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NBA Hangtime

Rated KA for Kids to Adults

Platform:

Nintendo 64 (N64)

Publisher:

Midway

Developer:

Funcom

Released:

January 1997

ROM Size:

96 megabits

Players:

One to Four Simultaneous

Genre:

Sports (Basketball)

Save:

Controller Pak (7 pages)

Optional:

None

 

 

> Final Rating: 3.9 out of 5.0

Introduction

After two disappointing in-house conversions (MK Trilogy and Cruis'n USA), Midway turned to an out-of-house developer (Funcom) to do an N64 version of NBA Hangtime. Guess what? The difference in quality is astounding.

Gameplay & Control

NBA Hangtime is the true sequel to NBA Jam: Tournament Edition (SNES). Just because Acclaim has a game called NBA Jam Extreme (PSX)—because it bought the rights to the name under Midway's nose—that doesn't mean Acclaim's game is in the same series, or even in the same league. Right away, let it be known that NBA Hangtime is essentially a better version of NBA Jam. Don't expect any radical changes because there aren't any.

 

There is one flaw with the game, though some people will appreciate this. The artificial intelligence in the game is very good, but resorts to some "cheating" techniques when it gets too far behind. This can make the game very frustrating and difficult even on the easiest level of difficulty!

 

One of the major pluses to this game (other than the four-player mode) is the ability to create your own player. The downside is that you need a Controller Pak to save them. However, that means it's easy to take your creation over to your friend's house and play it on their game.

Graphics & Sound

As a whole, the Nintendo 64 port of NBA Hangtime is excellent. The developers squeezed all the animation, all the voice samples, and, yes, even the halftime rap song into a 96 megabit cartridge. The graphics are pixel-perfect, right down to the scaling from the arcade version. The sound, although in mono, is near-exact to the arcade; it's not the grainy samples that you were used to from the 16-bit era. The control does what you want and is completely configurable.

Conclusion

Overall, NBA Hangtime is the best version of NBA Jam on any system. And there's no load time to contend with! If you're a Jam fan, then you'll want to pick this game up, or at least rent it. Non-Jam fans need not apply, though, as there's nothing new here. Just a solid (albeit unrealistic) basketball game that's great for parties.

 

Graphics:

3.7

Sound:

3.8

Control:

4.2

Gameplay:

3.9

Lastability

4.0

OVERALL:

3.9

 

DOWN THE ROAD

Being the best version of NBA Jam or Hangtime on any system, I like to pop in NBA Hangtime into the N64 every now and then. And whenever basketball season gets into full swing, I go back and play it again. Plus, it's just a great party game.

 

Review by: Scott McCall

First Reviewed: January 28, 1997

Appendix Added: December 6, 1997

 

 

 

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