FreeStyle 2: Street Basketball

FreeStyle 2: Street Basketball Review

Freestyle 2: Street Basketball is a 3D basketball MMO from Joycity, released for English-speaking audiences through GameKiss and also available via Steam. Although the game originally debuted in South Korea in 2011, the NA/EU open beta arrived on June 20, 2014. As a sequel, it is clearly built to carry forward what made the first FreeStyle memorable, fast half-court games, flashy movement, and a focus on roles, while tightening up responsiveness and expanding the player-building side of the experience.

The result is a game that feels more refined than its predecessor. Movement is snappier, menus are easier to navigate, and match flow is cleaner. It also puts more emphasis on timing and decision-making, especially around shot selection, defense, and passing lanes. If you are looking for a simulation-style basketball title, this is not it, but if you want an arcade sports MMO with a competitive edge, FreeStyle 2 still has a distinctive appeal.

Pick a Position

Your first real choice is your position, which acts as your class. FreeStyle 2 offers five: Center (C), Power Forward (PF), Small Forward (SF), Point Guard (PG), and Shooting Guard (SG). Compared to the original game’s more limited roles, the added positions make team composition more interesting and give players more specific identities on the court.

Each position comes with clear strengths and tradeoffs. Bigs are designed to control space and rebounds near the hoop, but they tend to feel heavier when it comes to mobility and quick adjustments. Guards are typically better at speed, passing pressure, and creating shots off movement, but they can struggle when bullied in the paint. For players who want flexibility and a mix of offense and defense, the forward roles are usually the easiest to adapt to across different team styles.

After locking in a position, you choose a character base and then decide how you want that character to lean statistically. Each position has several character options to help you start with a look you like, then you can choose one of three specialties: Balanced, Power Type, and Shrewd. These presets shift your starting stat spread, letting you commit early to a playstyle, for example, trading long-range shooting for stronger inside scoring.

FreeStyle 2 tracks 14 stats overall, so there is plenty of room to shape performance over time. Between leveling, training, and gear choices, you can focus on what matters most to your role, whether that is rebounding, steals, shooting consistency, or movement-related attributes.

Learning the Basics

The early experience does a good job of getting players functional quickly. The tutorial is short, but it covers core actions like shooting, passing, jumping for boards, and defensive plays. It also hands out a random Top and Bottom cosmetic reward for completion, which makes it worth doing even if you already understand the genre.

Once you are through the basics, the mode selection is straightforward. There are three options: Team Match (3v3), Individual (1v1), and Co-op vs AI. The 3v3 queue is the heart of the game and where most players spend their time. Lobbies also let you move around and take practice shots while waiting, which helps fill downtime and gives you space to get comfortable with timing before a match begins.

Core Gameplay

Matches are played on a half-court and are built for speed. Controls revolve around keyboard movement and directional inputs for actions like passing, shooting, blocking, stealing, and dashing. Games run for 5 minutes, and the team with the higher score wins. Possession rules are simple and keep things moving, with play restarting quickly after baskets.

What makes FreeStyle 2 work is that it rewards smart team play without requiring long sessions. Passing at the right moment, setting up a teammate, or simply recognizing when a shot is a bad idea often matters more than trying to force highlight plays. Defense is also more active than it might look at first glance, positioning in front of a shooter reduces conversion chances, and well-timed jumps can lead to blocks. Rebounding becomes its own mini-battle, especially because a missed shot is not automatically a lost possession.

At the same time, there is a noticeable randomness element in outcomes. Covered shots can still fall, and clean attempts can still miss, even with good timing and spacing. That unpredictability can be frustrating in close games, but it also keeps matches from feeling overly deterministic, and it places extra value on consistently creating better opportunities rather than relying on one perfect possession.

Even if you are not usually drawn to sports games, FreeStyle 2 can be surprisingly easy to stick with because it is built around short, repeatable matches and steady rewards. After each game, you earn points and experience. Points act as a general currency for shop purchases, while experience levels you up and grants stat points. You gain one stat point per level, and you can invest it into any of the 14 stats to reinforce your preferred approach.

Match-end rewards also add to the loop. You can receive items like cards, upgrade materials, or bonus points, which makes regular play feel productive even when you are not winning every game.

Item and Skill Stores

Cosmetics are a major part of FreeStyle 2’s identity, and the item shop reflects that. There is a wide range of clothing pieces and accessories, from tops and pants to glasses and hairstyles. One of the nicest touches is that outfits you buy are permanent, which makes collecting looks feel more worthwhile than in games that lean heavily on short-term rentals.

On the competitive side, cosmetic pieces themselves do not automatically turn you into a better player, but the game does offer temporary stat boosts for gear. These upgrades can be purchased with points for 30 or 90 days, and they can noticeably influence performance over time. Some items and cosmetics are locked behind GCash, the premium currency. The problem is that certain GCash options can provide stronger stat bonuses than what you can typically buy with points, creating an advantage that is hard to ignore. It is not an instant win button, and good players can still outplay weaker opponents, but the imbalance is real.

Skills are purchased through the skill shop using points, and they are central to how your character feels. Early on you can equip three skills, then you unlock more skill slots at Levels 12, 16, 24, 28, 40, and 50. If you want to skip ahead, you can also buy three extra slots with GCash at any time.

Some skills function as passive boosts, while others enable new moves or situational actions that change your options on offense and defense. Shot-related skills are a big part of building a scorer, but passing and utility skills matter too, especially in 3v3 where quick ball movement can decide games. The end result is a system that encourages experimenting with builds, even if the store-based progression can feel grindy at times.

Other Features

Beyond matches, FreeStyle 2 includes the expected MMO framework. Crews (the guild system) give players a social home, and stat tracking is detailed enough to appeal to competitive-minded players, with records for wins, points, blocks, ratios, and more available through the character interface.

Cards add another layer of long-term progression. You can buy them using points, slot them into offense, defense, and talent categories, and then upgrade them with materials earned from regular play. It is a simple system, but it gives players additional goals beyond leveling.

One onboarding decision still feels awkward: brand-new players must complete five placement games solo before they can queue with friends. Since matches are only 5 minutes, it is not a huge time sink, but it does put an unnecessary barrier in front of groups who want to start together.

Final Verdict – Great

FreeStyle 2: Street Basketball delivers a smooth, arcade-focused take on online basketball, and it improves on the original in ways that are easy to feel within the first few games. The core loop is quick and satisfying, customization is extensive, and the overall presentation, including the music, does a lot to maintain its street-court personality.

Its biggest weaknesses are the limited mode variety and the presence of cash shop advantages, which can undercut competitive fairness. Still, for players who enjoy short PvP matches and role-based teamwork, FreeStyle 2 remains one of the more distinctive sports MMOs available.

FreeStyle 2: Street Basketball Links

FreeStyle 2: Street Basketball Official Site
FreeStyle 2: Street Basketball Steam Page
FreeStyle 2: Street Basketball Facebook Page
FreeStlye 2: Street Basketball Wikia
FreeStyle 2: Street Basketball Subreddit

FreeStyle 2: Street Basketball System Requirements

Minimum Requirements:

Operating System: XP / Vista / 7 / 8
CPU: Intel Pentium 4 2.8 GHz
Video Card: GeForce 7600 GT / ATI Equivalent
RAM: 1 GB
Hard Disk Space: 3 GB*

Recommended Requirements:

Operating System: XP / Vista / 7 / 8
CPU: Intel Pentium 4 3.4 GHz
Video Card: GeForce 9800 GT / ATI Equivalent
RAM: 2 GB
Hard Disk Space: 3 GB*

FreeStyle 2: Street Basketball Music & Soundtrack

FreeStyle 2: Street Basketball Additional Information

Developer: Joycity
Publisher: GameKiss (Global English release)

Closed Beta: May 14, 2014
Open Beta: June 20, 2014
Steam Release Date: April 1, 2015

Foreign Release:

South Korea: November 1, 2011 (Ntreev)
Vietnam: January, 2013 (VTC Online)
China: January, 2013 (Tiancity)

The GameKiss version of FreeStyle2: Street Basketball is the most globally accessible version.

Development History / Background:

FreeStyle 2: Street Basketball was created by South Korean developer Joycity, which previously operated under the name JCE. As the follow-up to the original FreeStyle, it first launched in South Korea in November 2011. The first game became the country’s most successful sports title, and that momentum contributed to Nexon acquiring a 22.34% stake in Joycity. After establishing itself in Korea, FreeStyle 2 later expanded to an English release through GameKiss on June 20, 2014, and it reached Steam on April 1, 2015.