Magic Johnson's Fast Break

""Keep it up!""

Introduction:

Magic Johnson's Fast Break. That doesn't sound like a video game if you ask me, but I suppose it was the best the developers could think of back then. If you ask me, Magic Johnson's basketball would be a better title, but then again Fast Break is more original. It doesn't matter, though, because it is still the same game no matter what.

I remember getting this game either as a present or I bought it myself. I remember bringing it home and playing it, only to find out how easy it was. I still had fun with it, though, but only for a little bit because the fun wore off shortly after. Why is that, you ask? Well, there is many problems. I guess you will have to read this review to find out.

Graphics (3.4/10)

I'll give credit where credit is due - this is an early NES game. For that, I suppose the graphics aren't too bad, but they are not very good overall. For one, there is two teams in the game - the blue team and the red team. Problem is, the blue and red colors don't look too swell. It would have been nice to use a variety of colors on the uniforms, but all they are are striped jerseys. The basketball court looks decent because you can at least tell the difference between the players and the basketball hoops. Virtual Magic Johnson himself looks pretty good in the game, with a nice blend of colors. Too bad the other characters didn't have that much detail.

Sound (3.7/10)

I still remember the opening music in this game, but that doesn't mean it is any good. The overall sound isn't too annoying, but there is one exception. When you make a basket, the crowd will go wild and a stupid air horn will blow like crazy. That wouldn't be so bad if it wasn't the same friggin' crowd noise every time! Good God, that gets annoying. As for the rest of the sound, it's pretty much your basic stuff with nothing worth noting here.

Gameplay (3.9/10)

Well, you can basically do three modes in Fast Break. There is a one player mode, two player mode, and finally a four player mode. I always used the one player mode to play against the computer because nobody even remotely liked this game except for me. Oh well, what can ya do about it?

There are only really two teams in the game, if you can even call them that. There is the blue team and the red team. The players don't have names, so if you are into that stuff, you will have to name them yourself. The game itself is only two on two, so it doesn't even resemble a professional NBA game at all.

While playing the game, Magic Johnson's head will appear and give you some kind of ''advice''. An example would be ''Keep it up!''. He also will dish out compliments like he dishes out assists in real life - ''Nice shot!''. I suppose they had to insert him somewhere, otherwise it wouldn't make any sense to name the game after him.

Overall, the lack of stuff to do keeps the gameplay's score down. Remember, I did take into consideration that this is an ancient NES game, too.

Controls (3.6/10)

Jeez, don't you think that it would be kind of hard to screw up the controls? I mean, they aren't THAT bad, but they do become annoying. In fact, the controls are actually quite simple. On offense, one button is used to shoot and the other is used to pass. On defense, one button is used to jump and the other is used to switch players. That's it. I guess they didn't need anything more than that, but oh well. Anyway, what keeps this score down is that sometimes the controls are unresponsive. I mean, sometimes they don't respond at all. Blame it on my crappy NES controller or what you want, but they just didn't fit the bill.

Replay Value (LOW)

There is barely any modes in there to warrant interest enough to keep me playing for more than 30 minutes. Safe to say, I did play this for more than 30 minutes because if I didn't I wouldn't be writing this review. Maybe if more modes were added and more teams were implemented, this would be at least an average game.

Fun Factor (LOW)

Nope, sorry to say, but this game is not much fun. It is way too easy and there is not very many modes to play. Maybe next time. Oh yeah, it doesn't help when you can win 300 to 10 in just about every game if you know the ''trick''.

Challenge (LOW)

There is practically no challenge. Despite the fact that there are about five or six difficulty levels, it is still an easy game. All you need to do to win is steal the ball when your opponent passes it in bounds, then make the piece of cake shot. Rinse, lather, and repeat. That will get you around 300 points a game every time.

Is it worth a buy?

No. Unless you are a big time NES collector and can find this early game for less than a buck, go for it. Otherwise, you needn't even bother looking for Fast Break. I don't think it's that hard to find, anyway.

The Good:

- Memorable music
- Simple controls
- Four player mode

The Bad:

- Not much fun
- Little replay value
- NO challenge
- Bad graphics
- Bad sound
- Bad gameplay

And The Ugly:

- The detailedless players

Overall (3.5/10)

Magic Johnson's Fast Break did what it probably set out to do, and that was to be an early playable basketball game for the NES. With that in case, this isn't too bad, but it is definitely below average. My suggestion is to stay away, unless you are a big fan of Magic or something.

Reviewer's Score: 4/10, Originally Posted: 12/29/00, Updated 12/29/00