BA Ballers is back, and this time it ditches the poorly received off-court adventure to focus completely on the hoops experience. The story is your typical rags-to-riches plot. As a highly touted street baller, you’re invited to test your mettle against the NBA’s best (and Adam Morrison), leveling up your skills as you move from court to court.
The modest character creation system allows you to mold your player from preset facial and body features. Then you can deck him out in the athletic apparel or luxury fashion wear of your choosing. When you’re not in story mode, you can control one of the 60 NBA players featured in the game, including modern superstars and old-school legends like Larry Bird and Magic Johnson. While the roster includes most major players, there are some questionable omissions like Deron Williams, Shawn Marion, and Kevin Martin in favor of perennial busts like Ricky Davis and Sebastian Telfair.
The story mode pits you in various competitions like one-on-one showdowns, three point contests, and two-on-two competitions, sometimes featuring a twist. For example, in one competition, we had to keep Stojakovic from draining three-pointers to advance. As you execute Act-A-Fool combos and score, a meter will fill that eventually unleashes Shut ‘Em Down moves, which pull you away from the action to watch overly long cutscenes of your court supremacy. But the single-player competition has one major flaw: whenever you find yourself in a bind, you can simply hold down turbo, drive straight to the basket, and dunk on any opponent. So much for skill.
The over-the-top arcade action comes alive during head-to-head competitions, as pulling off Act-A-Fool combos becomes a true test of skill. If a defender beats you to the quick button press, he or she will counter the combo and steal the ball. Unfortunately, Midway fails to take advantage of this by offering a barren online multiplayer component that only features one-on-one matches, with no options for creating tournaments or teaming up with other players.
Overall, NBA Ballers: Chosen One offers a decent arcade basketball experience, but its short single player and weak online options ultimately keep it from unseating the current street champ, NBA Street Homecourt.