He’s on fire! Boomshakalake! From downtown! The 1990s classic that spawned more catchphrases than any other is finally here – is NBA Jam a slam dunk for iPhone users?
It’s tough to imagine these days, but back in the 1990s Channel 4 was renowned for its sport coverage, or more specifically, the public’s clamour for televised NBA basketball and Italian football.
Not only did the NBA have live televised matches at least twice a week, the channel had a weekly lifestyle show and tie-in magazine. In the world of videogames too, the sport couldn’t have been bigger, with hits such as Kobe Bryant’s NBA Courtside for the Nintendo 64 and NBA Give ‘n Go on the SNES dominating a decade in which Michael Jordan’s Chicago Bulls were king, aside from those two years of Houston Rockets dominance of course.
There was no bigger sports game in the mid-90s however, than the now-defunct Midway’s NBA Jam. With fast-flowing 2-on-2 arcade action, tons of unlockable characters (from Mortal Kombat characters to former US presidents) and timeless catchphrases (“he’s on fire!”), it didn’t matter how big of a b-ball fan you were, who didn’t love flame dunks and Big Head mode?
After a long absence and multiple botched efforts to revitalise the franchise, EA’s reboot of the series, first released to all major formats last Autumn, has now hit the App Store.
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First things first – NBA Jam is a tremendous dose of nostalgia. The commentary is as insane as ever, the Beastie Boys are playable and the dunks are completely ridiculous. What’s more, the presentation is solid throughout, with fantastic graphics and excellent touches such as having the home team’s respective mascot cheering from the sidelines.
Considering the series’ arcade beginnings, it’s a surprise to see how well EA have implemented gesture control. Whether attacking or defending, players have multi-directional movement and three buttons at their disposal at all times – run, pass/shove and shoot/block, all of which can be trasitioned from full-speed runs. Within minutes of a stickman demonstration, you’ll overcome any potential hurdles.
Another big boost for NBA Jam is the inclusion of a ‘Jam Store’, which offers downloadable content, ranging from comical modes to Eastern and Western conference legends. If you want the full retro treatment we recommend the ‘Big Man Package’, which at €2.39 unlocks all nine DLC packages – nothing beats a Scottie Pippen & Dennis Rodman bout against Karl Malone & John Stockton. Sadly, there’s no sign of Michael Jordan – we blame His Airness’ sky-high licensing costs.
So the question you must be asking is whether or not NBA Jam is the best sports title for your iDevice? Sadly, it very nearly is, aside from the incredibly galling absence of one feature – multiplayer. That’s right, there are no Bluetooth or online matchups and no compatibility with Game Center for the one game in the App Store that is absolutely crying out for it.
With a deep single player campaign, abundance of features and a pleasing dose of nostalgia for players of a certain age, multiplayer or not, NBA Jam is still an essential purchase. Let’s hope, however, that a future update can fully take everyone’s favourite sports title of the 1990s into the 21st century.
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