NBA Jam Tournament Edition

"Better than the first, and fun"

NBA Jam was a hit in the arcades, and again on the home consoles. Naturally, a sequel had to be created, and here it is: NBA Jam Tournament Edition. This game has near identical gameplay to the first: it's a two-on-two basketball game with a distinct arcade feel; players can dunk from half court, catch fire and recieve turbo boosts. The game included all the NBA teams at the time, and several players from each one that could be substituted during the game. As usual, Michael Jordan is not present in the game. Another big part of NBA Jam TE (even more so than the first game) is in the vast amount of codes there are available, from unlimited turbo and dunks from anywhere on the court, to dozens of hidden characters. An extra addition to this game is the practice mode, during which you are on an empty court with a basketball and you can practice anything you want. This is a game for one or two players.

Graphics: 8/10

Fair sized sprites and colorful. Some of the moves and variety of dunks look nice.

Sound: 7/10

The announcer says snippets such as "No good!" and "He's on fire!" This can get irritating after a while. The other effects are impressive.

Gameplay: 9/10

This game is very fun to play, if very unrealistic. You should be warned: this game is not for those who like their basketball games serious. For everybody else, though, it's a blast. The control is pretty good, with players being able to shoot, dunk, block, pass and steal. Turbo boosts are available for short amonuts of time and enable a player to move faster and increases his range. The variety of NBA players is adequate, each with their own attributes that effect gameplay. For example, Muggsy Bogues (a 5'3" guard) will not dunk as easily as will Shaq, and Shaq in turn will not hit three pointers like Tim Hardaway. The practice mode is very fun for a while because two players can be on the court at the same time and have shooting contests.

Replay: 9/10

The game is fun to play again. Playing a friend never gets boring, and even against the computer is entertaining for a while because of the assortment of moves you can pull off.

Overall: 8/10

A better game than NBA Jam; if you're looking for a SNES basketball game, this is the one to get. It can be found cheap now, so unless you don't like sports, there's nothing stopping you.

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 11/01/99, Updated 11/01/99