"Decent enough basketball game"

Double Dribble, before being ported to Game Boy, was one of the premier NES basketball games, made by Konami. As with most early sports games, there was no plot, just "Beat the other team.". Lets' see how it stacks up....

Graphics: 8/10- The graphics themselves aren't that imprssive..the members of the teams are all faceless, and the hoops are small. The players aren't very well animated either. Where this game's graphics shine are in near the basket. When there's a slam dunk, or a blocked shot, you see a cool close-up, frame by frame, of the shot/block. This earns major points in an otherwise bland game, graphically.

Sounds: 6/10- There's a "whiiiiiir" when the ball goes up in the air, and a sound when the ball goes in the basket. The "Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!" of the ball hitting the hardwood gets pretty annoying, but the themes that play when baskets are made is alright.

Control: 8/10- In general the controls are pretty good. You can switch who you control on defense, which is a good thing. One thing I didn't like was the button reversal. Instead of A shooting and B passing, B SHOOTS and A PASSES. It's a reversal from most of the games of today, and it's just not right. Everything responds fluidly though.

Story: N/A/10- Again, no story, it's just "Beat the other team". Not much, but then I suspect that this game was really made for 2-player action.

Challenge: 6/10- Average challenge from a game of this time. There are 3 skill levels so it's somewhat customizable. There's no season mode or anything like that, so there's not much continuing challenge.

Replay Value: 4/10- Not much to do once you've beat the CPU a few times on Skill Level 3. Again, it's mainly intended as a multiplayer game. If you have friends, you may enjoy this a few times.

Overall: 8/10- It was phenomenal for its day, and holds up well as a multiplayer game even today. If you can do without NBA licenses and all that other nonsence like stats, this is a worthwhile NES purchase.

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

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