I have full respect for And 1, the folks that produce some of the best street-ball action out there. They have players who go out there and "ball" every night, playing their hearts out without the weight of a gigantic shoe contract, limitations that would require a dress code, or a major audience trying to "click" with them. Watching these guys square off in a game of hoops is rather enlightening, although it's frustrating trying to find them in the listings at times. (Oh, sure, I can find a Heat game no problem, but to find Half Man's latest game? Nightmare.) So it only hurts me deeply to see that their first foray into the gaming world is backed by an effort that can only be called average. Hell, below average.

Ubisoft and Black Ops worked together to put And 1 Streetball on shelves, and it's been a long time coming. But with its numerous delays, the companies promised that the wait would be worth it, and that And 1 fans and newcomers alike would find it to their liking. Well, I approached it, "balled" for a little while, and I came back with the feeling that I'd fare better with, dare I say it, NBA Street Volume 3. It hurts me a little to say it, but it's best if I'm just honest about it and don't try to sugar coat it. The And 1 franchise got a raw deal here.

The game does earn a few points for the ball-handling techniques, which is basically made up of a three-tier fake-out system where you use the analog stick to string together moves to basically make your opponents psyche out on your movements and then go in for the score. It's a bit more complicated than NBA Street's little combo system, although, in nature, it kind of goes for the same accomplishment. The main problem is, however, the rest of the gameplay fails to come alive, feeling a bit disjointed. You'll find yourself doing mad dashes, power dunks, and even some defensive moves to score the ball on a block, but something feels cheap about the game. Maybe it's the responsiveness in the controls, or maybe it's the fact that it never comes alive in its own spirit. Either way, it's been done better in other games.

The story mode also fails to motivate, and that's bad news for those who were aspiring to be the next Professor or And 1 legend. You'll be going through a series of events that will allow you to earn some reputation and some cash so you can upgrade your gear, but, aside from some little cosmetic changes in the settings, the tasks never really seem to change that much. There's a slight flair to the cutscenes (something some hardcore And 1 fans may recognize with), and some side goals to complete, but the game rarely makes you feel like you accomplished something. It struggles with its own identity, and that's hardly what I'd consider the And 1 to be about. It's supposed to be pure.

The other modes are alright, including the option to do a one-on-one battle with different And 1 players of past and present and competitions with multiple players, but the gameplay never really takes off on its own tier. And as I said before, it also fails to keep you playing, even with the promise of a few unlockables here and there. This hurts the multiplayer aspect greatly, because, if you're not having a good time, then how the hell are you supposed to get with a community that's having the same struggles as you? It's got a nice interactive lobby but once the game starts, the appeal begins to wear a little.

Not helping things are some bugs in the presentation. Some of the animation is smooth and the courts look as authentic as the real thing, but collision detection seems to be really off in a few areas, and the animation can get downright jerky at times. Even doing something as simple as a fadeaway almost looks somewhat mechanical, like something went wrong with the motion-capture machine at Black Ops' studios and they never replaced it. The replays aren't bad but they seem to borrow greatly from the NBA Street side of things, complete with multiple angles.

And 1 Streetball also suffers from some totally lackluster audio. The music in the game tries to be true to the nature of the And 1 Mixtape series, but fails to come alive with its own "flava", if you will. It instead sounds like something that was slapped together and not really in the spirit of actual And 1 players. Perhaps Ubisoft should've considered asking the players themselves what they felt they could jam to the best. The sound effects are nothing special, with typical crowd cheers here and b-ball effects there. As for the commentary, it gets repetitive incredibly quick. Duke Tango grates on the nerves a bit too quickly, and all you'll want to do is shut him off the sixteenth time he tells you to watch something.

And 1 deserves better than the travesty that is And 1 Streetball. You're trying to tell me that someone should chuck over $40 to get their hands-on some legends with a (mostly) broken control system, an average presentation that looks like something out of the 2001/2002 programming book, and a story mode that fails to involve you, not to mention multiplayer that seems to have everyone saying into their microphones, "Is this all there is?" And that's if they can hear themselves over Tango's battle cries of "Oh, baby!". No, thanks. Sorry, but artificialism is hardly what And 1 is all about. If anyone needs me, I'll be on NBA Street's hard court.