PlayStation 1
Released in 1996 by Acclaim
Grade: F
There’s a reason you don’t hear much about this one.
Where it falls in the series
Midway and Acclaim teamed up to put out the first two NBA Jam games on home consoles, and then the two companies parted ways. Acclaim had rights to the NBA Jam name, but Midway knew how to actually make the game. Midway went on to release NBA Hang Time, which is good. Acclaim released this, which is terrible.
Gripes
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Once you’re done sitting through several long loading screens, you can experience the ugly graphics and putrid gameplay this game has to offer.
It’s two on two like the original, but now it’s in 3D, with a shaky tilted camera.
The controls are sometimes delayed, and the ball is sometimes hard to see. Shoves are much harder to line up, and blocks are even tougher.
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On offense, you use the same button to call for a pass and to shove a defender, leaving five buttons unused. Sometimes your teammate simply doesn’t pass when you call for it.
The dunks are far less spectacular than in the originals, and they feel clunkier to control. The classic “on fire” effects are really underwhelming.
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Occasionally the game stops so you can watch your player dance in celebration, which gets old. There are loading screens between quarters, further interrupting the flow of the game.
You remember those little blimps that flew around arenas back in the 90s? This game has one of those, and it occasionally blocks your vision of the action.
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The sound is lame, with the great Marv Albert seeming way out of place and lacking enthusiasm.
Okay, that’s enough. You can jam this one in the trash can.