At a time when sports games are known more for their diversity of modes than what it’s like to actually play them, it’s an act of heroism to resurrect the one sports franchise that put fun above all else. Unfortunately, the new “NBA Jam,” out now for Wii and coming to the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 on Nov. 17, has “Boomshakalaka” in its script, but not its soul.
Systems » Wii, PS3, Xbox 360Price » $49.99Rating » 2 out of 5 stars
Most revisionist updates to classic games get the gameplay right but ruin the feeling of the original by making “improvements” in the presentation department. “NBA Jam” does just the opposite, and deserves credit, at least, for looking and sounding pretty much perfect. The original announcer, Tim Kitzrow, is back to shout, “He’s on fire!” The players, composed of headshots appended to animated bodies, look like they were done by the guys behind “South Park’s” version of Saddam Hussein. The game even remembers the kind of things you might have forgotten if they weren’t there, like the ball flashing white when it’s loose.
The game also also lets you toggle cheats on and off instead of entering codes. No more flipping through magazines to figure out how to play as Bill Clinton.
With such an attractive exterior, it’s a surprise to look under the hood and find the engine is shot. For one, the Wii controls are bogus. To jam, one must fling the Wiimote upward to make your player jump, then bring it down at the right time to jam it in. This makes for an effective bicep workout, but not a fun game. I won’t even go into how you do a head fake.
The solution, it would seem, is to play with the Wii’s Classic Controller (or the regular PS3/Xbox 360 controller on those versions), but the turbo button, which fans of the 1993 original know you must hold down practically the entire time, is inexplicably relegated to the shoulder. In much easier reach is the button for the new spin move, which only complicates a formula whose beauty is its simplicity. This is just “the nail in the coffin!”
