by Lamrock on Fri Jul 25, 2008 4:10 pm
Last time I posted here I only made a brief statement saying it sucked after playing it once. I picked it up again (I have about 10 games out from Gamefly. They will send me the next game on my list as long as I say I sent it a week ago) and beat the first two episodes. Here is a review based on the hour or so I spent:
It might be the worst basketball game I have ever played. The first 2 games in the series were arcadey, but were actually quite deep and had some strategy to them. Chosen One has most of the same gameplay elements from the first two, but the gameplay is completely fucked up.
All of the strategy is gone. To win, all you need to do is spin around until you get to the basket and dunk it on offense, and on defense, go for an easy steal or a block. Sure, the CPU will sometimes steal the ball or block it, and on offense do a cheap super move (more on that later) but the game is easy enough that you can pretty much use that strategy to the end.
The aforementioned super moves are some of the most retarded things I have seen. It is a 15 second cutscene of the other players doing a bunch of fancy basketball moves (with your character just standing there even though the ball would be easy to steal), leading up to an epic dunk that is for some reason worth 5 points. (in a game to 11 using 2's and 3's) They are uncounterable, and pretty cheap. I didn't bother to find out how to use them, since I can still win my way.
There are also special conditions matches. Generally the strategy is the same. One of the most common is the No Ball Checks game. It is probably the worst gameplay mode in history. Basically, after you make a shot (well, actually a dunk, because shooting is pointless in this game, only blocks, steals, rebounds, speed, handles and dunks are important here), you can rebound it from under the basket and dunk it again, and again, and again. Despite my character having stats all around mediocrity, for some reason, I could out-rebound, block and dunk guys like Jermaine O'Neal and Chris Bosh here.
Everything else about the game is pretty shitty too. The presentation is awful, with cheaply made intro videos for each round, and some pretty ugly menus. The soundtrack consists of a dozen or so generic hip-hop tracks by Just Blaze, making me grateful for the 360's ability to connect with MP3 players. The graphics are okay, but everything looks a little off. Its hard to explain. The player list is about the same as the last 2, but slightly smaller for some reason. Also, while scrubs such as Adam Morrison and Sebastian Telfair are included, stars like Deron Williams and Floppu Ginobili (both in Phenom) are absent. Additionally, despite being released in mid-April, the rosters seem to be from January.
I think I'm forgetting something, but oh well. Sorry about that rant. I just really hated the game. Until they make Simpsons Basketball, this is my least favorite B-Ball "game" of all-time.
