NBA Ballers: Chosen One has now landed in lace w:st="on">Europe and it’slace> more than likely to a rather quiet applause, because lets face it, when it comes to sports with balls we like ours firmly on the ground. To be fair though basketball games are quite fun to play on consoles and they must be doing something right given the amount of them out there, so what makes NBA Ballers different from the rest?

NBA Ballers: lace w:st="on">Chosenlace> One is a unique fantasy basketball game which sees you take on some of the NBA’s top superstars in one-on-one and two-on-two action, however before you take the plunge to become the chosen one you must first create your own baller for the challenges ahead.

The create a baller section certainly gives you plenty of choices, such as picking a  nickname, assigning attribute points and of course creating your characters look. Once you have been through this process you are then able to proceed to the story mode where you must work your way through each of the scenarios in order to become the Chosen One.>>

Altogether there are six episodes to get through, most of these involve playing one-on-one or two-on-two against an opponent, although each scenario may differ slightly, for example in one of my first matches I simply had to win the match by two points before the time ran out, however different variants get thrown in later on in the game such as having to come back from behind to win or having a no take back rule in play, meaning you can just continue to score baskets without having to leave the three point line each time.>>

To spice things up a little the developer has added a combo system to proceedings, basically all you need to do is press the shoulder and x button, this will then being an on screen prompt which you must copy before your opponent. If you are successful in doing this then you will then pull off a fancy move, you can then pull of another straight after this depending on your position, the more moves that you link together the higher your super-move meter will rise.>>

Unfortunately these moves do have a downside as you will no doubt end up using them all of the time, this is because by successful stringing together a series of combos you will receive a score multiplier that gives you two extra points if you can score a basket quickly. There are other benefits to stringing a combo together such as receiving a super move and if you string two together you will get two super moves, and if you manage to get three without allowing your opponent to score then yep, you guessed it, three super moves will be yours, and once these are built up you can use this move to win the game automatically, no matter the score.>>

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Each super move you earn will give you different abilities, activate when you have one super move and you will be able to pull off a steal or a dribble, while two super moves allow you to make an amazing block or shot, and as mentioned previously activate the super move when all three are lit up and you will win the game no matter the circumstances, which is quite lame if you think about it. Once you activate a super move that you have earned the game will go all cinematic on you, this will then show you in slow motion you character either stealing the ball, or pulling of his super shot which hits the net without fail, it’s all a bit over dramatic for my liking and kind of spoils the flow of the game. >>

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Before we move on I should say that every time you win a match your ballers stats will increase depending on how you have played the game, therefore if you have dunked your way to victory then this skill will increase the most, likewise if you have performed a lot of steals and blocks then these skills will increase.

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There are a few other offline modes to play around with, however since you are able to take your created baller online to compete against friends and strangers it is quite obvious where most of the fun is to be had in this game. As mentioned above your baller does get better stats with victories so winning as many matches as possible before venturing online is a good idea.>>

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Graphically the game doesn’t really disappoint, the characters seem lifelike and the environments in which you play feel very vibrant, however where the presentation really shines is in the sound. The tones of the commentator really liven the game up and he always seems to keep up with play very well. The thumping soundtrack also does its part , sure it isn’t really my type of music but it does seem to suit the game very well.>>

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NBA Ballers has surprised me somewhat, I’m not really a big fan of basketball games however I did find this very easy to pick up and play. While it is far from perfect if you are looking for a basketball game that’s not quite street and not quite a simulation then this could be the one for you.>>