Backyard Sports: Basketball 2007 [PC]

The Backyard Sports franchise is caught in a downward spiral. Over the last six years we've been covering Backyard Football, Backyard Baseball, Backyard Basketball, Backyard Luge, Roller Derby, Hang Gliding, Horse Betting, or random sport that seems to fit in the seasonal slot ad nauseum. Perhaps our hyperbole is a bit over the top, but when you consider that the Backyard Sports have been around since around the dawn of the PS2 you'd think the titles would make at least some sort of progression. Instead, the franchise continues to sail in the seas of mediocrity, making a sweet buck off parent sales or in-action photos of sports stars gracing the cover of the game. We won't deny the marketing strategy, but we can't endorse Backyard Basketball 2007 either. There's just nothing here worth paying for.

So where's the hook in the franchise that keeps these games coming? The answer is the official licensing, specifically the NBA in Backyard Basketball. The game is endorsed with the NBA license, and has the overall nature of a full-fledged sports title. Players can hit the court with any of the official NBA teams (or nearly 20 "backyard" teams), tweak jerseys, pick from a ton of pros, and instantly get into three-on-three b-ball competition. Where the license ends, however, the mediocrity begins, as Backyard Basketball 2007 retains the same overused gameplay, season mode, and options as not only other Backyard games, but also other basketball titles since the dawn of time. The basic premise of Backyard Basketball 2007 is as all the others have been before it; select a stadium, team, players, and get into instant arcade action fit for the younger crowd. And while the game totes an interesting ability to launch a random quick game from the title screen (pressing start instantly picks random players, teams, and locales, getting younger gamers instantly into the action), the overall presentation, graphic design, audio, and gameplay all suffer from the get-go. The game begins with a low-res compressed intro from Paul Pierce of the Celtics, but the video quality and audio is extremely low rate. From there, the game is made up of a simple blocky interface, a short list of options, one main mini-game, and a couple different modes (quick play and season being the main focus).

Once in the game, players run with four quarters of arcade b-ball comparable to NBA Jam or NBA Street, controlling the tiny ballers with the analog stick while using basic pass/switch and shoot/jump buttons for offense and defense respectively. Throw in the ability to call for a pick, kick into turbo, or do a spin move and you've got the gist of the game. To add to the more kid-friendly style of the game, the ability to pull off power-up moves will be awarded once every few buckets, so players will go into classic "on fire" mode, put butter on the ball to cause opponents to have poor handling, or activate anti-gravity shoes to jump to insane heights.

And while the overall design sounds fine on paper, the execution just isn't there. The game suffers from very clunky controls; very little fluidity in moving, shooting, and rebounding; and overall poor physics with the ball. Obviously the game is made for a younger crowd, but that isn't an excuse for poor execution. It's still playable, but it isn't the most entertaining, intuitive, or rewarding experience out there - especially not for $30 on PS2/Cube and $20 on PC.

As for adding any kind of lasting appeal to the game, Backyard Basketball 2007 doesn't go above and beyond any of the previous games in the franchise in any way, shape or form. Certain players on the roster are locked until the game progresses; there's a basic HORSE mini-game and practice mode and the ability to play two-player games. Aside from that, Backyard Basketball 2007 might as well be a new box with an old game, as there's not a whole lot here that sets it apart from the countless other Backyard Sports titles.

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