NBA Jam

My formative years as a gamer in school can be traced to one single game: NBA Jam. I would come home, throw my books on my bed and immediately pop my copy of NBA Jam into my Mega Drive with a huge smile on my face. It was even better when a couple of friends came over to join me in guiding the stars on the NBA ’93 – ’94 season in their dunking antics. With that sort of nostalgia I was overjoyed to hear that EA would be resurrecting NBA Jam for a whole new generation of gamers.

At its core the classic NBA Jam game is basically 2 on 2 basketball that sees you controlling one character and performing an array of out of this world dunks, layups and three-pointers in a bid to outscore your opponents. What made it so appealing was the ease in which pretty much anyone could jump in and play, even those with little knowledge of the sport of basketball. Add to that dunks that saw your players flying higher than Superman and commentary that consisted of nothing but colourful quips, and it wasn't hard to see why NBA Jam was a smash hit all those years ago.

Thankfully, the new NBA Jam sticks closely to that same winning formula, only adding in a few changes here and there, such as additional games modes and updated rosters. As a single-player experience you’ll get to choose a team and take them through Classic or Remix tours that sees you battle your way through several teams from the same conference. After working your way through a conference you’ll face off against a Legends team which consists of some of the greatest basketball players of all time.

The Remix tour is an attempt to add some variety to the Classic mode by throwing in power ups and jazzing up the gameplay types with Domination, games of 21 and Backboard Battles alongside the usual 2 on 2 games. The structure and style of play is very similar throughout, however, and at the end of the day I found the Classic mode to be the more fulfilling mode, mainly due to that fact that it rewards skill better, whereas the Remix modes were more a luck of the draw due to the random nature of match ups or power ups.

Speaking of luck, that’s one thing that might frustrate you when playing NBA Jam. Seeing that it’s an arcade representation of basketball there are no personal or team fouls and pretty much anything goes. This means that you’re free to shove and elbow opponents to get possession of the ball or clear out some space to make a shot, with the side affect being that the AI is prone to shoving your players like crazy the closer it gets to the end of the game. It can become extremely frustrating when you need to make a last second buzzer beater only to continuously have the AI shoving your player onto his backside. There’s also lots of rubber banding present that sees your opponents transform from no-hopers in the first half, to lethal shoving and shooting machines in the second half. It can become a bit of a mission when playing against the better players but it’s not too overbearing to make the games impossible to win.

Another change in this version of NBA Jam is that you can rely solely on the analogue sticks for all moves, with the right stick making use of numerous flicks and pulls to pull off shots, crossovers and spins. It’s definitely a steep learning curve compared to the more simple and intuitive controls found in other franchises, such as NBA 2K11 for instance, with shots requiring you to pull the stick not only up, but down as well. It’s only a slight change from other basketball games but it means you’ll be constantly forgetting to pull down on the stick to complete shots while you're still getting to grips with the system. I found it far easier to resort to the face buttons which mimics the simple control scheme of the original game and is far easier to pick up for just about any gamer.

Now we get to the real selling point of NBA Jam: the multiplayer. This is the game that kick started the arcade sports genre and made playing with your friends the social event it has become today. Getting four like minded friends in the same room and loading up NBA Jam is a rock solid guarantee of fun. The arcade nature of the game means that you’ll be dunking on your friends and trash talking from sunrise to sunset. There is no sweeter feeling that launching into a mammoth dunk and smashing your friends’ backboard while Tim Kritznow shouts “BOOM SHAKA LAKA!” The immediate nature of the game also means that your friends don’t need to be basketball aficionados to get involved, meaning it’s possible for anyone to win, so there shouldn't be any concerns that more experienced players will steamroll over newcomers either. The quick nature of the games also means you’ll be able to fit in plenty of games during a gaming session and no one will feel left out since you can jump in and out whenever you want.

While the Wii version of the game has everything that the Xbox 360 version has, the one stand out difference is that Xbox owners can play online in ranked matches or just team up to shoot some hoops. There’s very little to no lag which is great in an arcade game such as this that relies on quick reaction times. Unfortunately the online multiplayer, while fun, does not compare to playing with friends in the same room. There’s very little joking and sense of camaraderie to be had with total strangers so while the online option is there, it will likely take a backseat to playing local games as far as I'm concerned.

As is the norm with remakes these days, the graphics have been given the high definition treatment, with the result being that NBA Jam delivers crisp textures and sprites throughout. Everything moves at a smooth rate and the animations are well done. Of course, the players are still exaggerated - with player's heads taking on a 2D look while the rest of the body takes on a 3D look - and you can make things even more wacky with the ability to unlock visual filters such as the retro or famous Big Head Mode from the original game.

As mentioned earlier, the game’s commentary comes courtesy of Tim Kritznow, who as NBA Jam veterans will know is the original game’s commentator. He’s still as wonderfully over the top as he ever was and the lines he's been given are still laugh out loud funny with some classic quotes to accompany your dunking antics. Other than that there’s only a few repetitive tunes that play during the games but they’re not too distracting and you’ll more than likely not even notice them while you play.

NBA Jam is fun distilled to its purest form. Whether or not that makes it a great game is up for debate. If you enjoy getting together with some friends for games of FIFA, Madden and NHL then you’ll be in heaven with NBA Jam. There is no sports game that is better suited to trash talking and joshing with friends, and even offers up some fun for the non-sports fans out there. On the other hand, if you’re a sports gamer that enjoys putting hundreds of hours into career and campaign modes then there’s very little here in the way of longevity. Overall, EA has delivered a great monument to the original game, reigniting our passion for arcade hoops. BOOM SHAKA LAKA!

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