NBA Jam Tournament Edition

"Monster Jam! He's on fire!!!"

Mindless fun. This is NOT a game for people who like to see realism in their basketball games. Rather, this is a game for those who love performing impossible dunks) and ignoring many rules of the NBA. NBA Jam: TE (Tournament Edition) is clearly a fun game for many players of all ages.

Graphics: 6/10
NBA Jam: TE is very bland with graphics. Besides the occasional skin color change (dependent on the basketball players you are controlling), there is not very many graphics to be in awe about. The audience is monotone, and not many details can be noted about the uniforms the players wear. However, the player faces in the team selection screen however are very impressive, since they're very nice pictures of the actual basketball players. There's also the animation for the slam dunks, which are quite appealing actually. With the addition of Fire mode, even the shortest players can slam dunk (Muggsy Bogues).

Music/Sound: 5/10
NBA Jam: TE has little music to speak of. Well, except for the title screen and team selection screen, there are very little music to hear. The games don't have music at all, which is a disappointment IMHO. The sound effects are numerous in this game, ranging from the swish, squeaky shoes, to the dribble of the basketball and the slam dunk. A major contraction is that ANNOYING, REPETITIVE announcer. I'd suggest you turn down the volume or listen to something else while playing this. NBA Jam: TE is very lacking in this department.

Difficulty: 10/10
Controls are VERY simple. You also can customize them to your liking if you want, even to the exact buttons. This is simply a pick-up and play game. The difficulty of this game is very balanced, ranging from the Very Easy Difficulty (the AI wanders around the court, providing a little problem for the beginner, but enough of a challenge for them) to the insanly difficult Very Hard Difficulty. If Very Hard still appears easy to you, try defeating the Houston Rockets with the Philadelphia 76ers and tell me if it's easy then.

Storyline: 10/10
This is a mindless basketball game. An arcade basketball game if you may. Your only objective is to bring your team of 3 players from the bottom of the NBA rank to the top and become NBA champions.

Replay Value: 10/10
NBA Jam: TE truly shines in this category. With multiple playable teams (and a few secret ones), secret characters to play as, varying difficulty levels, this game is full of little secrets that make replaying the game even more enjoyable. Brought the Charlotte Hornets to the top? Try bringing the Los Angeles Clippers to the top. Got a friend? Play against or with your friend. Got a Multi-Tap? Get three friends and play a 2v2 game in NBA Jam: TE. This game even has a battery save function where it saves and records your win-loss after every game (provided you don't reset the game in anger). And of course there are also the impressive slam dunks that exist in this game and the extra add-ons, like Hot Spots and Powerups.

Reviewer's Comments: NBA Jam: TE does not disappoint with its secrets and gameplay. In short, beginners can get the hang of the game very quickly, while experts can get into the game easily and challenge the AI to a couple difficult games. The limited players on a team might turn off some players, but 2v2 basketball is still fun nonetheless. You won't make a bad decision buying this game for your SNES.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 03/06/02, Updated 03/06/02