I must admit, I was quite leery going into this one. Revivals and remakes of classic arcade games seldom go as planned, as and more often than not they flat out fail at capturing the essence of the original. This was especially startling given the fact that NBA Jam features motion controls, which always raises a red flag. The standard Wii controls work surprisingly well. Quite simply, NBA Jam doesn’t place an over emphasis on motion controls. Shooting is performed with a simple raise of the Wii-mote, with a quick flick to release the ball. It’s surprisingly intuitive and quite responsive. Every non-jumping action in the game is kept to a simple button tap. You can even hold your follow-through. Kobe!
The essence of the classic is well maintained, and the new additions don’t even come close to overdoing it. A spin move was added for evasive maneuvers, which has the ability to make the defender think twice before attempting to issue a sluggish shove. It’s quite easy to throw an alley oop – a simple press of the pass button as your teammate rises up usually does the job. More than likely, good alley oop synergy between you and your buddy will be the key to making buckets. While the execution is easy, the timing is more crucial if you’ve got defenders flying from multiple directions. The fade away jumper is also at your disposal if you’re trying to look good in a contract year.
Speaking of shot blocking, the mechanics make famous by the likes of Hakeem Olajuwon and Dikembe Mutumbo are much easier to pull off than they were the original version of NBA Jam. With a simple raise of the Wii-mote, the defender launches into the air with a relative tendency to home in on the shooter. With the right timing, the ball is sent in the other direction. The ability to actually play defense is quite welcome, though scoring tons of points in the most stylish way possible is still the focus here.
Expect there to be three to five characters per team, depending on the results of fan voting. I’m sure we can expect a few other surprises along the way. If Air Dog or Sal Divita show up, the Digital Chumps staff has agreed to eat our respective hats. Regardless, this looks to be a good one. For a good time, call NBA Jam.
