“Pimp My NBA Jam”
Sega Genesis
Released in 1995 by Acclaim and Midway
Grade: A
This classic game doesn’t mess with the greatness of the original NBA Jam, effectively adding a few bells and whistles.
Where it falls in the series
It’s the second of many, many games with the NBA Jam name and/or NBA Jam-inspired gameplay. People seem to agree that it was all downhill after this, but I urge you not to skip over the 2010 NBA Jam on PS3. People also sometimes say that the SNES versions are superior to those on Genesis, but I strongly disagree. The Genesis graphics aren’t quite as sharp, but its control is perfect and it’s got snazzy music in the background during gameplay.
Praises
The gameplay is almost exactly the same as the original, and that’s not a bad thing. Other than some new dunk animations, I honestly can’t identify a single change to the gameplay.
Your two-man squad zips around the court (but you only control one of them), soaring in the air for sweet dunks and shoving ballhandlers like maniacs. Contests are distinctly exciting and fun, despite simple, straightforward strategies.
The bells and whistles include the option to play with any pair of three players, and you can make substitutions between quarters. The paint on the court now matches the colors of the home team. (You know the differences are minor when I’m mentioning paint.)
You can now choose to play with “hot spots” and “power-ups.” You can score anywhere from 4 to 9 points on a single shot by shooting from the hot spots, which appear and disappear pretty quickly. Power-ups also pop up on the court, which temporarily improve your attributes, and there’s one that triggers a mini earthquake that knocks everyone over except for the guy who activates it. These are cute, good for goofing up the game if you’ve played it forever with the default settings.
There are five difficulty levels, and the CPU puts up a decent fight on the highest setting.
That’s really it. I have a nostalgia-induced preference for the original, but if you’re in a store looking at both versions, you may as well pick up Tournament Edition for the added depth.