PlayStation 2
Released in 2000 by Midway
Grade: C-
Midway went off the deep end with this one. Hoopz is a big mess of a game, with cluttered 3-on-3 action, uneven game logic, and gaudy graphics.
Where it falls in the series
It’s one of many in the NBA Jam family, following Midway’s 1999 offering, NBA Showtime: NBA on NBC. Midway switched gears drastically after this, releasing a trio of NBA Ballers games featuring 1-on-1 gameplay.
The NBA Jam license belonged to Acclaim at this point, but they botched their games even worse than Midway, and they called it quits after 2003’s dreadful NBA Jam on PS2 and Xbox. The license was later acquired by EA Sports, who honored the Jam name with a quality game, 2010’s NBA Jam on PS3, Xbox 360, and Wii.
Praises and gripes
This game turns NBA Jam’s classic wide-open action into an ugly mosh pit. Adding a third player to each team makes the court feel smaller than before. Your teammates don’t spread out nearly enough, and passing the ball becomes an unwanted adventure. I was constantly confused about who had the ball and which player I was controlling. The players move somewhat slowly, and yet the action feels overly chaotic.
Despite that, it’s laughably easy to score. Just about any off-balance shot will fall through the net. The dunks are, inexplicably, far less spectacular than those in the old NBA Jam.
On defense, your best option is to shove the opponent to the floor, which is recorded as a foul, complete with an annoying overlay on the screen, despite the fact that the play continues on in an inexplicable twist! If you can rack up four fouls in a quarter, you give up a free throw, which is even more inexplicable. (Sorry to repeat that word, but this stupid game deserves it!)
The graphics are ambitious, with realistic faces on bulked-up physiques, but they’re terribly sloppy. A complete lack of collision detection causes body parts to constantly jut through other player’s bodies. Annoying instant replays and dramatic freeze-frames after the buzzer highlight these blemishes even more. The colors are washed out and the crowd seems to exist on another planet.
All in all, this game goes further away from the charming appeal of its predecessors, without trading it for anything better.