"Ugh....must.....not....destroy...."

On handheld systems, you don’t have too much of a choice for a basketball game. If you want a good one, your choices are virtually non-existent. Due to the GameBoy’s small screen, fitting in a basketball game without confusion is almost impossible. Five on five action gets too crowded on the screen. So, the makers of NBA Jam instead opted for a two on two format. Unfortunately, this does not work out either.

Acclaim released NBA Jam on the Super Nintendo Entertainment System, and it was an instant success. High flying dunks, fast paced action, and no fouls was extremely cool and fun to play. Acclaim then tried to bring the action to GameBoy, hoping to obtain the same kind of success. However, the game refused to work on GameBoy. It pales in comparison to the SNES game, and some of the newer, slightly better basketball games, like Kobe Bryant’s 3 on 3. However, this game can give you some fun, but it has little staying power.

Graphics: 4.5/10
The lack of variety in graphics is understandable. The hard to see features in the game are not forgivable. The players look okay, compared to some other old GB games, but the basketball can be pretty tough to see, especially if you’re playing this on an old Game Boy. In addition, there is only one court, which can be repetitive to see, but that doesn’t really matter. Some good points are that there is good detail overall, although the crowd in only made up of shadows. Another is that the bench is shown, and the score and time remaining in the game is always visible, and the bench is present. Players are visible on the bench and shadowy people exist in the crowd, although there is no animation. The slam-dunks are not overly impressive, but some of them look cool, especially when you’re “on fire.” So, the graphics are a mixed bag, and lack good visibility, but have some detail in the backgrounds.

Play Control: 7.5/10
The controls in this game are simple, and customizable, which is excellent. The default controls put shooting as B, passing as A, and turbo as start. Using the start button as a turbo is awkward, so I like to customize the buttons and put them as shooting as A, passing as start, and turbo as B, which makes the controls much more intuitive. Otherwise, control is fine, with jumping being good, and movement around the court solid. Nothing spectacular or innovative with controls, but they work for this kind of game.

Sound/Music: 1.5/10
The sounds are so simple that it’s pathetic. There is the annoying dribbling sound, which repeats over and over. Sometimes, it even makes the sound when the ball isn’t even hitting the court. There is no sound for players moving across the court, and there is one sound each for shooting, passing, and blocking. Only exception is when you are “on fire” when the ball makes even more weird noises. Add this to the fact that there is only one song in the game, and you end up with a game where the sound will go all the way down. The one song is repetitive in itself, and keeps repeating until your eardrums say “I’ve had enough.” Turn down the sound before you drive yourself crazy.

Gamplay: 3.0/10
This is a basketball game that lacks a lot of features. But I’ll start off with a few good notes. Acclaim made the right choice with a two on two basketball game, because the players do not hog the screen. Also, players move fast, especially when using the turbo button, which helps move the game along. There are also 27 teams to choose from, although now the players are outdated, and it seems to make little difference which team you choose.

Unfortunately, variety does not exist in this game. Every game you play is strikingly similar and this gets very boring quickly. You can enter your initials for record keeping, which is a plus, for those who are stat freaks (like me…) Unfortunately, statistics are extremely limited in this game, as you only see a few at half time and at the end of the game, and these aren’t very impressive statistics. They don’t save statistics over a whole season, which is a shame because I simply love to check them out.

Modes included in this game are exhibition and season. In exhibition, you simply play a game against an opposing team. Meanwhile in season mode (which you can reach by entering your initials for record keeping), you attempt to defeat all of the NBA teams in the game. Neither of these modes are very fun to play at all. First, they lack variety because with only two players, there is bound to be a lack of activity in the game. Because of this, your interest level in NBA Jam will decline quickly. One of the attractive things of this game is that it’s a pure arcade like game, with few rules, and outstanding dunks. Unfortunately, there are not that many dunks in this game, and the best ones must be executed while you are “on fire.” Oh, by the way, to reach “on fire” mode, you must complete 3 consecutive shots, without your opponent scoring. It lasts until your opponent scores a basket on you. Basically, it gives you unlimited turbo, so you can always move faster, and it makes your shooting far more accurate. You can usually sink three point shots with ease, but you’ll probably want to witness one of the sweet dunks (my favorite is the somersault dunk!)

Anyway, however, once you get used to the cool dunks, you’ll find that this game offers little substance. It can be good for a quick diversion, but if you want a game that you seriously want, to play for a while, this is not it. Since the games are actually very similar, repetition becomes a factor in this game, which is always bad. Lack of statistics, different modes, and fun games hurt NBA Jam especially because it was such a solid game on the SNES.

Replay Value: Low
Due to the lack of modes, lack of variety, and basically, lack of fun overall, the replay value is understandably low in this game. It’s one pretty boring basketball game to play, and if you intend to pick it up again, you won’t find anything new. This is straight up basketball, nothing new, innovative, or neat. It’s one tedious game to play.

Challenge: Varies
You can pick your difficulty level on the option screen, which varies from a 1 which is pretty easy to beat the computer, to a 5, which is far more difficult. Therefore, NBA Jam has a varying challenge, depending on which setting you pick.

Good Points:
Pretty good detail in graphics.
Nice slam dunks.
Very good play control.

Bad Points:
Music/Sound is ridiculously pathetic.
Repetition is not cool.
A pretty boring game to play overall.

Overall: 3.4/10
I do not recommend getting this game, because quite simply, it isn’t fun. Unlike the Super NES NBA Jam, the GameBoy version is not fun, and because the dunks aren’t as spectacular, it loses a lot of its value. If you want a handheld basketball game, be patient, because the Game Boy Advance, with its bigger screen and better graphics, has the potential to have excellent basketball games, so my advice is to wait. Or just play NBA Live 2001 on your PS2…if you have one…

Rounded to fit GameFaqs Score: 3/10

Reviewer's Score: 3/10, Originally Posted: 04/02/01, Updated 04/02/01