Games News and Reviews | High Def Digest
Film & TV All News Blu-Ray Reviews Release Dates News Pre-orders 4K Ultra HD Reviews Release Dates News Pre-orders Gear Reviews News Home Theater 101 Best Gear Film & TV
Games :
Ranking:
Sale Price: $32.97 Last Price: $ Buy now! 3rd Party 18.99 In Stock
Release Date: September 11th, 2012 Movie Release Year: 2012

NBA Baller Beats

Overview -

I am the last person to enjoy a sports game. Other than the Olympics and boxing, I don't enjoy real life sports, let alone virtual sports. And yet, there was something intriguing about NBA Baller Beats. Instead of being a basketball simulation game, it's a rhythm game intended to teach you basketball fundamentals. Never one to shy from a challenge, I picked it up, plugged in my long unused Kinect, and took it for a spin.

OVERALL:
Rating Breakdown
VIDEO
AUDIO
Tech Specs & Release Details
Technical Specs:
Kinect Required
Video Resolution/Codec:
720p
Audio Formats:
Dolby Digital
Special Features:
Spalding Basketball
Release Date:
September 11th, 2012

Video Review

Ranking:

Like many rhythm games, the field of play in NBA Baller Beats is a series of colored blocks without too many extraneous graphics to distract you from the core gameplay. You do get a few basketball-related images and score multipliers, current move and the like, but for the most part it's a sparse affair. Decorating the game with your chosen team's colors and graphics is a nice touch. The Kinect will also take photos of you as you play, capturing you at your worst (or best if you're really good at basketball). Bizarrely, there's no option to share these snapshots. You can save them to the console or delete them, but you can't send them off to anyone. One of the many puzzling design deficiencies that plague the title.

Audio Review

Ranking:

NBA Baller Beats sports a diverse soundtrack that should satisfy all but the pickiest players. You get hip-hop, rock, pop, and electronic tracks, with names like Onyx, Queen, Wiz Khalifa, and many more. There are thirty tracks in total, and the songs begin truncated, but you can unlock the full versions through gameplay. Thirty songs seems pretty pitiful compared to any given 'Guitar Hero' title, which has fifty to sixty songs, and certainly does not hold up to 'Rock Band' with its unbelievable library of DLC. Given that no DLC songs exist for this game yet, and may never come if it doesn't sell well, make sure you give the tracklist a careful once over to ensure you like enough of the songs that you won't mind hearing them over and over as you play.

Final Thoughts

NBA Baller Beats is certainly an interesting idea. If a sports hater like me can get into it, then perhaps a game like this could do for sports what 'Rock Band' did for musical instruments: Make it accessible to anyone. However, there are a lot of poor design decisions and limitations that prevent NBA Baller Beats from being a true success. If you do get the game, make sure you have plenty of space to play and no neighbors who will be annoyed by the endless bouncing. Best bet is to give this a rent, and use your own basketball or borrow a friend's. Chances are once you get good enough, you'll want to go out and try your new skills in the real world instead of endlessly playing in front of your TV anyway.