FreeStyle Street Basketball

We get some hands-on time with Sierra's upcoming multiplayer basketball title and come away enthusiastic.

Sierra Online and developer JC Entertainment are bringing a unique new entry to the MMO genre in the form of FreeStyle Street Basketball. This stylized sports game features a free-to-play model, a unique presentation, and a bold new take on the MMO. GWN recently had a chance to take part in a preview, and now we're here with our impressions.

FreeStyle Street Basketball lets players create their own street player, outfit them with brand-name and generic gear, and then join teams of three or play pick-up games to gain experience. The basic structure is like that of any average MMO, only the quests and combat are tossed out the window in favor of basketball games. Each game grants a base amount of experience (more for winning), and then extra point based on statistics (points, assists, steals and the like) rewarding more active players with more experience. After you've hit the next level's experience requirement, your baller levels up, opening up new skills, training options, and gear.

Skills and FreeStyles are the "spells" of this MMO. For each of the three selectable postions - guard, forward, and center, with sub-positions selectable after meeting a level requirement - there are corresponding skills and freestyles. Ranging from new types of passes, dribbling moves, dunks, and defensive techniques, these upgrades give your in-game player more abilities to use during the game.

Training is another way to improve your avatar. By using "points" and "bills", the game's two units of currency received for performance during games, players can improve their base stats in areas like speed, power, agility, and so on. In addition to training and skills, points and bills can be used to buy new gear, ranging from basketball shoes to Ecko shirts to tattos. Almost every piece of clothing or body art can be assigned some sort of performance-enhancing attribute, so those awesome new kicks you picked up might let you run faster or jump higher - but not both.