NBA Jam '99 - NTNDO64.com

Developer: Iguana West Publisher: Acclaim

Released: November 30, 1998 Rated: E 5/10

After their great success in publishing the home ports of NBA Jam in the 16-bit era, Acclaim made off like bandits with the naming rights going forward and attempted to pull the wool over everyone’s eyes with their first basketball title under the Acclaim Sports label, NBA Jam ‘99. Boasting the iconic flaming basketball on the cover, but falling much more in line with their other well-received but much more simulation-style sports releases, NBA Jam ‘99 not only fails to justify its tonal shift on its first outing, but practically makes a mockery of its heritage on top of that, with a tacked-on “Jam Mode” that doesn’t even deserve to be called a cheap imitation.

In a vacuum, stripped away of all the expectations that come with its namesake, NBA Jam ‘99 just isn’t much more than a mediocre basketball sim. It’s the most difficult type of game to review, because it’s simply average. A little janky and uncanny in its movement and animations, but perfectly functional without really rising to the level of its competitors. It’s only weak in the sense that in spite of some depth in strategy and roster management, it’s nowhere near as snappy as NBA Live ‘99 nor as polished and attuned to the console as NBA Courtside. While it’s at least functional and playable in a way that In the Zone ‘98 largely isn’t, there’s just little excitement on display here besides what you might get out of play-by-play man Kevin Harlan, who certainly sounds like the only person to have been properly caffeinated before heading in for his recording session.

The free throw mechanic has an admittedly odd feel even if it’s easy to understand. You have to press the shoot button while the ball is over the middle of the net, but it’s like putting two magnets on top of each other as the game pushes the ball away from the mark.

Where NBA Jam ‘99 really leaves a sour taste in my mouth is in the insulting “Jam Mode” Iguana West decided to include almost as a contractual obligation. Boiling down to practically the same game as usual, five-on-five basketball but with fewer whistles being blown and some out-of-nowhere dunk animations. If anything, you could launch into Jam Mode by accident and barely notice anything is different if you’re not playing extra aggressively. It’s actually a little sad to think Acclaim thought this was the right way to go with the title in hand, and I’d recommend avoiding the game altogether simply for the fact that you’ll never shake your own concept of what NBA Jam is supposed to be.