Fans of “NBA Jam” and “NBA Street” may struggle to adapt however “3on3 Freestyle.” Beyond it being an unlicensed game, it doesn’t have the fast-paced fluid gameplay that those offered. Movement is especially stiff, slow and deliberate. Players are completely stationary when shooting, passing and attempting steals. All that puts more importance on decisive decision making and teamwork. Rebounding and securing loose balls are the most frustrating aspects of gameplay, as the camera perspective makes it difficult to judge where the ball is in relation to the characters. Passes don’t always go to the intended teammate and the success of steal attempts appears to be completely random, as there have been times when players just stood there while all three defenders swiped at the ball without anything happening. When using the better characters and upgrading their abilities, the fun from gameplay tends to come out more. Whether that be aspects such as the ability to toss and throw down alley-oops or dive for a loose ball, some of the more exciting moments of the game are locked away until later. Being allowed to change characters during the game, whether it be with timeouts or at halftime, is one of the better strategical design elements. Ultimately, the fun that can be had with “3on3 Freestyle” rests on the quality of teammates. Games in which teammates understand basketball fundamentals and strategy, and are unselfish with the ball, can feel quite rewarding. Unfortunately, more often than not you’ll find yourself with teammates who either don’t know what they’re doing or simply don’t care to play smart basketball. Too many of the games I’ve been involved in have been plagued by teammates that don’t pass the ball under any circumstance, which is both a recipe for disaster and no fun for the others on the team. Games are all played online in 3 vs. 3 form. All the characters are user-controlled (whether that be joined by others online or with local teammates) in the standard way to play, but there are also games in which a single user can team with 2 CPU characters against another team of a user and 2 CPU. The latter is by far the weaker way to play, as the CPU characters are largely incompetent. Being able to switch between them — controlling whichever player has the ball on offense — would have negated that issue to an extent, but instead you’re locked into just one of the players on both sides of the ball. The online performance has generally been solid, though the occasional connection issue has arisen along the way and lag seeped into a few matches. Unfortunately, should any one of the players in a match disconnect, the entire game ends right at that point rather than a CPU player stepping into their place. It’s a jarring result regardless of whether your team was winning or losing at the time. While “3on3 Freestyle” is lacking in many ways, it’s still a unique entry on the market that is worth trying out. Given that the game is free, there’s really no reason for anyone who may have interest not to do so. There is the potential that new modes, courts and characters through post-release support could make the game more appealing, but the core gameplay may not be good enough for those with current-day expectations of traditional sports games to give it much time to improve. Bryan Wiedey posts sports gaming news and analysis daily at Pastapadre.com, is co-founder of the sports gaming site HitThePass.com, hosts the “Press Row Podcast” and be reached on Twitter @Pastapadre .
