I don't pay much attention to basketball nowadays, but I was something of a fan while in school, and though I wasn't that great on my team, I still had fun trying to be something great. Besides, it is the coolest looking sport out there, because where else are you going to get to juke someone out of their sneakers, leaving them broken on the floor, and then slam it down one-handed style? You'll only get that action in a game of basketball, and with NBA Street Homecourt heading to a console near you soon, expect that type of action and even more outlandish dribbling and ball handling tricks.

NBA Street Homecourt is about as far away from real basketball as you can get, as there are no rules, and even the laws of gravity and physics seems to be defiled by these young athletes. NBA Street Homecourt (Homecourt from here on) is all about schooling your opponent in a game of basketball, and doing it with as much style and finesse as you can muster. Winning is one thing, but winning in style is in a whole other league.

In Homecourt you'll be given a choice of every team in the NBA (and even then some) with a limited roster of players you can choose from (think of the most popular members of any team and you'll get an idea of who you'll be able to play of). Of course the Kobe Bryants, Shaqs, and Allen Iversons will be in there, so if those are some of your favorites, then rest assured you'll be able to put their ball handling skills to work. Once you pick your initial team, then it comes time to pick your actual playing team, which consists of picking three stars to play with out of that team's available roster. After teams are picked it comes down to the actual gameplay and heading down to the courts. Games consist of three-on-three teams and the first to the pre-determined number wins the game.

However, don't go expecting the type of basketball play you'd see on TNT on any given night, because this is all about outlandish tricks more than scoring alone (as a normal basketball game would be). If you wanted to, I'm sure you could pass the ball back and forth between your players, shoot the rock, and slam it home when need be, but chances are you'll have a very hard time winning that way, and you'll look like a square fool.

No, Homecourt is all about the tricks, which come into play with the X and Y buttons. Unlike some arcade games of the same ilk, Homecourt is a lot more about experimentation and tweaking rather than simple button combos to perform an act. I've played quite a few games now, and I still feel like a noob, as I technically should be since you should actually have to work at being cool – rarely is anyone born cool. By approaching players and pressing the X and Y buttons, I can do some relatively easy stuff like behind the back dribbles, rolling the ball between my defendant's legs, and other such easily done moves, but yet I also get stolen from a ton and when I'm on defense, the AI is schooling me and leaving me in awe at the moves I could be doing in the very near future. I've managed to tweak a few moves such as allowing my character to literally just bounce the ball against the guard's face, but I'd gladly trade that to find out how to dunk, push my arm through the goal, and while hanging there transfer the ball to my other hand to slam it again. I have no clue how to do it, but I want to!

Beyond the ball handling skills meant to psyche your opponent out, dunks and passes also play an important factor, with some gravity defying jump pass slams making up a good portion of the gameplay. As you're dribbling around, occasionally you'll see one of your teammates sailing through the air, almost as if they are in a slow-mo Matrix moment, and it is here, if you manage to properly pass to them, you'll typically get the easy points of a smooth thundering alley oop dunk. Once again, though not terribly skilled at it, I've had the opposing team do an alley oop dunk pass, only for the guy dunking to do a pass to another alley ooping guy, only for him to finally slam it home. Another setup play this time around is the springboard (at least what I'm calling it) where one of your players will come out to the front of the arch, bend down like he is lacing his shoes up, and by running towards him and pressing the right button, you'll immediately step onto his back, giving you a boost into the air for a sweet dunk. And though that should sound like enough there, even that can be stylized even more, with players springboarding, landing on the rim, back flipping off, and then slamming it. Homecourt is really showing and proving that the game is ultimately more rewarding the more time you put into it and the more you learn the nuances of the game.

Tricks also have the importance of building up your Gamebreaker meter, which you can activate at mid-court by standing inside the flashing basketball when it is glowing white, and once in this mode, you'll rack up even more points.

But don't go thinking the game is all offense and scoring, because defense plays an equally important part, as you'll be trying to swipe the ball from the other player when they are trying to make you look like a fool by dribbling through your legs, and whenever they go up for a dunk or shoot the three when you're near the rim, you better believe you'll be jumping into the air, hovering around to grab the rebound or swat the ball away. Though it can be difficult to block a slam and knock it away, it feels fairly easy to swat away a shot. One thing I love about the defense in Homecourt is that, unlike some games where you seemingly jump through the board trying to block the shot, you actually have to be in position to make the play, because if you are standing behind the board or under, expect your jumping player to bang their head on the board and fall to the ground; not only do you look silly being unable to properly defend, but you open up the floor for an easy lane to the basket, so the blocking on defense can take on an element of risk versus reward.

The graphics and sound work are handled well in the game, with the graphics looking pretty smooth, especially the character models, since the game is about the players and not the environments (though the environments look nice as well). The animation is also an important part of the graphics, as it is very fluid and smooth, as one move seems to naturally flow from one play to the next, instead of merely calling out one canned animation combo after the next in jerky fashion. You also get to see the animation in even more detail during the slow-mo replays of the game, as you can see just how well recreated the moves actually are. Sound work is typical ball grunts and taunts with hip hop jams playing in the background.

If you're a wannabe baller who feels the style and soul lurking within you, but you've got the handling skills of a sloth, and the sim basketball games out there just don't do it for you, then consider NBA Street Homecourt when it heads your way this month.