This party game is in its element in two player form. From humble source material and an essentially simple premise comes hours of fun and a wide variety of possibilities.
Before the market was inundated with sports games in the early '90s, there was this: the famous Street Sports series by Epyx. Rather than licensing existing sports teams and spending thousands of dollars modeling 100% accurate team jerseys, "Street Sports" focuses on the game, and that it does very well. Street Sports Basketball is really the shining star of the whole street sports set: a straight-forward, no bones game created for one reason - to entertain two players, as much as possible, for as long as they want.
The simple game-start sequence sets the tone for things to come: a single title splash screen accompanied by that oh-so-memorable music dissolves into the game setup sequence. There is no back-story or lengthy intro sequence and there needn't be, so things get going pretty quick. You can pick between four basketball "courts" (schoolyard, alley, city, and suburbs) which have different features and hazards, and will affect the way the game is played out greatly. "Alley", for example, contains oil slicks that will make your player fumble or fall.
After choosing your arena you can name your team and then the computer flips a coin to determine who has first pick of the available players. This is where Street Sports Basketball shines: the players, a collection of ten teenage street
urchins decked out in mohawks, pigtails, and sunglasses in the height of Eighties style. Each has different strengths and weaknesses, and will react differently to on-court situations. You pick three for your team, the other player picks three, and off you go. This is what gives Street Sports Basketball its replay ability - you can play any combination of teams on any of the four courts. Simple, and fun.
Once on court, it must be said that this is street ball rather than any fancy league game. You get to decide what score to play for. There are no rules beyond those enforced by the game's engine. Two points per shot, get the ball and go. Only the joystick is used which of course means you only get one button to perform any of the actions you may want to accomplish: jumping, blocking, passing, taking shots; thankfully the programmers gave the game a reasonable amount of "situational awareness" for each player so this is more intuitive than it sounds. The one you're controlling usually does what you want when you tell him to. The major limitation is that there is no way to switch which player you're controlling unless you pass the ball to him, which isn't always convenient. Especially if you're trying to get the ball. If you don't have a human opponent, there is an A.I. (that can be set to easy, medium, or hard) but that really defeats the point.
The graphics in this one aren't as important as the game itself. They are basic, blocky and flat shaded but they get the job done; all the players are clearly recognizable and there are no ambiguities because of the image quality. There is minimum sound and aside from the title screen, there is no music. Even compared to other games of the day production values here seem a bit spare. But really, nobody plays a 20-year-old Commodore game for the graphics & sound... Right?
Street Sports Basketball probably won't displace your x-play-box-station-thing but it's a good, fun way to kill an hour or two against a willing adversary. Download it and have a go!
