NBA Street Vol. 2 Be A Legend Mode FAQ This Document is my property only. It MAY NOT be taken and used anywhere Else. Or, as they say, (Copyright 2004 aargh! ahoy, matters) ***NOTE! IF YOU'RE READING THIS FOR THE 440-POINTS PROBLEM, THE ANSWER IS UNDER THE RUCKER PARK STREET CHALLENGE SECTION!*** ================= Table of Contents ================= --------------- I: Introduction --------------- 1: Version History 1.5: Intro -------------- II: The Basics -------------- 2: Controls/Basics 2.3: Tricks/Dunks/Shots 2.6: Strategy --------------------- III: Be a Legend Mode --------------------- 3: Be a Legend Overview 3.1: New York 3.2: Philly 3.3: Chicago 3.4: Seattle 3.5: Los Angeles 3.6: Oakland -------------- IV: After-Word -------------- 4: Sneaky Tricks 4.5: End =+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ I: Introduction| =+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ ================== 1: Version History ================== Version 1.0, 7/4/04: Happy 4th of July, everybody. As an independence day gift... I have finished the guide! Version 0.9, 6/6/04: Just about done, I have completed the game. Version 0.6, 5/28/04: Sent in FAQ to Game FAQs. Just about halfway through the game, will update as I begin to finish. ========== 1.5: Intro ========== Hey! This is my first FAQ on this site, and it's fitting that it should be for NBA Street Vol. 2! This game is hot, and I hope I can help you get through its hottest mode, be a legend. This whole guide covers the Normal difficulty, AKA the "Mad Game" difficulty. For the easier difficulty, you shouldn't even NEED a guide, and most of the strategies aren't necessary. On the harder difficulty, do everything said here, times 2. =+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ II: The Basics | =+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ ================== 2: Controls/Basics ================== Gotta know these before you even THINK of stepping out there on the court, bro! If you need practice, Street School can really help. Anyway, go into be a Legend Mode, and let's begin! --- First of all, all street games are all 3-on-3 to 21, with 1 and 2 pointers, unless playing special street challenges. You create a baller to start the game. Your created baller starts out with no stats, and you can add stats on. The stats are: dunks, power, handles, steals, blocks, rebounds, and shots. Most of them are self explanatory, except for handles and power. Handles means how well you dribble, and power means how easily you can dunk on people/jump in their face to stop a dunk. Low power means you'll be knocked out of the air easily! While playing, you have a variety of moves, tricks, shots, and dunks at your disposal. Using these over and over in combinations with each other to score gives you trick points, and will also fill your gamebreaker meter. Gamebreakers are just super-shots that give you points while subtracting them from the other team. Once you have a gamebreaker and use it, whether it goes in or not, you reset back to 0% in your Gamebreaker meter! If you've gotten a REAL quick gamebreaker, you might pocket it. If you're able to get ANOTHER gamebreaker, put it up for a gamebreaker 2! And now, the controls! --- Left Analog Stick (any direction): Move Come on, you know you have to MOVE to score. When you move, your player automatically dribbles the ball. Barely tilting the stick makes your player walk; jamming it makes your player jog, and jamming in conjunction with any turbo makes your player run. Here's an interesting tidbit- if you press the stick BETWEEN jogging and walking speed, and keep your player at that speed, he/she'll actually start to walk while doing some fancy dribble moves, all automatically! However, you need a baller with at least SOME handle skill. --- Square: Trick Move/Steal This is what the game's based on, trick moves. Just pressing plain ol' square does a basic move at random, (for example, a double-crossover, of a behind-the- back dribble) and anyone, even people with NO handle skill can execute one. If you do a trick in front of a person, there is a chance that they'll get faked out, and fall. The chance increases for people with better handles. On the defensive side, square is to steal. Pressing Square while someone with the ball is in front of you will give you a chance to steal the ball. This chance is not random, however. It depends on two things- your player's steal skill and whether the bouncing ball is near the stealer's hand-level or not. Therefore, it's important to time your steals. --- Circle: Shoot/Dunk/Lay-Up You'll need this to score, of course. When you press circle while standing away from the basket, you'll throw up a shot. MAKE SURE to release the circle button JUST BEFORE the peak of your player's jump, not too early and not too late, because too early, you'll undershoot, and too late, you'll overshoot. However, the higher your person's shot rating is, the higher the chance of your scoring is, even when you're inaccurate with your release. If you press shoot while running TOWARDS the basket, if you're close enough, you'll try and dunk (if it's a bad dunker, you'll try to lay-up). These dunks are all random. Also, if you're under the basket, you'll automatically dunk/lay-up, too. If you have no dunking skill, you'll most likely miss the dunk. In this case, ALWAYS lay-up. If you find yourself going into a dunk, QUICKLY tap the o button AGAIN, and you'll change your position at the last second to a lay-up. This is a special trick, which can also be used if someone like Shaq is in the middle trying to block you. --- Triangle: Block Press this when some punk chucks up a shot, and BAM! Send it flying to the other side of the court. If you have a huge player, you have the advantage of actually BEING ABLE TO BLOCK THE SHOT IN THE MIDDLE OF ITS ARC. However, this is better achieved with turbo block. For turbo block, hold two turbos, and press block. You'll leap SUPER high into the air, and, no matter what, you'll actually KEEP the ball in your hands, instead of blocking it into free space. Of course, you'll need blocking skill to even think about doing any of this. --- X: Pass The pass! You'll need it unless you have a one-man human team on the court. And you don't. Everyone passes equally, as I assume, and you're better off making short passes than cross-court heaves. However, there is another type of pass, and it's the ALLEY-OOP! You can't control it (unless you do some advanced stuff), but when you see a teammate jumping up to impossible heights, which means they're going for an alley-goop, just hit x, and watch the fireworks. --- L1/L2/R1/R2: Turbo Okay. Turbo is, basically, the core of the game. You NEVER press these buttons alone, ALWAYS in conjunction with something. And, of course, using turbo drains your turbo meter, which is constantly refilling itself. But still, a dry turbo meter takes about 5 seconds of NONSTOP refilling to get back full again. And some moves can even take up HALF the turbo bar! Here are the moves with turbo- Any turbo + left analog stick- Run Run, boy! 2 turbos + x: Off the Heazy This move is cool. You literally THROW the ball off of the opponent's head, just to have it bounce back into your waiting hands! This distracts the defender (obviously), so you have about a split second to chuck up an uncontested shot or run around him/her. As an unbelievable cool extra, if you do an off-the heazy while a teammate is going up for an alley-oop, you'll bounce it off the defender's head TO the alley-oop person! This game is wicked. 2 turbos + x + analog stick towards the basket: Back 2 Papa This move is ALSO cool. You bounce it off of the BACKBOARD only to have it come back to yourself! Besides distracting the defender, it has another purpose- if you try it at an angle, you won't bounce it to yourself, but to ANOTHER teammate! Radical. Like the off-the heazy, you can do a back 2 papa alley-oop. Even MORE radical! 2 turbos + square (on defense): Trick Counter This kind of counter-balances the trick moves. Now you can't just cut through the defense like Swiss cheese EVERY TIME, soon enough your opponents will trick- counter you. When preformed as the player is doing a trick, it will IMMEDIATELY steal the ball. 2 turbos + triangle: Turbo Block As said in the block section, you'll jump super high, AND keep the ball if you manage to snatch it. 2 turbos + circle (while gamebreaker 1 or 2 is full): Gamebreaker 1 or 2 You've done it now. You've either got such a cornucopia of trick points that you have gamebreaker 1, or you've gotten an unholy amount, by getting gamebreaker 1, pressing select to pocket it, getting ANOTHER gamebreaker, turning it into gamebreaker 2. Well, now, press 2 turbos and circle, and now you're done. The shot is just about 99.9% guaranteed to go in, and if it does, your team gains points and the other team loses them! So you're done! Not quite, actually. For gamebreaker 1, unless it's a dunk, IT'S POSSIBLE TO BE BLOCKED. Yes, on many occasions, I have gotten my GB1 blocked. However, GB2 is unstoppable, and about 67 times cooler than GB1. BUT FOR BOTH GAMEBREAKERS: keep your shots in front of half-court, because the chance of making them greatly decreases if you take LOOOOOOOOOOOONG shots. 2 turbos + square or circle (offense): Trick/Dunk Level 3/Special Shots These are a bit more advanced than the other tricks/dunks, and they aren't random, you can control them. The tricks have a higher fakeout percentage, the dunks are (harder), yet cooler to watch. You can also do special shots, but they don't add anything but style to your gameplay. 3 turbos + circle or square: Dunk/Trick Level 4 These should NOT be attempted by anyone AT ALL unless they have 3 or more trick/dunk skills. They are harder, MUCH cooler, and fake out people/get you trick points easier. You'll even see stuff like classic dunks (the Jordan, the Doctor, the Glide, the Hawk, Nique, Chocolate Thunder, and Stretch, just to name a few) in here! All turbos + square or circle: Dunk/Trick Level 5 This is just CRAZY! DO NOT get comfortable with these ones without 4 or more handle/ dunk points. All Level 4 dunks consist of throwing the ball off of the backboard, so NEVER do them unless you're running STRAIGHT through the lane, and NEVER do them at an angle, or you'll throw the ball away. Level 4 tricks don't have technique involved, but they're CRRRRRRRRRRAZY! Make SURE no one is going to trick-counter you, because they'll easily do it if you're caught off-guard. 2 turbos + select: Cancel Did a team foolishly pocket a gamebreaker, and allow YOU to get one? Just hit this, and BOTH gamebreakers reset to zero. Cool. --- Select: Pocket Press this to pocket your gamebreaker. If you're able to get another one before the other team cancels, bust out a gamebreaker 2! --- Right Analog stick: Give and Go This is an easier way to get through the defense. If you just flick the stick in the direction you want the pass, the COMPUTER will control the ball! And you can run free! Press x to have them pass it back to you. If you want to "be the oop," while you have a FREE LANE to the basket, press 2-turbos and circle to leap up into the air. Without a free lane, you can't jump. --- L3 (click in Left analog stick) + x: Kick Pass This is cool, too. Kick the ball to a teammate! If you can kick pass to alley- oop, then we're in business! ======================= 2.3: Tricks/Dunks/Shots ======================= Here's a rule of the thumb: Always have your stats in the handles/dunks category EQUAL to the level of the trick you're performing. This way, there's minimal chance you'll fall/miss the dunk. The tricks/dunks are divides into different categories, from Level 2-4. Higher level tricks/dunks are harder, look cooler, and they'll get you more trick points. Higher level tricks are also more efficient. I won't name the second level tricks/dunks, as they aren't listed in the game, and are always random. Shots are all in the same level. --- Level 3 Tricks (The stars tell the coolness level. This is just my humble opinion, but ones with THREE stars are must-haves, ones with TWO are great, and ones with ONE aren't needed.) Double Dutch* Hypnotizer* Tornado* Back To the Lab* Lampin'** Hip Drop*** Left no Right*** The Grampa*** Getting Bent* Gotcha open*** Breaking you off** Immobilize** Psyche*** Cyclone* Level 4 tricks Through the Cut* Da Treadmill** Check yo Bags*** Baking Biscuits*** Cha Cha*** Head Banger*** Fro Fake*** Biggie Little** Dropin' Dimes** Magic** The OZ** Pancaking*** The Pistol** Getting Krunk** Steady Rockin'** Kick it ova head*** Level 5 Tricks Slip 'n' Slide** On Da' Low Low* Head or Tails*** Marinate'n*** Level 3 Dunks Spin da LP** Buckdown* Shockwave* Put it Home* Look out below*** Two scoops*** Around the way* Take that* Hang Time*** Around the world* Backbreaker*** Special Delivery** Da Hangman* Super fly*** High Time* Jet Stream** Level 4 Dunks R.T.D*** Jordan*** The Glide** The Hawk** Chocolate Thunder*** The Doctor** Nique*** Big Dipper** Stretch*** Bonafide*** Air Raid** Jam City** Dunkalicious*** Honey Dip*** The Hammer*** Through Wit It** Boomdown* Going Dolo*** Hammer down** Ground shaker** Remix*** Level 5 Dunks (Note: You'll need to be running STRAIGHT through the lane to do these) Dinner's served*** Nerve Damage*** Flambostin'*** Flossin'*** Krunk Junk*** Shots Exorcism* Tear Drop*** Whitewater*** The Legend*** Chainlink** Automatic* Rope-A-Dope*** Rainbow*** Compressor*** Network** ============= 2.6: Strategy ============= A legend-contender team consists of this: a crazy handler/shooter, a huge blocker/rebounder/dunker, and one slightly big all-around person. So really, there are 3 positions in street as opposed to the 5 in regular basketball: Point Guard, Center, and Small Forward. However, when you just start out, you have none of this. So, instead of trying to assign stats to yourself all-around, FOCUS on ONE of the 4 main stats- handles, shots, dunks, and blocks. If you want mostly handles, assign at least one point to shots. If you want mostly blocks, assign at least one point to dunks, and vice-versa. This will build your player towards either a Point Guard or a Center. And trust me, you'll find PLENTY all-around people out there, but NOT MANY specialized people, so make do with what you have! Now, for the game. "D" wins games, right? So here's the secret to ONE OF THE BEST kinds of defense out there- You'll need a big-time blocker, and it doesn't hurt for him/her to be tall, either. Now, position them UNDER the basket (but far up enough not to slam their head on the backboard), and stay there (there's no defensive 3 in the key in street). Whenever anyone chucks up a shot, use a TURBO block right BEFORE the shot would be passing over your head. If you time it right, your player should be jumping up to snatch the ball right out of the air! However, you'll need to position the player RIGHT in front of the ball's arc and time it pretty exact for it to work. But once you master it, you'll have a MUCH easier time playing defense. And if the other team is a dunking team, you COULD use the turbo block method, but this time, is more of a way to interrupt their dunk. You'll be better off using REGULAR block, as that can actually poke in through the dunker's hands and slap the ball away! (Try coming up from behind and slapping that thing off of the backboard- it's fun!) However, for teams with no blockers, you'll have to play D the hard way: by actually getting up and playing D. When you do this, MAKE SURE you DON'T get in the opponent's face. In fact, play them loosely. Or else they'll fake you out 80% of the time. Plus, they'll barely get in for a dunk, if you play well. However, with shooters, you'll have to anticipate when they'll chuck up a shot. Press triangle right away when you think they're about to- and don't be stingy! Now, For "O." Offense is the only way you're gonna score, you should know that. Now, what's the best way to score? Dunks, of course. If you have a good dunker, you'll make your dunks 99.9% of the time. However, to dunk OVER people (which you'll be doing 90% of the time), you'll need POWER, so just having dunks isn't good enough. Also, you'll actually need a free lane to even try to dunk. And how do you get that free lane? Fakeouts, of course. If you have a good handler, almost NO possession should be without a fakeout attempt. And not just tricks are counted as fakeouts, either. If you do an off the heazy, that's a fakeout, and fooling someone with a back-2-papa is another fakeout. Also, you should almost NEVER take regular shots unless they're 2's, you can't break the D, or you're running out of time. If you're taking a medium-range shot, come on, you can step back 5 feet and make it a 2. And short shots can be turned into dunks/lay-ups. You shouldn't take a medium-range 1-pointer by choice, (ALMOST) ever. And last, gamebreakers. The BEST way to get a quick gamebreaker is a fakeout, another one (in you can manage it), and then a level 4 dunk. Short, sweet, and fills up about 1/3 to 1/2 of your Gamebreaker Meter. Remember, once you have your meter a bit full, you can't relax. Shot-clock violations bring the meter WAAAAY down, and defensive stops can bring it down, too. And remember this well- always TRY to get your meter full when you STILL HAVE THE BALL. Why? Because once you have either gamebreaker, you only have 48 SECONDS to get it off, or two possessions. If the other team can purposely run down 24 seconds, then shoot, miss, and get the rebound, you're done, you gamebreaker will run out. If they have the ball, LET THEM shoot, unless the game's on the line. If you let them shoot, there's little chance they'll pull the miss-on-purpose technique. And last, never pocket a gamebreaker unless the other team has NO or EXTREMELY LITTLE gamebreaker. And then, MAKE SURE you don't play around and get gamebreaker 2 quickly, or the other team will cancel your pocket. Gamebreaker 2 looks cool, but unfortunately, it's ALMOST certainly up to chance whether your player scores it or not. But here's a way to make sure- make sure your player is in the corner, ALONE on his side of the court. Because then, you'll execute (to my knowledge) the ONLY solo GB2 in the game. You basically fake a pass, to get the defender looking, then do an off the heazy to him/her. When he/she falls, you then shoot a 2-pointer, nothing but net. =+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ III: Be a Legend Mode| =+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ ======================= 3: Be a Legend Overview ======================= This is it! The main mode of Street vol. 2. The mode where you start out as a nobody, gain rep, and then become a legend! But first, we have to create a baller! Creating a baller is simple and straightforward, until you come to stats. Like I said before, try to ordinarialize in the main stats, instead to spreading stats out evenly. And try to fit your stats with the size of your baller. If they're short, blocks won't do much good, for example. The stats are all out of five, but it's possible to actually push a stat to SIX (the sign for this is a shining, gold crown over the stat), therefore attaining a mastery of that stat. Only one stat can have a crown, so choose wisely. The stats are: (Starred stats are the MAIN stats. These stats are the most important ones, integral to gameplay.) Shots*: How well you shoot, duh. With a higher shot rating, you can shoot from longer distances easier. Blocks*: Your blocking ability. You'll need this if you want to keep the opponent's scores to a minimum. Handles*: Dribbling ability. Players with good handles usually have good shots, too. With very high handles, you'll NEVER lose the ball just by doing a hard trick. You'll also fake out people easier, too. Dunks*: How well you... er... dunk. Below 3, it's a matter if you CAN dunk; 3 and above, it's a matter of how well you dunk. Rebounds: How easily you can sky above the opposition and grab that board. Power: Should be used in conjunction with dunks. With more power, you'll easily barrel over everyone for a dunk, and you'll also be able to keep others out of the lane by barreling THEM over when they try to dunk. Steals: How quick your hands are when it comes to stealing the ball. --- Now, the basic idea is to go through six cities, playing games and adding better people to your team (and kicking some off!). Throughout the cities are many tournaments, where you can unlock and gain street legends. Each one specializes in a different stat, and is tougher than beef jerky (ha ha...). When you win, you gain Development Points, or DP. These are used mainly to improve your stats and tricks, although you can improve your clothes as well. You also gain progress points. You need 500 to complete the game. Also, when you win, your reputation goes up. If you lose, it goes down. Your reputation is displayed at the bottom of the map screen, out of five stars. Once you gain enough rep, you gain a star! Stars do nothing but make you gain unlockables. Oh, and there's the nickname. 0 stars: Nobody Yep, you're nobody from nowhere, stepping out on the court to prove yourself. So do it, will ya'? Make sure your team has a good handler, a good shot- blocker, and an all-around player. 1 star: Rookie You'll get the retro Jerry West jersey here. Now that people have seen you, they start to know your name and recognize you. But you're still a rookie! You have a long ways to go! 2 Stars: Baller Finally, you're on par with all of the other balers out there. You get the retro David Thompson jersey here. 3 Stars: All-Star Finally, recognition, AND a nickname! My nickname was "Shake" because I shook up the defenders so much with my crazy handles. Bobbito Garcia (the commentator) actually starts to call you by your nickname! Cool! 4 Stars: Superstar You get the Dominique Wilkins Throwback Jersey here, along with the "Nique" boss move. Now you're finally on par with those street legends and those who are NBA stars. You may even have enough skill to be a court boss! Sadly, that's impossible in this game. 5 Stars: Legend You are now immortalized with MJ, the Doctor, Tiny Archibald, Earl "The Pearl" Monroe, Rick Barry, Jerry West, Connie Hawkins, and... all of the others. You win! You'll get Dr. J, Connie Hawkins, Earl Monroe, the Street Champ Jersey, and the Be a Legend Trophy for all of your hard work. Phew! --- When you start, New York is the only city available for play. Also, you have to pick your teammates. Basically, pick whoever is needed. If you have no blocks, pick a blocker, no shots, pick a shooter, no handles, pick a handler. Make SURE you have at LEAST one handler, blocker, and shooter, including yourself. By the way, everybody here is bad in stats, just like you, so don't be alarmed. Now make up a team name. I chose the Sizzlers (don't laugh!), and you can spell out any team name you want. Now, time to start your quest... to be a legend! ============= 3.1: New York ============= NYC Rec Center: Pick-Up Games They call it the Rec center, but there's nothing recreational about this basketball court in the Harlem world. Y'know how they do it. Either come strong or don't come at all. Possible Progress: 15 Strategy: It's your team vs. teams made up of the people you didn't pick. You're all about equal here, but, surprisingly, it can actually be a CHALLENGE to win. You'll almost never get out of here unless you have the components of a team that I said, so make sure you don't mess up your team by picking all of one category of people. Now, to win, lay off of the turbo-blocking method, unless you have someone with three or more blocks. You have to take it to the hole just about every time, so just use your handler to fake out the opposition, hand it off to your dunker, and slam it home. Win 5 games here to complete the court. Don't bother picking up players from these teams; you already got your pick at the beginning of the game. Next: After winning five games, you'll move on to Philly. --- Soul in the Hole: Tournament Deep in the heart of do-or-die, Bed-Stud is one of the most storied courts in all the land, Soul in the Hole. But just who do you think is responsible for putting the soul in the hole? Right on! The old school playa with the eternal game, Stretch. Don't Jump. How to Unlock: Earn 17 progress points Possible Progress: 25 Strategy: It's a single-elimination 8-team tournament, so you have to win 3 matches in a row to win the whole tournament. This'll probably be the hardest tournament in the game, because your stats are so low, and Stretch is GOOD. The teams are all in progressing difficulty, and the last team is always team Stretch. As in all tournaments, you can't take anyone from the other team until the end. Team 1 is about as hard as the Rec Center people, so you shouldn't have much trouble there. Team 2 can be tough. They have a tendency to shoot from long out, so keep the pressure on the shooters. Last is Stretch. He has a crown in dunks, has a move named after him, a dunk named after him, he's a great blocker, and plus, he's not a bad shooter either. Wow. You need to SHUT HIM DOWN. The turbo-block method can REALLY help here. And if he goes inside to dunk, you have almost no chance of knocking him down, so try and poke your hand in there with a regular block to swat the ball clean. When you get the ball, NEVER go up with him in your face. ALWAYS shoot/dunk when he's not around or faked out. And make sure you don't underestimate the girls on his team. They can swat your shot from here to New Jersey. Concentrate on getting a gamebreaker, then try for a 2-pointer. But MAKE SURE you pump-fake or you're all alone before you put it up. This will almost certainly put you up by 2 or 3, unless you've been playing really bad. When you get up, STAY UP. Don't blow the lead with mistakes. Your main purpose is to put the game away early to avoid any trouble. If you have a great shooter, try 2-pointers whenever you're WIDE OPEN. Or, when Stretch isn't around, dunk. All this should put the game away easily. After winning, you'll be able to pick Stretch for your team. He should now become your main big man, pulling down all the boards, and executing the turbo block defense with ease. Next: The Cage in NYC, Foster Beach in Chicago, and the Soul in the Hole street challenge... right here! --- Soul in the Hole: Street Challenge When Stretch started running at this court, there was no long range arc. All shots were worth one point, no matter where you shot the ball. Return to yesteryear and win a 12-point game old school style. How to Unlock: Complete Soul in the Hole Tournament Possible Progress: none Strategy: With Stretch, this should be easy- just mow through the defense with his dunks, and keep them honest with his blocks. Wow- this Stretch dude really helps you out! And, oh yeah, don't shoot the 2's. With them counting for 1, it's not worth it. --- The Cage: Pick up Games West 4th street, NYC, AKA the Cage. One look and you'll know why they used to call players cagers. The court may be small, but its ballers are big. Gotta bring your game if you want fame at this one. How to Unlock: Complete the Soul in the Hole Tournament. Possible Progress: 30 Strategy: The intro is right; don't write this off as a meaningless pick-up game court. These players are good, although you should still be able to easily best them. The Cage tends to have tall players, who can be shredded by a quick ballhandler. If you're playing short people, however, use a huge blocker or stretch (you DID pick him, didn't you?) --- Uptown: Pick up Games Everybody's got ups at Uptown. That's because it's high in the sky. Our advice: leave your jimmy at home and take it to the Baja as often as possible. 'Cause up here, the winds throw a lot of block parties. How to Unlock: 130 Progression points Possible Progress: 40 Strategy: This pick up sequence could actually be kind of hard, but by now you should have at least one other street legend, preferably 2. With 2 street legends, this whole court is easy. Funny, as you're playing starting NBA players. --- (Here it is! The last court!) Rucker Park: Tournament Ballers around the world know this court. Welcome to the one and only - Rucker Park. And if you don't know (please tell us you know), Bonafide will clue you in. Miss a shot, and he'll tell ya as he boards it. How to Unlock: Get 300 Progression points Possible Progress: 100 Strategy: This is a regular single elimination tournament. But now, with your beefed up team, this whole thing should be a piece of cake. Until Bonafide. Bonafide has a crown in rebounds, which really isn't an important stat, but he also has power. Just don't go up for a dunk on him unless you have a Shaq, and you'll be fine. --- Next: Nothing! Get your rep up to get the next challenge (see below). Oh, and you get Bonafide. ******************************************************************************** ================================================================================ ------------ARE YOU STUCK AT 440 POINTS!? READ ON FOR THE ANSWER!-------------- ================================================================================ ******************************************************************************** Rucker Park: Street Challenge THE ANSWER! To get to this, once you have 440 progress points, you MUST play at least ONE MORE pick-up game, tournament, or SOMETHING. Why? Because your reputation needs to go up at least ONE MORE NOTCH so you can earn the last reputation level, and 10 progress points. I recommend a pick-up game at the rec center, because that has the least chance of you losing. Also, make sure that you actually play the game, and play it well, so your progress can actually go up. AND IF ALL ELSE FAILS: Play the Rucker Tournament again. This has never failed for me. You are standing on hallowed ground. This is the classic Halcombe Rucker Park. Former home to "Tiny" Nate, Earl "The Pearl", Wilt "The Stilt" and the one before you now - the Legendary one - Doctor J. Old School rules to 21. Bring it. How to Unlock: 450 progress points Possible Progress: 50 Strategy: If you know these legends, you'll know how to get around each of them. This whole thing can be done if you just choose your team correctly. Dr. J can dunk, and dunk well, so use a blocker to shut him down. Earl is a handler, so use a good stealer. And the Hawk is a blocker (but he can dunk, too), so use a power dunker to get by him. Play this 1-pointer game to 21 by shutting down each member of the team separately, and you should blow out the other team 21-14 (like I did). Note that it's kind of useless to take long shots, as they won't count for 2. I've set up entire plays ending in a shot from deep, and have gone mad realizing that I could have just as easily dunked and gotten the same result. Next: You win, fool! Nice work! Admire your trophy, new court, and new legends! =========== 3.2: Philly =========== After tearing up the Rec center, you'll land here. For the first time, you'll learn not every city has about 5 courts and a million stuff to do. Not much to do here, but its court is ghetto. --- Broad Street: Pick up Game It may not look like much, but it's a true baller's paradise tucked away on the mean streets of Philly. Leave your jive at home, and bring plenty of heart, hustle, and soul. How to Unlock: 9 progress points. Possible Progress: 20 Strategy: Not much, after going through the rec center, this should be incredibly easy. Just force your way inside every time, or shoot wide open 2's. Next: The street challenge! --- Broad Street: Street Challenge On the back street courts of Philly, style and flash are more important than scoring points. The final score here doesn't matter. The first team to score 250,000 trick points will be declared the winner. How to Unlock: Finish the Broad Street games Strategy: All players here are good handlers, and will fake out everyone. If you have steals, you should find paradise, but if not, don't let them fake you out. The important thing here is- DON'T LET THEM SCORE AFTER A HUUUUGE COMBO. If they score, you'll have to just watch their trick points go UP! You, on the other hand, must ALWAYS score with a dunk. If you were to get a gamebreaker, and use it, (dunking, of course), you'll win in about 5 seconds. However, once you have 250,000 trick points, you must score to win. So... do it! ============ 3.3: Chicago ============ After winning the Soul in the Hole Tournament, you'll land here. The only thing to do here is get your second street legend, Biggie Little. --- Foster Beach: tournament Foster Beach, the stomping grounds of Biggie Little. In Chi-town, his mischievous game will turn any frown upside down. Unless, of course, yours is the head Biggie uses for a touch pass. How to Unlock: Win the Soul in the Hole Tournament Possible Progress: 30 Strategy: This tournament is single elimination, so you need 3 wins in a row to get Biggie Little. The first two teams should be no problem at all, with all you've went through. But Biggie Little can be a toughie. First, you must know that Biggie Little is a little guy with big handles. So, while playing him straight up, play back a little so he doesn't fake you out. But, to add insult to injury, his shot isn't that bad either. Leave him open, and he's bound to throw up a 2. And notice that I said little guy. That's right, if you have a big-time blocker, MAKE SURE that he/she blocks everything Biggie throws up. If you don't let Biggie fake him/her out, you should be able to shut him down. With Biggie shut down, this is a piece of cake. His other two teammates can't do anything. Next: You get the street challenge and the Seattle tournament --- Foster Beach: Street Challenge In Chicago, fans are hoping to see one Thing and one thing only: huge, rim- breaking dunks. Give the people what they want and play a game to 12 points where only dunks will score. Oh, and did we mention the 12 second shot clock? How to Unlock: Win the Foster Tournament Strategy: This challenge shouldn't be too tough, if you have a dunker. If you don't, use Stretch. Yes, it's a dunking game to 12 with a 12-second shot clock, so, it's important not to waste time with fakeouts. If you can, don't even fakeout at all. However, if you find the time running out, and you're SURE that you can't get through, run to about half-court and chuck up a shot. If you're able to get the rebound, you get another try at a dunk, if not, oh well, you wouldn't have scored anyway. The other team has ALL powerful dunkers, but if you have a powerful blocker, you may be able to equalize them. You might not even have to, if your defense is good enough. You see, even though the computer has a tendency to dunk, they don't seem to think it to be imperative. I've even see them waste a GAMEBREAKER on a shot. Go figure. So, stay in front of them, and they might shoot all day! ============ 3.4: Seattle ============ After Foster Beach, you come here for yet ANOTHER tournament, and the Third Street Legend, Whitewater! This tournament, however, is a bit different. --- Greenlake: Tournament Bring yo galoshes, raincoats, and umbrellas. At Greenlake Park in Seattle, there ain't no sunshine even when the clouds are gone. 'Cause Whitewater is mad busy making it rain all day long. How to Unlock: Win Foster Beach Tournament Possible Progress: 35 Strategy: This tournament is a DOUBLE ELIMINATION. That basically means that you have to lose TWICE to be kicked out. Sounds good, right? Not really, as Whitewater's team ALSO has to lose twice to be kicked out. Whether you win or lose the first game, it doesn't matter; you're still facing Whitewater twice if you want to win. Darn. But don't despair! Use these opportunities to learn his team's playing style. The first team you face is a pushover, and if by some reason you lose, you'll face an even worse team. Lose that, and its goodbye! Win, and move to the semis and then the finals. But you shouldn't be losing to nameless teams in the first place! Anyway, Whitewater can make it rain from deep all day. In other words, he has crazy shooting ability. If left unchecked, he'll kill you from deep. It sounds bad, but it really isn't. Why? Because, even though he can, Whitewash rarely goes on a shooting streak. Yes, the questionable computer programming strikes again! What it all adds up to is Whitewater being an easy Legend to snag. Just make sure that you don't give Whitewater ANY leeway, because, even though he rarely goes on a shooting streak, he can. And don't forget about his teammates. Only one other can shoot, and the last is garbage. To win, just use your big-time blocker to block everything Whitewater and his teammate shoots. When you get the ball, you'll learn that Whitewater's defense is very good. If you can, always try to have the garbage teammate (the one that never shoots threes) defending your best handler, and then fake him out to get to the basket. Next: Los Angeles and the street challenge! --- Greenlake: Street Challenge This is Whitewater's court, and he's a fan of fundamental ball. No tricks, no flashy stuff and definitely no Gamebreakers. Win this one with pure basketball. How to Unlock: Win the tournament in Greenlake Strategy: This is a regular game with no gamebreakers. So needless tricks don't matter. But, however, they still help. Sound easy? It's easier than you think, because the computer, for once, actually gets the idea of the challenge, and won't use many tricks at all. Too bad for them. ================ 3.5: Los Angeles ================ After Greenlake, you land here for another tournament. --- Lincoln College: Tournament At Lincoln College, this hoop goddess will steal your heart AND yo rock. She's cold as ice, fine as wine. And her name is Dime. Can we get a witness? How to Unlock: Get 3 reputation stars Possible Progress: 40 Strategy: This is a new kind of tournament, the best of three. Basically, you'll face two different teams, team 1 and Dime, and have to beat them twice to advance/win the tournament. The first team should, like always, not be that hard to beat. But be warned- they almost always have a great shooter. But you should know how to shut down shooters by now. Team Dime is a bit harder. You see, Dime specializes in steals. So, you must make sure that when you do tricks, they aren't to her. I recommend having at LEAST two handlers and one big blocker. That way, Dime isn't always tying up your handler. Once you get past her, it should be easy to score. On defense, Dime isn't hard to stop at all. Even though she has good stats, she's small, and not much of an outside shooter. Watch out, however, for her Dropping Dimes move. And, as always, don't underestimate her teammates. Next: Oakland and the street challenge! --- Lincoln College: Street Challenge NBA teams, NBA rules. Play a game to 50 points with NBA style scoring against an NBA team. Think you can play in their league? How to Unlock: Win the tournament. Strategy: With a long-range shooter, this'll be over in no time. I faced the Lakers, I'm not sure if that happens every time. But they put up quite a match! Advice: don't put up shots with Shaq OR Kobe on you, as they both block well. And if you don't have the Lakers against you, it should be even easier. Note that you're playing by NBA rules- 2 and 3-pointers. ============ 3.6: Oakland ============ --- Mosswood: Tournament J-Kidd taught him everything he knows and GP gave him his nickname at Mosswood playground. Osmosis makes everybody better, even if they can't walk and chew gum at the same time. How to Unlock: Win Lincoln College OR get a certain number of Progress points. Possible Progress: 65 Strategy: Double Elimination, like Greenlake. The first team can put up a fight, so take them seriously. Osmosis is a bit tougher. The OZ is a big-time blocker, so learn this and learn it well: Don't ever go up for a shot in his face, don't ever go up for a dunk with him in front OR behind you (behind is worse), and don't ever, EVER shoot a gamebreaker with him on the same side of the court as you (I've faked out my defender to have him jump 10 feet towards me almost instantaneously and block it). Learn it and you'll win. Beat him twice to go on. Next: The street challenge! Oh, and MAKE SURE to get OZ, he'll be an integral part of your defense. --- Mosswood: Street Challenge Here's the chance to show you've mastered your game. Trick points and score don't matter. The first team to score a level 2 Gamebreaker wins. Don't forget, you can cancel "pocketed" Gamebreakers and they can cancel yours. How to Unlock: Win the tournament Strategy: With the Oz, all you have to do is concentrate on getting GB2 and block all of their attempts. Remember; try to get GB2 when you STILL HAVE the ball, so they can't run it out. =+=+=+=+=+=+=+ IV: Afterword| =+=+=+=+=+=+=+ ================ 4: Sneaky things ================ --- Having trouble getting past... well... anything? Then you'll have to turn to the three last resorts: play the shooting game, level up, or... gasp... CHANGE THE DIFFICULTY LEVEL. You can easily put the difficulty lower by pressing R2 or something at the map screen, but I've done it so little (actually, never) that I've forgotten. Anyway. The shooting game helps you by keeping you constantly ahead of your opponents, who most always go in for dunks or short shots (like you usually do!). For a shooting game, you'll need one (or two!) players with crowns in shooting (5 points will work too), and one big man. Now, your objective: SHOOT ONLY 2'S. Forget the trick points! Style doesn't matter when you're desperate! Just use your big men to set picks, or, if you're not open, dish it off to the other shooter, if you have one. Since going to be passing up a whole lot of easy shots, MAKE SURE you don't botch up your shot. Master the release of the ball, practice on an easy court if you must. As a rule of the thumb, release JUST as you're about to hit the peak of your jump. And don't release late, (better early than late) because your chance of connecting on the shots drops like, 30%. Oh, and don't get your shot blocked (it happens easier than you think). Always make sure you're open. If you play well, even if your opponents score on every turn, WHICH THEY SHOULDN'T, if you make all your shots, you'll end up winning. However, the main flaws with this are, for one, 2-pointers are very low-percentage shots. Also, you won't be getting Gamebreaker anytime soon. If you start missing a string of 2's and your opponents are dunking on you like heck, abandon the plan and play it straight, man. And last, leveling up. You should *NEVER* have to do this purposely if you're equal to the game's difficulty, but if you're having major, MAJOR problems, this may be your only chance. Go to one of the first courts. Blow out the teams there, over and over. Gain development points slowly. Level up. Win! --- If you really want to get unlockables (even development points) the evil way, just complete Street School over and over under different names each time. 1,000 reward points a pop! Trade them in for legends, jerseys, or (coughcoughcough) development points. You cheating evil monkeys, you. --- --- --- ======== 4.5: End ======== Thanks for reading! I really hope I've helped you get through this game mode. It's been tough work playing, and even tougher writing this, but I hope my knowledge will eventually help you in the end! ~End.