Limited and dull hoops sim
With a title like 3 Point Basketball, you have a pretty good idea of what to expect even before you've turned your computer on. If you guessed that this was a basketball simulator that recreated the famous three point shooting contest, you'd be right but it's hard to imagine why anyone would play such a tightly focused game when you could be playing a fully fledged title like NBA Jam or NBA Live. There are basically two modes of play on offer here, a practice session where you can get used to the controls and start lining up your shots and a full-on tournament. Here you take on a variety of opponents, all of whom are loosely based on real world players, in a series of head-to-head matches where the goal is simply to get those elusive three pointers. The whole thing is driven by a mouse-based interface, which allows you to determine the angle and power of your shot but to be honest, that's pretty much all there is to say about the game. Perhaps its only real concession to interest is the humorous approach that has been taken, with the players all being affectionate mockeries of legendary player, while the in-game commentary takes a similar approach and aims to jazz things up by being quirky. However, in reality, this gets old pretty quickly and there's only so much amusement to be had from player names like Larry Fowl and if you're still giggling after the first time (or even at the first time), there's something wrong. The controls are decent enough, being fluid and responsive but the bland visuals and lack of compelling gameplay make this one a curiosity only and which is likely to get passed over rather rapidly.
