Case of limp dunk right here
There was a time when we as gamers ate like Kings when it came to arcade sports. I mean NBA Jam, NFL Blitz, MLB Slugfest and Hot Shots Golf just to name a few. I played all of those and loved em’ for various reasons but my favorite of the bunch has to be EA BIG’s NBA Street. Easily approachable to play it had a trick system that had players bouncing balls off opponents’ heads and dunking with flash and style. No one has been able to make a game that comes close to doing everything that series did. NBA The Run is being developed by Play by Play Studios and by all rights is the heir apparent to the NBA Street legacy, but what does it do with it?
NBA The Run is an arcade style basketball game that is licensed by the NBA so it features a roster with the likes of Stephen Curry, Lebron James, Giannis Antetokounmpo (WHEW!) and more. Now as someone who hasn’t really paid attention to the NBA in quite a few years I am ashamed to admit that like half of this roster was alien to me. So, I leaned on stats instead of name recognition to build my team. The Run has players playing in matches of 3v3 street ball which sounds cooler than it is, because what happens is less flashy tricks and more just a lot of pushing.
MSRP: $29.99
Platforms: Xbox (reviewed), PlayStation, PC
Price I’d Pay: $19.99
Let’s just get this elephant out of the room… this game is online only. Yea, you read that right, for some reason the developers thought to make a SPORTS game into an online only affair, so when my brother came over and I hyped up the ‘next NBA Street’ we both were mildly annoyed at the fact we were unable to play same screen together. As it stands there is a mode where players can play with friends, you know just online. The Run only offers two game modes 3v3 where the player will choose their team and control all of them and 3v3 where each player is controlled by a player. Both game modes are set up like a tournament, and players will see the bracket when they start, winning will see them progress all the way to receive the virtual trophy; losing will see them back at the main menu. I mean; there is a ‘shootaround’ mode but that’s literally just a solo player shooting around.
“So, its light on game modes, but is the game fun?” I hear you saying and the answer to that is meh. I come from the old school type of basketball games, when we shot the ball, we watched the jump and released the button at the apex. Nowadays all I hear is kids yelling ‘GREEN’ as they let fly their balls, well ill have you know that The Run plays like the old school games, no meter here to help players make their shots. Comparisons to NBA Street really start and end at both being a NBA arcade-type basketball game. The Run has tricks but the game never explains how to pull them off. It has some sort of super meter, but it never explains how its charged or what it does. There are different dunks and shot types available too, but guess what? Yup, it doesn’t explain any of it.
Players can track down all this info in the shootaround area, but it’s hard to practice certain moves with no defenders to spawn in. You know, this is where a same screen mode would help, but what do I know…I’m just a guy from Ohio. While the moment-to-moment basketball gameplay isn’t bad, when on defense the player base just uses one move… the shove. You can shove everyone with just the press of a button; this will cause the ballhandler to stumble and drop the ball. This happens ALL THE TIME, and there doesn’t seem to be a real defense against it other than being faster.
As much as I hoped that NBA The Run was going to rekindle that magic from the early NBA Street days, I am sad to say that it just fumbles the ball. This licensed game has no same screen play available, opting for an online only style which hasn’t fared well for 95% of games these past few years. With a lack of game modes, a proper tutorial for mechanics, banging soundtracks and the flash and style that made NBA Street the hit it was; I fear The Run will find itself like so many online-only games before it.
Review copy of game provided by publisher.
