Overview: I am not Michael Jordan.

NBA Street V3 Platform(s): Playstation 2, Xbox*, GameCube Company: EA Sports Big Type/Genre: Arcade Sports Rating: E (for "Everyone") *-Reviewed • Official Site • Arcade360 Index

I do not have basketball shoes named after me.

If I dunk, it's most likely at Krispy Kreme. I'm more Swiffer than "Swish!"

Which is why hoops video games, from the elder "NBA Jam" to modern jam sims like the "NBA Live" and last year's "NBA Ballers," typically make my yearly most-played list. To be able to catch LeBron air and block with Tim Duncan flair is divine. For those of us who are 5 feet 8 inches tall, virtual slam dunk competitions are the only ones we're ever going to win.

But there's a new franchise player in town: EA Sports Big's "NBA Street V3" comes to town with big hightops to fill. The last two games were enjoyable, with great graphics and addictive gameplay. How was a third game even necessary? What could EA possibly add to a series that had already brought back over-the-top arcade b-ball action, the perfect complement to the company's more straight-simulation "Live" games?

"More" is the simple answer. More options, more customization, more online play, more characters and courts and, oh yeah, some Beastie Boys and some of Nintendo's hardest hitters.

Modes: Single-player. Online multiplayer. Practice/training. Dunk contest. Court/player/shoe creator. Given all this and more, we bet there's even a mode that lets you play against aliens from another dimension, but we haven't found it yet.

Game Play: Silky smooth arcade action. As with other sports games from EA, a new analog stick option has been added to make more tricks part of your arsenel. The "NBA Street V3" "Trick Stick" allows for dribbling moves to be worked into combos with the turbo buttons. If it sounds complicated, it will be for novices. Better brush up on those in-game tutorials.

The game moves quickly and frenetically — sometimes it's a little too fast-paced. Online play with the ability to trash-talk is a welcome bonus. (Sorry, GameCube players: No online play for you. But at least you get Mario and Luigi [see NICE SURPRISE, below].) The best thing about "V3" is the sheer number of features for customizing the game. You can create your own home court (with more options to add as your wealth and status grow), customize the facial features of your created players, hook yourself up with new hairstyles and best of all, design your own shoes. We all knew there was something missing in basketball games all these years, but we weren't sure what it was: It was the shoes, people.

Technical Presentation: Slick, colorful, dynamic — the visuals in "V3" make up for the inexplicably muddy textures in EA Sports Big's recent "NFL Street 2." Players look fantastic and the courts all have a distinct look, and are introduced in a very slick short monologue that gives each a strong individual vibe. Sound design is top-notch and getting online for a match is easy. Why can't all EA games have production values like this?

Ease of Use: Longtime b-ballers will adjust quickly to the system, but for those new to the series (or those like me who'd forgotten how to play them), the tutorial is a must. A big chunk of "V3" is stringing combo moves together, especially in the powered-up "Gamebreaker" mode in which all of your players can participate in one mondo special-effects dunk. Take the time to learn the fundamentals and the new controls before you try it yourself.

Nice Surprise: Playable characters in the game include the Beastie Boys (aw, yeah!) and for the GameCube version, some of its all-stars including Mario, Luigi and Princess Toadstool. Is seeing Mario face down against Allen Iverson cool? Obviously. Does it make up for the lack of online play on the GameCube. Sadly, it does not.

Enraging Quirk: Aside from the GC's lack of online play, the game's biggest quirk is one of its chief strengths — the sheer number of options to customize the game means it can take almost an hour to get to an actual game. Sure, you can skip a lot of it, if you're starting up a new team or player, you can't get rid of it entirely.

Tip: Get your skills firmly in hand before you try to go challenging another player online. I started up a game on Xbox Live! before I went through the game's tutorial and the guy I went up against beat me so badly that I had to change my team's name to "Li'l Losers."

Bottom Line: "NBA Street V3" is a great addition to the "Street" franchise, a polished and generous arcade game that is as fun to play as it is to customize. The multitude of options gives the game almost ulimited replay value — especially if you've got a few friends over for some pizza, "V3" and trash-talk.