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Lots of companies tried to cash in on the popularity of college sports, but not everyone was able to truly bring the experience home. Time Warner’s effort featured a recognizable name but not much else, and the game attached to it wasn’t really much fun to play.
Sega’s second attempt at a basketball game was only slightly better than the first, but at least there were signs of improvement. There must have been a slight hiccup with the basketball license though, as Laker coach Pat Riley was swapped out (traded?) for San Antonio legend David “the Admiral” Robinson.
The NBA season is heating up, and while today’s game is a great display of awesome athleticism, nothing compares to the great rivalries of the ’80s and ’90s, when Jordan’s Bulls locked horns with Stockton’s Utah Jazz, and Magic’s Lakers marked the high point of the post season with their battles against Bird’s Celtics. The Genesis is a great place to relive those great games, and EA’s Bulls vs. Blazers and the NBA Playoffs tweaks an already solid formula for some great gameplay.
Time to put on the shoes and BOOM SHAKA-LAKA your way to victory on the court! Wait, this isn’t NBA Jam? Ah, well NBA Hangtime is so close to the Midway classic that you’d be hard pressed to know the difference. The developers (not the same as Jam’s) tried to make their game stand out a bit from such a long shadow, but the effort was mostly hit-and-miss.
Today’s basketball releases incorporate the all-star game and events within their meaty option menus, and gamers have come to expect such treatment with each yearly installment. During the 16-bit era, however, such luxuries were not available, and gamers had to look for other ways to get their all-star groove on. Unfortunately, Flying Edge decided to remedy this and offer up a compilation of events in NBA All-Star Challenge. It sports a three-point shootout, free throw contest, and even a one-on-one competition. Hey, it even has Michael Jordan! So why then, is it so bad?