Freestyle Street Basketball
Preview
Take it to the streets
by Howie Howard
previewed on PC
Street basketball moves to online environment
Freestyle Street Basketball is exactly what its name implies. It's not a rule-regimented game such as the various NBA and NCAA basketball sims are. In fact it's not a simulator at all, it is actually more of a role-playing sports game that is playable online only. FSBB is a free-spirited sports game that lets you fully customize your character's look and skill sets. Most other games of this genre have pre-made players that you are stuck with using and the options to improve their abilities and look is very limited. Not so in FSBB. In fact, the main part of this basketball game is the chance to fully customize the look of your character or online avatar. There are tons of different outfits, sneakers, tattoos and other items that will give your player the look that best suits you.
The game is a massively online affair and it originates in South Korea where the majority of the games they play are online games. This is a good thing because it allows you to enjoy the competition of playing against human opponents. We all know that human players are unpredictable in their game style. Throw in the cartoon strip look and feel of this title and you have the makings of a barrel of fun.
Customizing your ball-bearer
After plunking down your 20 dollars to purchase a copy of FSBB you will log into the game on the Internet. After registering you will proceed to the character generation area where the fun really starts. I have to say that one of the most enjoyable parts of playing a role-playing game such as this is the initial development of your main character. In this area you will first chose the position you wish to play; the guard position, forward or the big man in the center. Of course, you will have to choose whether you want to be a male or female and then you start the fun part of designing exactly what you want to look like. The choices here are truly remarkable. You can choose which style of hair, facial features, skin color and other features that best strikes your fancy. After you decide what you want to look like, it is time to develop your skills set. In this area you will actually pick what type of a player you want to be. That can be either an outside shooting 3-point shooter or the big man that is tasked with muscling his way inside to grab rebounds or to perform a slam-dunk.
In addition to assigning your player various skills or attributes, there is another in-game method of customizing your player even further. That method is by purchasing special skill sets and equipping them when you play a match. These special skill sets can be anything from enhanced speed or dribbling skills to special slam-dunk or 3 point shooting abilities. The best part about the 5 special skill sets is that there are literally dozens if not hundreds of them that come available as you level up and progress via gaining experience. You can own all of the skills but you are only allowed to use 5 of them at a time. It's kind of the game's way of using strategy. If you happen to have some inside knowledge about what type of game your opponent will play then you can counter that strategy by trying to pick a countering set of skills.
