The most interesting thing we can say about NBA Street: Homecourt, beyond the fact it’s bloody gorgeous and has an excellent soundtrack, is that it reminds us of FIFA Street. Obviously, whether you liked the aforementioned or not will factor largely in whether you enjoy this. And given the almost marmite-like response to both EA BIG FIFA titles, we’re sure this is set to divide opinion.

On the one hand you’ve got faultless production values. Not only is this one hell of a great looking title, it also boasts interesting menus and a number of brilliant short films narrated by pro basketball players – the Rip Hamilton one being our favourite. In many ways it feels similar to Def Jam: Icon in terms of its graphics and over-the-top nature. And like FIFA Street, Homecourt revolves around you playing three-on-three games and building up a special moves meter – in this case called a Gamebreaker.

But then the cracks start emerging. Most pressing of all is the bizarre rubber-banding nature of your opponents. You can easily score one or two points over them and balance keeps it so they fight back fairly. But should you enter Gamebreaker mode and rack up several points in one go, pushing you far ahead, don‘t be surprised to find their AI ramp up momentarily, sometimes along with their speed. They’ll catch right back up in record time. If you activate Gamebreaker while your opponents’ meter is only half full, they can still grab the ball from you and steal the points for themselves. It’s just cheap.

Still, there are just as many good points as there are bad – which means NBA Street: Homecourt is playing a bizarre balancing act. There are great moments: for example, holding Circle too long whilst leaping through the air can result in your character getting his leg caught in the hoop. But then there are moments where the game arbitrarily stops you from getting the ball, or lets your opponent slam dunk from anywhere in the score zone.

Your initial moments spent with the game will be the best. It woos you with its psychotic approach to basketball and impresses you with some distinctly FUBAR tricks. As we’ve already mentioned, it’s a gorgeous title and features some truly great music. But, unfortunately, from a gameplay perspective it’s only as much fun as it is annoying.

Craig Gilmore