NBA The Run

NBA The Run is nearly everything I’ve wanted in a modern-day street basketball game. With a strong foundation now in place, Play by Play Studios has a real chance to make it the arcade basketball game players have been waiting over a decade for.

NBA THE RUN feels like a modern version of NBA Streets, and I mean that as a compliment. It has a great arcade gameplay, a curated roster of both street legends and NBA stars, but also some impressive courts. The games are short, but intense, and you’ll find yourself trying to attempt some more. It’s also nice to see that all the money you get via playing won’t go to waste. The game’s shop is full of all kinds of accessories and items you can use to fully customize your character. So yes, there’s always a reason beyond how you look, the way you enhance everything, and how it all flows together. Even if you’re not someone who plays NBA 2K or any major basketball game, I think you’ll have a great time here, because the game is very easy to pick up and learn. It’s fun, intense, and it will certainly push your limits, while also being fair.

NBA The Run plays more like a distant descendant of the NBA Street series than a successor, which isn’t a bad thing. Although the two share certain traits, like their curated roster of NBA stars and street legends, an ample rotation of carefully crafted courts, and the sultry, ever-present vocals of DJ Bobbito Garcia, The Run’s core principle of online, run-and-gun action over the classic single-player arcade approach makes it a much more exciting and enticing present-day package than its predecessors. Unfortunately, its emphasis on pushing you through a steady flurry of quick matches is also where its biggest weakness lies. While this modern, run-it-up style might work for the first several runs, the games played, highlights made, and championships secured all eventually blur together, turning the excitement of those first title wins old much too soon. Don’t get me wrong; the runs are still undoubtedly enjoyable in short bursts, but they also turn the simple joys of playing and winning into a mass-produced good, a thing practically given rather than earned, and that means I was usually ready to pack up and head home before the lights were too low to see the rim.

NBA The Run belongs to the category of unrealistic, but all the more fun titles. It is built on famous players from the overseas league and short sessions, where you either lose and start over, or win a victory in a micro-tournament. You will not find other game modes here, and the absence of local cooperation and the obligation to have a subscription to online services on consoles are also very frustrating.

NBA THE RUN is an exciting and fun basketball game that pits two teams of three players against each other in street games. Featuring many real players and fast-paced gameplay, the game aims to bring back an experience that is no longer very common in the industry.