NBA Jam
Reviewed by Dyson Turner
NBA Jam in my opinion was a truly innovative game. It
started all the games like we have today, like NFL Blitz and
Wrestlemania Arcade game. This was the first of its kind and
the best in my opinion. Some would argue that this is just a
beefed up Arch Rivals, and nothing more than that. This is
similar to Arch Rivals but this takes it one step further.
Upon first inspection, I didn't like the idea because I'm
more of a simulation basket ball game fan. I wasn't real
into this when I first played it in the arcades but soon
enough the game became more fun, and I really enjoyed it
more. When I played the home version, I liked it too, though
it wasn't as polished as the arcade version. It had the same
feel and it gave you the same atmosphere that the arcade
did. The character size was massive and every thing moved at
an alarmingly good speed. The dunks were high flying and
spectacular, and this was all polished off with color
commentary from a zany announcer. This has got to be on of
the most fun basketball sims to date, and you will truly enjoy it.
Graphics 9.5/10
Highly impressive for the time this hit the market,
everything and everybody was huge. Even though the court
stayed the same throughout the entire game, with the
acceptation of the different colors at time in the pain. For
the most part the audience and bench riders looked the same.
The team colors were all wrong for some teams, and some
teams even had the same colors like the Phoenix Suns, and
Los Angeles Lakers. There were two types of players, a short
one and a tall one. Then there were a total of about 5
faces, and most players shared the same one. So the faces
weren't realistic and could have been anybody. The dunks for
the most part were spectacular and every player can slam
well the guys who couldn't slam in real life, like John
Stockton could do the basic dunks. The other guys who
slammed every time they entered the paint did the
spectacular slams. Like Helicopter slam, Statue of Liberty
Slam and plenty of other high flying and unbelievable dunks.
The audience did look faded at times, and could have been
better like its Arcade and SNES counterparts. For the most
part the graphics did well, and was some of the best
Basketball game graphics on the market of Genesis.
Sound 8.0/10
The music that played throughout the game was pretty good.
It never got tiresome, even though music in a basketball
game, or any sports game doesn't sound right. Although in
this game the music was low but it was memorable, and it was
type you would hum after you played the game. The sound
effects were pretty good as well, like the dribbling sound
realistic, unlike over games where the basketball was just a
monotonous sound, it actually reacted to every time the ball
touched the floor. The swish of the net and the roar of the
crowd sounded as realistic as possible. There was even a
separate sound when you were on fire and the net getting
singed. The announcer voice though annoying and repitive at
times, but was good overall. He said some funny and
memorable phrases like "He's on Fire" "Is it the Shoes"
and "Ohh My!" Plus many more, than those, he made the game
more fun to play and added to the music and bland sound
effects. The music was good as a whole in the department
even though the sounds tended to drown it out. The sound and
effects really played well with the graphics in the game.
Making this one of those rare Genesis games, that is both
good for the eyes and ears.
Game Play 10/10
This game was for 1 to 4 players, using a 4-way play. You
had all 27 NBA teams that were around at the time, and the
rosters were a little out of date, and they were about the
same that they were in the arcades, without any changes.
This as a huge mistake because you miss out on a lot of
great rookies that came out the year this was created.
Although you get some all time greats like Thomas and
Lambier representing the Detroit Pistons, it still doesn't
make up for some of the other greats like Shaq Diesel and
MJ. The games were 2 on 2 and you had to play all 27 NBA
teams to be consider the champion. The quarters were always
3:00 minutes long, but you can set the clock option to make
the clock run slower. This would make the games more of a
challenge if you did and result in higher points. You
basically had no rules, besides the obvious Goal Tending
other than that you could do what you please. Throw elbows
push peoples away from the shot and does whatever else comes
to mind. When you nailed 3 shots in a row you were on fire.
This would result in an almost perfect shot and the ball
glowing every time the on fire player touched it. When you
hear the announcer say, "He's heating Up" Either feed this
guy the ball on offense or tries to push and hack him as
much as you can on Defense. The game difficulty was
adjustable and you had save games for your season.
Overall 9.0/10
I really enjoy this game and feel it is one of the best on
the market when it cam out. Not only are the graphics great,
and the sound and the controls are a sweat as well. The
players respond well to your precise movement and button
presses. The Fun factor is mega high, although it will seem
a little tedious after playing it a while alone, wit ha
friend this game can go back and forth for hours on end.
There are a lot of real NBA teams to pick from and they all
have their own individual stats for each player. You could
do some of the greatest 2 on 2 matches like Starks & Ewing
Vs Malone & Stockton. This game is also jammed pack with
secret options and hidden players so it is worth quite a few
plays through to find out every thing. The replay value is
high because of the hidden players, and it is worth to play
through to the end and get the NBA Championship. This game
is one of the betters on the markets and I highly suggest
you to pick this one up if you didn't.
OR
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