NBA Jam

NBA Jam is a delightful return to a classic game, and a bizarrely perfect fit on the Nintendo Wii.

It heralds a bold new era in arcade-style sports games.

If you're at all interested in sports, have a Wii and have mates over for multiplayer sessions (which is where NBA Jam truly shines) you just have to get this. Highly recommended - bring on Cricket Jam or Rugby League Jam!

EA's NBA Jam revival is not only a ridiculously good time, but it's among the best arcade sports games on any platform this generation.

If it weren't for a lack of online play, NBA Jam would be virtually perfect. Even so, Jam is our favorite sports title of the year.

For all its sizzle, NBA Jam also offers a surprising amount of substance. [Nov 2010, p.84]

It's an incredibly fun pick-up-and-play game with an insane competitive edge, and obviously it's a better multiplayer game than it is a solo outing.

An enjoyable reboot of an historical brand. Fun, intuitive and one the most recognizable commentary in videogmae history. It's a Boomshakalaka time!

NBA Jam's only major flaw is the lack of online multiplayer. This game was made for competition, and not everyone has three other people to play with in their house.

While the game is solid, it does feel weird to be "on fire" and hear BOOM-SHAKALAKA without thinking about the original NBA Jam. Younger audiences are sure enjoy it to the bone but to old timers, this new version of JAM feels more like a friendly hug rather than the first kiss from back in the day.

Yes, it's simple, and a classic example of style over substance, but NBA Jam is also a huge amount of fun, and a great example of a developer actually realising what made a franchise so popular in the first place and building it into something far greater. [Christmas 2010, p.118]

Even though the original NBA Jam is 17 years old, and the formula hasn't changed much since then, EA's latest revival seems surprisingly fresh and has an irresistible playability. The controls are simple enough that you'll know them by heart within minutes, the graphics are fun, and the commentator has so many one-liners that you can't help but get a smile on your face. Boomshakalaka!

NBA Jam is a great return of the classic franchise, packed with hours of fun. Even though it lacks online, the pure awesomeness wins in the end and playing with big headed players never gets old regardless.

Swear EA at will, but, if you're a fan of sports games, you must play NBA Jam, one of the possible competitors for sports game of the year.

NBA Jam has always been a game that lives and dies by its core gameplay and your desire to play that game at length, and that part hasn't changed in 2010.

NBA Jam is a very faithful revival of a long-lost favorite.

NBA Jam for the Wii is exactly what you would want NBA Jam for the Wii to be just missing online play. The NBA Jam experience is alive and well on the Nintendo Wii and for those who may have never played a game of NBA Jam or those wanting to relive old memories, this is a great game to check out.

A great revival of a classic franchise. If you were a fan then there is no reason to pass up on this offering as it brings just enough to the table to make it worth your while. The lack of online is easily the biggest setback and makes you wonder how such an imperative feature was left out.

Great for multiplayer, but you'll need to have really liked the original if you're playing solo.

NBA Jam on Wii is the remake we expected. Not amazing in terms of graphics, it still has the same 16-bit spirit. Funny, featuring various challenges, this title stands out as another good game for your evenings with friends. The single player is not left out, but obviously you will get the best part of it in multiplayer...So invite some friends and Boom Shaka Laka!

NBA Jam is exactly what you'd want and expect from a NBA Jam game, even one being released in 2010. Everything that made the series great in the mid-90s is intact, yet just enough was modernized so that it doesn't feel too dated.

Fans that have been clamoring for this NBA Jam's arrival since its announcement will be absolutely thrilled with the end result, in spite of the game's unevenness. To everyone else, the title will be nothing more than a slightly updated 16-bit era game that cashes in on memories of a day long gone.

It's a well-composed love letter to those who belonged to the culture of its predecessor. It's the kind of game you'll want to add to your permanent rotation of Wii party games, dusting it off every time you're entertaining a friend or three with which to perform countless, physics-defying alley-oops.

A good-old-fashioned-retrogaming-remake, NBA Jam for Wii delivers everything that made the original game so good, and takes it to the next level thanks to a bunch of new features and a new control scheme that will send you directly "In The Zone".

Though it's a sports game and not universally appealing, Jam fans and basketball fans alike will love this return to form for a classic franchise.

Fans of the original NBA Jam will gladly welcome this reboot, which stays definitely true to its roots: people acquainted with more modern titles, however, might find it hard to get along with such an old-school gameplay.

It is an addictive and enjoyable game, but it lacks some more updates in gameplay by today's standards.

If you're a basketball fan who loves to game on the Wii, NBA Jam is must have purchase.

It's limited, but arguably one of the best multiplayer sports games on Wii. [Issue#232, p.89]

Ultimately the game is a real blast, especially if you remember the original, and double super especially if you have someone to play with or against. I

It's certain that NBA Jam will take you back to wherever it was when you experienced the thrill of "Boom-Shaka-Laka!" for the first time. How long it will keep your there in that special place versus the price of admission is something you should definitely keep in mind.

As a solo experience it can come off as repetitive and robotic. When played against friends it's an absolute riot.

For those with fond memories of the original, this game give you a chance to briefly relive those moments. However, it misses the opportunity of really evolving the series. It is in itself a backcourt violation, looking back instead of forward.

NBA Jam on Wii is a solid, fun reboot that should please many fans. Considering its roots, the game aims to deliver the goods, but it doesn't quite reach its full potential.

NBA Jam is as much fun as fifteen years ago. It's a missed opportunity that EA hasn't brought the game to modern times, however, as the lack of options like an online mode would have greatly expanded the replayability.

EA successfully updates the classic arcade game, but the result was much more adequate for digital distribution with a lower price.

NBA Jam in its incarnation for the Nintendo Wii is a good arcade game. Unfortunately, the lack of online game and a certain flatness of gameplay make NBA Jam only a good game and not a masterpiece of the genre.

With an all too familiar feeling, NBA Jam serves as homage to the games we have lost from yesteryear. What it boils down to is: the gameplay hasn't changed all that much and aside from unlocking the plethora of classic players such as Detlef Schrempf and Chris Mullin, there's little reason to return to NBA Jam after a few hours of play.

Even for those that would never normally dream of playing a basketball sim this is a great game, although it's best played in small doses.

This rim-rocking arcade classic returns, and though it's missing modern amenities, it's still an awful lot of fun.

NBA Jam is an excellent way to spend an evening or two, but at the end of the day, it's still just a prettier iteration of its former self that fails to add any mechanical polish to the formula.