Topic: Hoopworld Impressions Thread

I've now unlocked everything in the game. Now I'm all ready for the review. Video of the second surprise coming soon.

Oh, and the review for the game is done, WolfRH. Will be going up in the next few days.

@KS8: Congratulations on unlocking everything in the game and nice video too. I was a bit worried about you in the beginning since your team was down 6-0 but you ended up annihilating the other team in the end. That was really cool when you hit that four pointer from half court. I didn't know you could do that in the game. Well, I'm going to be checking your site for that review. Good to know that it is done. I imagine the review will be a positive one too.

Yeah, I've gotten so much better at the game, and my skills aren't entirely evident in that vid. I wasn't trying that much to be honest, especially after putting forth so much effort to unlock the last team right before.

Oh and thanks. Trust me, it wasn't easy!

Hey guys, just letting you know that my review is up now since you asked about it.

@KnucklesSonic8: I'm glad to see that the review is finally up! Great job on the review too! It was very thorough and informative. I still haven't downloaded the game yet but I will definitely do so tomorrow. I saw your article on suggestions to the developers for the upcoming DLC. You have some interesting ideas. I think this game would have really benefited from some in game achievements similar to Dive: The Medes Islands Secret. I really would like to see some new characters(teams) and I think a story mode would also be a great addition. Anyway, thanks for doing the review KS8. I really appreciate it.

Thanks so much WRH. I'm glad you read it and enjoyed it! And thanks for notice my feature too! I hope this helps give them an idea of what they can do. Good to know you're also on board for some of my ideas.

Oh, and you're very welcome. Hearing comments like that are very encouraging for me, personally. Thank you.

I am really almost buying this game. But generally i play the wii by myself, I wonder if i will have fun with it w/o the online feature

I've played mostly by myself and I still love the game. There's trophies to collect, stuff to unlock, and there's always the online leaderboards for Survival Mode to keep you busy. If you've seen footage of it in action and think you'll have fun with it, go for it.

There's a new review by Digital Chumps. They only gave it a 5.2/10. They say the gameplay isn't deep enough [specifically, no pump fakes, no move cancelations (like starting to shoot then passing), and invincibility while dunking] while the controls are too complicated leaving the game too complicated for casual players but not deep enough for hardcore players.

They kind of have a point with the controls, as I'd prefer to just press B to jump on defense or slide around the defender on offense, and the meter for precision shots is too difficult to use well (but thankfully is optional), but I don't think they're that bad.

As for the gameplay features that are "missing," I know the NBA Jam games do include all 3 of them, but I don't think they're necessary for an arcade style baseketball game. I rarely ever use pump fakes or move cancellations in NBA Jam, and I don't think they add very much to the strategy, anyway. As for being able to defend against dunks (by being able to knock them down or do a jump block with the right timing), it's necessary in NBA Jam when you can dunk from almost the 3-point line, but in this game you need to get right up to the basket to dunk, and so it serves as further incentive to not let them get that close.

Not sure why everyone keeps comparing the game to other basketball games anyway. This isn't meant to be a realistic experience. Some of the complaints I've seen (e.g., allowing players to decide on a lay-up or a dunk) is just not conducive to the control scheme that exists in the game, and it would just make things less user-friendly and more complicated. So in that sense, that review contradicted themselves. But that's just my take...

FYI, I don't find the precision shots really difficult at all anymore.

They only compare it to other arcade style basketball games like NBA Jam. They know it's not meant to be a realistic experience, but they still expect deeper gameplay from an arcade style basketball game. Their point is that the "shallowness" of the gameplay contradicts the complicated controls to leave the game without a true target audience, calling it too complicated for casual players but too shallow for hardcore players.

I don't agree much with it, but that's their argument.

And a very silly one at that.

Well, I finally picked up a points card and downloaded this game today. I have to say that I am very pleasantly surprised. This is a really fun game. The controls were a little awkward at first and it took a while for me to get used to them but after a few quick matches it felt like second nature. I made sure to browse through the brief "How to play" tutorial before I started playing. So far I have beaten the Easy Tournament mode with The Pathfinders and unlocked the Olympus O.D. court. I played a bit on normal and the difficulty is starting to ramp up. I'm going to practice a bit more before I attempt to challenge the Survival mode. I can say that this game is definitely worth the purchase. My thanks to KnucklesSonic8 for recommending this awesome game.

Oh you're very welcome! I'm so happy you're enjoying the game too and your experience with the controls is exactly like mine too. I only wish we could play online. Keep me posted on your progress!

Whoa, IGN gave hoopworld 8/10

I was pleased when I read their review yesterday. I'm glad they also thought it was an impressive package.

Wow, I'm pleasantly surprised that IGN gave the game an 8! I hope that more people will be willing to give this game a chance. I believe that it is releasing in Europe this Friday. I'm having a lot of fun playing it. I still haven't quite mastered the controls but I am getting better. I got 10 rounds into Survival mode(Easy difficulty) before I lost. I like how it keeps track of your stats and adds points to your score for slam dunks and blocked shots. I'm not on the leaderboards yet but I did see KS8 on there. I just beat Tournament Mode on Normal yesterday so I expect the next difficulty to be a real challenge.

I'm still there? I'm gonna play today/tomorrow and get a much better score. I made that one before I became really comfortable.

@ Knuckles - Do you guys not have comment sections of Wiiloveit?

I was actually wondering the same thing myself. I wanted to leave some comments on a few of the articles on the site.