NBA Give 'N Go

"Frenetic hoops action"

NBA Give N' Go is a home translation of Konami's popular basketball arcade game, Run & Gun, which came out in 1993. NBA Jam came out right at the same time and stole some of its thunder, largely due to jam's famous secrets and NBA license. Konami was able to secure an NBA license for the Super NES translation, however, and they brought the game home in '95. Around the same time, they also brought out Run and Gun 2 in the arcades, but that one sadly never made it home. At least we have this gem to remind us of a day when sports games made by Konami didn't suck. NBA In the Zone 2000, I'm looking at you...

Graphics: 6/10
The game's perspective is unique, the only other b-ball game I've played that looks similar is Dick Vitale's College Hoops for Genesis, which I believe also may have been made by Konami. Anyway, the camera angle is set up behind the action, and you follow the characters in a pseudo-3D perspective as you move up the court. The main thing you'll notice if you've played it's arcade cousins is how small the characters look in the SNES game. They look much blurrier, too. Still, the game blows a lot of SNES sports fare out of the water, so I don't want to rag on its graphics too much.

Gameplay: 8/10
You'll be pulling off behind-the-back passes and other spectacular plays with ease within 20 minutes of picking this game up. The controls are incredibly responsive, aside from the fact your passes may end up in a different player's hands than the guy you intended. It usually doesn't lead to steals, but occasionally you'll be trying to pull off an alley-oop and for some reason your guy throws it out to someone beyond the 3 pt line. Multiplayer is where the game really shines, just like with NBA Jam. Get a friend to go at you with his favorite team and throw down!

Replay Value: 5/10
I suppose the game is fun to play on your own, but you'll probably keep it tucked away until you have a buddy over. If you beat the single player mode once, there isn't much to keep you coming back.

Sound: 2/10
This has some of the worst sound effects in any sports game I've played. The constant squeaking of the players shoes annoys me so bad that I literally have to play this game on mute. If you can withstand that crap, you're a bigger man than me.

Overall: 6/10
This game is pretty fun, but NBA Jam T.E. or Hangtime would definitely be better options for arcade hoops on your SNES. If you really want to see what Konami set out to do with this franchise, go track down a Run&Gun 2 cabinet.

Reviewer's Score: 6/10, Originally Posted: 08/06/07