A has taken some criticism recently for the declining quality of its sports franchises. However, when the company devotes itself to getting something right, like it has with the Fight Night franchise, it can still deliver some very impressive work. The truth in this statement is evident in NBA Street Homecourt, a dramatic reinvention of the company’s popular street ball series.

While the basic control will be familiar to fans, the formula has been overhauled into something more intuitive and complex. Ball handling tricks are now timing sensitive. This allows you to speed up your dribble for a killer crossover, or do a slick hesitation move. You can also string together combos that lead to some ankle-snapping breaks to the basket. Dunking has also been reinvigorated; you can quickly snap the ball off to a teammate, then jump to the basket for a sweet alley oop opportunity. Alternately, you can launch off a teammate’s shoulders for impressive jump-off dunks. By letting go of the button at the last possible second, you’ll perform an amazing “double dunk”, which scores two baskets in succession. Of course, hold it down too long and you’ll get nothing but rim and give up possession.

This sort of risk/reward dynamic has been carried over to the Gamebreakers, which can now turn the tide for either squad. Basically, whoever initiates the sequence docks the opposing team one point. Then, by pulling off tricks, you can build up your meter for a three-point score. However, if they steal the ball, they’ll not only win back the point they lost, but score themselves.

This gameplay package is wrapped around a stellar career mode that lets your created player recruit real pros to your team as you travel to a number of real-world courts, many of which are from the hometowns of actual pros. There’s a number of different contests, like tournaments, shots-only, and dunks-only games.

While all these features give Homecourt the depth it needs, the real revelation here is something that’s hard to describe in words: it just feels right. Although it’s certainly challenging, after a few hours of practice you’ll be putting Lebron to shame. For a pasty shut-in like myself, that’s a fantasy every bit as powerful as anything in Oblivion or Zelda.