a tough game to review in that it brings utter dread to my mind. Since EA and Midway both have the rights to make NBA games, they have entered into a gentleman’s agreement to skip every other year and let the other make their game to rule the hardwood courts. Too bad NBA Street is the only one worth playing.
The plot to NBA Ballers “The Chosen One” is this: apparently every year after the NBA play-offs, the top players in the NBA decide to take it to the streets and compete in a street ball tournament. The winner of this tournament is then dubbed the “Chosen One.” Well where do I sign up for this prestigious honor? If you’re looking for a good plot, look elsewhere. If you’re looking for Chuck D, then step right up. Chuck D. Really? WTF? Yes, he is in there as the announcer for their version of SportsCenter, but don’t look for any Emmy winning speeches here.
Having played almost every version of NBA Street and NBA Jam, I though that perhaps NBA Ballers may provide some of the same fun, but boy was I wrong. Creating your own Baller, that is what cool basketball players are called now a days apparently, isn’t fun. The creation of your character is horrid. The character models look emaciated and picking your look and style is cumbersome at best. The best part is picking a nickname; I chose Dice because I like craps, hard 8 FTW!
Chosen One just feels clumsy, the controls are mediocre at best and the graphics really leave much to be desired. You play basketball on neon courts with ridiculous outfits against NBA superstars. In perhaps one of the worst modes ever imagined, 1 v 1 v 1, you have three players playing at the same time in a free for all style basketball game. There is also a mode where you don’t have to clear the ball. This may sound like fun, but it is actually very annoying as there is no structure to the game and all you do is stand under the rim and dunk away to win.
The Act the Fool combo moves and Shut em Down moves are far too overpowered and take away from the game because people will just sit back and make their power meter grow by executing a few hundred cross overs. Skill has gone out of the window in this game and made way to just standing under the basket and dunking. Blocking and rebounding are difficult to get a hang of. Online gameplay is limited to 1v1 matches; nothing to see here folks.
The music in Ballers is brought to you by Just Blaze. Yes, just him and his mixes represent this game, so it’s not exactly a great soundtrack. Also the commentary isn’t the best in town and the sounds of Ballers are decent at best.
My suggestion is to just wait for the next NBA Street game to be released and grab that instead. Act the fool indeed!
Overall: 4.5 out of 10
wow that’s a low score,looks like the game is a rental at best
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