National Basketball Association

Review round-up: 'NBA Jam'

Published Oct. 16, 2010 10:04 p.m. ET

foxsports

Resurrecting the classic 1990s arcade coin-guzzler, NBA Jam on Wii -- and soon on Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 -- presents players with the opportunity to dribble, dunk and super-slam their way past basketball's current stars and legends in a series of crazy short court match-ups.

Character selection has been entirely updated with star athletes from NBA's Eastern and Western Conferences -- Derrick Rose, LeBron James, Kobe Bryant and Steve Nash are all present -- along with select team legends and mascots.

That's not to forget about the secret characters: at last we'll know who's best out of Barack Obama and George W. Bush.

The NBA Legends turn up to oppose the player during a Remix Tour, while modern frippery such as power-ups and boss battles are left out of the classic mode.

While the Wii version's multiplayer is local play only (no online match-ups), the upcoming PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 equivalents started out focused on the online game and only recently have had the Wii's other offline modes crammed into them.

EA Sports NBA Jam (Wii)
Wii release: Europe, October 22.
360 & PS3 release: Expected November 18 or thereabouts.
Age rating: Everyone / 3+
Price: $50 / (EURO)50 on Wii. 360/PS3 price to be confirmed.

IGN - 8.5/10
"Its pick-up-and-play structure takes the basics of basketball and turns it into something insanely competitive." "As timeless as the NBA Jam arcade game is, it's really meant as a quick experience for ten minutes at a shot." "Backboard Smash is probably the best addition in any version of NBA Jam."

Joystiq - 4 out of 5
"Despite the weaknesses of its new modes, NBA Jam iterates on everything that made the original so great." "Score three baskets in a row and you're on fire, giving you a boost to your accuracy and dunkability."

Gameblog.fr (French) - 4 out of 5
"The Remix Tour is like Mario Kart applied to basketball." "Though not technically amazing, it has the same spirit as the 16-bit original."

Examiner - 4 out of 5
"Pushing and shoving is allowed, ridiculously long range three point shots are the norm, and players will periodically leap all the way across the court for a gravity defying slam dunk." "The real joy of playing NBA Jam is being able to play with and against other friends."

Destructoid - 7.5/10
" NBA Jam will take you back to wherever it was when you experienced the thrill of 'Boom-Shaka-Laka!'" "I couldn't imagine a session with the game spanning more than an hour, tops."