NBA Baller Beats Preview Event NYC - Preview

Majesco Entertainment recently held a press event to show off their new Kinect title - NBA Baller Beats - ahead of its release this fall. The event was well attended by media and the company brought a considerable amount of basketball talent to help show off the game. Two-time NBA Champion Kenny Smith was in attendance, as well as Curtis Smith and WNBA player Essence Carson. In addition to their rousing celebrity endorsements, the event also gave yours truly the chance to get hands-on with the game, which utilises Kinect technology to track the movements of an actual basketball as well as a gamer’s skeleton. 

 

 

As the event began we were all led to a gymnasium containing several basketball courts equipped with three demo stations set-up with Kinect to show off the game. Journalists and guests in attendance were seated on the bleachers where we had an up-front view of the proceedings. Majesco Co-founder and CEO, Jesse Sutton, took to the court to welcome us and share his excitement about NBA Baller Beats while shedding some light on how the game came into existence. To bring this game to retail, Majesco partnered with both the NBA and sports equipment maker Spalding, who provides the official NBA regulation basketball that comes packaged with the game. In addition to the basketball stars in attendance, Majesco also partnered with Brooklyn Nets star point guard Deron Williams, who graces the cover of the game. Deron Williams couldn’t be in attendance, as he is part of the US Basketball Olympic team and is busy getting ready for the start of the games in London, but he was kind enough to share his thoughts on the game via a pre-recorded video. 

After the video, Jesse came back out to talk about the game some more and then introduced former pro baller Kenny Smith to provide a live demonstration of the game for us. Smith is a naturally charismatic speaker, bolstered by his experience as a televised analyst for TNT’s “Inside the NBA”. After he took the mic, Smith explained how excited he was when Majesco contacted him about their development of NBA Baller Beats. He recalled basketball training camps he used to host where he would coach aspiring players to improve their ball handling by dribbling to a rhythm and rapping along. The apparent similarities between NBA Baller Beats and his own teaching method is what attracted him to the game, he explained. 

 

 Two-time NBA Champion Kenny Smith introduces NBA Baller Beats.

Kenny Smith then stepped away from the microphone and began setting up the game. He started off by selecting the song (“Another One Bites the Dust” by Queen, which is one of the most straightforward songs in the game). As the game began, Smith got right into the swing of things, matching the on-screen cues with ease while talking to the audience. The dribbling synced up with the beat of the song quite well and incorporated a number of moves such as crossovers, pump fakes and between the leg dribbles. Being the pro that he is, Smith of course made all of this look easy, though he broke quite a sweat in the process. He ended the song with 98% accuracy, which was good enough to earn him a five star rating. 

Kenny Smith then passed the ball to Curtis Smith to demonstrate more of the game while he provided commentary. Curtis, being one of the driving forces behind this game’s creation, played along to Missy Elliot’s “Get Ur Freak On”, which is reportedly the hardest track in the game, on the highest difficulty no less. The song lived up to its reputation as Curtis immediately had to dribble with great speed and concentration as the game threw multiple special moves at him to perform in quick succession. He seemed to be in the zone until he suddenly lost control of the ball which rolled several yards away and paused the game until he could fetch it. Curtis completed the track with a 4.5 star rating after losing possession of the ball at least once more.

Finally, Curtis was joined by Essence and another young basketball phenomenon named Jashaun Agosto to show off the game’s multiplayer. Baller Beats offers multiplayer for up to eight people, competing in a pass-and-play style competition. For this final demonstration the group played to “Party Rock” by LMFAO. Kenny Smith again provided commentary as the three ballers rotated turns, playing along to different sections of the song. There was a grace period of several seconds between each player’s turn to allow the other player time to clear out of the way. All three contestants performed admirably and Curtis eventually came out on top, though all three lost control of the ball during their routine meaning Kenny Smith was the only one to maintain possession during his entire playtime. I guess that’s why he is the two-time champ.

 

After the live demonstration, I eventually got to try out the game for myself. Again, being that we were in a gymnasium, I got to play the game while standing on an actual hardwood basketball court. Most gamers at home won’t be able to have the same experience, but the game works just as well when playing on any type of surface, though shag carpeting is not recommended. I stepped in front of the Kinect sensor and began fiddling with the menu by waving my hand over the selections. I initially began playing along to Kanye West’s “Amazing”, which is one of the slower and easier songs in the game, before I decided to try my hands at Queen’s “Another One Bites the Dust.” One of the most obvious developments since our E3 preview is that songs are no longer separated by difficulty and each song comes with three playable difficulty settings. 

Once the game was all rearing to go I took control of the rock (that’s street slang for basketball, for all you squares out there) and began playing. I possess neither great athletic ability nor a strong sense of rhythm so, needless to say, I was a bit nervous. Once I started dribbling along to the onscreen cues, however, the game began to gel with me. The Kinect sensor was amazingly responsive, though the game (on its easiest setting) was forgiving, acknowledging dribbles that were a split-second or two off of the beat. 

The game usually has you dribble on one side at a time and will call for a crossover dribble to get you to dribble with your other hand. In my experience, it’s better to look at the screen rather than at the ball, as you would if you were actually playing offense in a real game of basketball, though the temptation to focus on the ball is definitely there. I lost control of the ball on more than one occasion, enough to make me miss out on a few beats but not enough to pause the game (mostly when I had to dribble with my non-dominant hand). My advice to correct this is to stay low. Bending your knees greatly increases you control over the ball and really makes you feel like you're in the game. I finished my demo with a gentlemanly 2.5 stars in case you were wondering, breaking into a serious sweat about halfway through.

 

 

The stream of visual notes is easy follow and aesthetically pleasing to the eye. The background resembled a carnival setting decked out in the colors and logos of the selected team, which was the LA Lakers during my demo. The music came through really clear and had a fuller sound when accompanied by well-timed ball bounces. The game features 30 licensed tracks, ranging across decades and genres. Below is a list of confirmed tracks.

1. “Amazing” – Kanye West
2. “Another One Bites the Dust” – Queen
3. “Bangarang” – Skrillex
4. “Blue Sky” – Common
5. “Bust A Move” – Young MC
6. “Chillin” – Wale ft. Lady Gaga
7. “C’mon Catch ‘Em By Surprise” – Tiesto vs. Diplo ft. Busta Rhymes
8. “It’s Tricky” – Run DMC
9. “Let It (Edit Remix)” – Machine Drum ft. Melo X
10. “New Fang” – Them Crooked Vultures
11. “Obstacle 1” - Interpol
12. “Party Rock Anthem” – LMFAO
13. “Slam” – Onyx
14. “Stylo” – Gorillaz
15. “Tightrope”  – Janelle Monae

 

 

16. "Access Hollywood" – Consequence

17. "Autobiotics" – Calling All Cars

18. "Canon" – Justice

19. "Championship Fever" – Najee

20. "Disparate Youth" – Santigold

21. "Don't Sweat the Technique" – Eric B. and Rakim

22. "Get Ur Freak On" – Missy Elliott

23. "It's Ok" – Cee-Lo Green

24. "Music Makes Me Feel So Good" – Static Revenger

25. "Night By Night" – Chromeo

26. "O.N.E." – Yeasayer

27. "Roll Up" – Wiz Khalifa

28. "Satellite" – Rise Against

29. "So Good" – B.o.B.

30. "Surf Hell" – Little Barrie

NBA Baller Beats releases September 11, 2012 exclusively on Kinect for Xbox 360.