Why is Basketball Arena one of the best performing basketball games on mobile ?
Basketball Arena is a PvP basketball game from Masomo, the makers of Head Ball 2 that adopts basketball to mobile while making it one of the current leaders among basketball games on mobile.
The Core Gameplay
The best part about the game is that it is very easy to pick up and play. The core mechanic has the perfect number of controls to give you the ability to win over your opponent while at the same time making it comfortable to manage on a small mobile screen. There are essentially 5 actions that you can do. You can move in 2 directions, jump, steal/sprint, shoot or use boosters. You can either shoot a 2 pointer or a 3 pointer or even dunk if you time it right. Basketball Arena boils down the essence of the game beautifully in 2 dimensions. When you have the ball, you are focused on not letting it be stolen by shooting or sprinting away from the opponent. When the opponent has the ball, your focus is on anticipating their move and either jump and collect the ball or steal it. It is exhilarating to steal the ball away from the opponent and is one of the highlights of the game.
An easy to understand core loop
The game consists of 4 main elements. First is the PvP styled gameplay explained above. Next is your team, then the boosters and then the event structure. Each of these work in tandem to make the game fun to play.
Team building provides stat and visual improvements
Building your team follows tropes from Clash Royale where you get player cards after winning matches. These are random and are given through loot boxes. Once you have enough cards, you need coins to upgrade them. You unlock players as you progress in the game. However, apart from some basic stats, there are no major differences between these players in terms of mechanics apart from the changing appearance.
Boosters provide the variation in mechanics and add to the fun
The difference in mechanics comes from the boosters or Super Powers. These super powers unlock in a sequence and can be upgraded. They can let you freeze your opponent, turn the ball into a bomb, turn invisible or even become a giant. You can upgrade these powers but you need to buy more if you run out of them. You can take in multiple powers into the game and this number increases with time.
Ample number of reward sources to keep the dopamine hits going
Your team gives you stat improvements to defeat opponents while the boosters add the variation in the gameplay. They require a certain amount of skill and keep the game from being monotonous. The currency needed for all these activities is provided through an ample supply of events and daily rewards along with the periodic League based Leaderboard.
