Since the emergence of digital entertainment, all kinds of video game adaptations of this sport have begun to emerge. We might skip over the early ’60s and ’80s when digital basketball was the “number one basketball of this rectangle, number two is this, and the ball is the square in between” (Yes, Pong, a global entertainment under a thousand titles), along with other examples of creativity that are completely unsatisfactory. Well, let’s start right from the 16-bit era. At that time, basketball was divided into two camps, each with its own idols, as video games. S / b and especially the NBA, primarily a show and only then – because it is a sport, the division happened exactly in the fact of how the sport was presented by the game.
The first camp consisted of fans of basketball simulators, and avatars – undoubtedly NBA Live – unfortunately fulfilled a series that did not please 3DO with its existence. The second camp – basketball arcade representatives, glorious and once the brightest representative of this caste – NBA Jam and later NBA Hang Time. So what about Slam’n’Jam 95? Well, what do we own? SnJ95 comes to us with a quality mark. This mark is a company – a publisher. Crystal Dynamics is a guarantee of the highest level product when it comes to games for at least 3DO. We give it a credit of trust. Watch a movie, open an exhibition. And here it is, the first disappointment. The legendary creators of Crash’n’Burn didn’t have enough money for a license. Or were stingy. But in fact, the only normal basketball on the console (it won’t be about Jammit, right?) has the names and logos of NBA teams, the presence of real features and real players are now in absence, already falling into the abyss of despair.
However, the player’s mood had to elevate from despair. Exactly at the moment the process began. In fact, the gameplay of SnJ makes you remember NBA Live or the NBA Action series with mega drive, for which (especially for NBA Live ’98) your humble servant spent long evenings, ecstasy of last seasons and commenting on the game, remembering every player of his team. Unfortunately, we have been deprived of such a pleasure. Well, okay, because the process deserves close attention and praise! Look: the large 3D court is worn by great sprite basketball players, the commentator regularly comments, fans are sick – everything looks real! And if you remember the video preview from the disk with Hex, you can complain that they removed the girls from the cheerleading group and the names of the teams from the sidelines. Yes, indeed, this game example went to the heels of construction realism. You won’t see triple flips and fireball flights. Everything is a bit more modest. On our court, we have a few dozen “dunk” moves with the ability to kick the ball into the basket, break the opponent, and finally break the glass shield. But you know, it seems like it went well for the game.
The creators, the Left Field studio, managed to create a balanced and truly captivating product. And the recipe is simple. If you look closely, SnJ does not revolutionize the genre in 32 bits. The foundation was taken from NBA Live with a mega drive, the angle of view changed: just like in NBA Action (only moving along the z-axis, that is, vertically), we are watching the game from the back. And, classically, a fix was made for the possibility of graphic and sound calculations. In the modest 100 megabytes occupied by the game, along with the big basketball player sprites (“2 times more than from 16-bit!” – the cover screams), there is also quite good animation, several dozen fields that mainly differ in the color of the boundary of the field and sometimes in parquet textures, a good selection of digitally represented shouts from a certain Van Earl Wright and a preview of advertising of games coming from Crystal Dynamics as well as other pastries.
Moreover, the player is now free to watch replays of especially good moments that move the camera along the field (only forward, you can’t rotate the camera, obviously there’s no other wall near the stadium). Overall, as you can understand, there’s nothing extraordinary. And you can. It’s also possible to change the players on the field as a feature, and it would be much more meaningful to watch their performance during the season and if the game had a sane license. But I understood correctly. After all, the game’s name honestly warns about the lack. In general, the only joy for NBA fans is that the completely outwardly basketball players look like real characters on those teams. The situation is rather like this: let’s say we need to select this team to play the real Chicago Bulls, namely the Cleveland Cavaliers where Scottie Pippen will be waiting for us under number 33. Leonard Lenning. So, if you are fanatically bound to any team, you can easily dribble a basketball on the court with your favorite basketball players (if you remember their names and numbers, of course) and comment on a good intervening friend AND Wright could barbarically be deprived of the sound. Attention of the crowd. Everything is detailed, animated, and built in several layers.
– So, what will the final decision be, Mr. Judge? The static graphics are almost flawless. Basketball players are very satisfied with the dynamics of mirror ground and linear animation effects. And it’s simply saddened by the non-existent turn animation. The fact is, you take this lightly after 5 minutes of game play. The sound is quite good and perhaps it won’t cause complaints except for the endless “Hello everyone. I am Van Earl Wright and today we will slam and jam” before every match. The atmosphere of basketball of the stars is present in very small quantities. There are no licensed teams and players. But with the help of cunning manipulations, they appear under the names of others.
In short, this sport must have a game for every amateur of it. First, it’s the only normal basketball on 3DO, secondly – it’s exclusive to our console (I think), thirdly – it’s a really good game.
**Controls:**
– D-pad – ball command;
– B – pass;
– + R – sharp hit;
– C – jump and slam;
– C, C – throw.
You control the player hanging on the arrow. Use B to change control.
**Fouls:**
To avoid fouls, press the P button until your computer player counts. Change the player who committed the foul with any of the substitutes, and then press R. The replaced player will be given a rule violation. A player similar to Clinton number 34 of Atlanta is not really Don McLean from Washington. Look closely: this spilled American president is Bill Clinton.
**Cheats:**
– Beautiful players: While the cutscene is open and the menu is displayed, hold R. When the game starts, press P to stop the game. Now release R and return to the game.
– Big-headed little players: Hold R during the cutscene and quickly press L. When the game starts, press P (“pause”), release R and L, and then return to the game.
– Small body-part short players: Quickly press L and R during the opening screen but end with pressing only L. When the game starts, press P to stop the game. Now release L and return to the game.
– Big-headed players: Quickly press L and C during the opening screen. Once the game starts, press “pause” (P), then release L and C. Now return to the game.
– Transition from small players to big players: Start the next game and press P to pause, then return to the game.
– High jumps upon being struck from above: Hold A and C during the cutscene. When the shot is made, say “pause” (P). Now release A and C and then return to the game.
– Increase game speed: Hold A, B, C during the cutscene. When the ball is thrown, press P to stop the game. Now release A, B, C and return to the game.
