NBA Jam 2002
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 SHOOT IT MAN
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NBA Jam 2002 is a sports video game made by Acclaim Entertainment for the Game Boy Advance. It was the follow-up to NBA Jam 2001 and was the last game in the NBA Jam series to mention a year in its title.
Why It Can't Shoot It
- The graphics. While they are colorful, they also look nauseating to look at due to their color palette and sprites. Oh come on GBA, you can do better than that. The visuals look more fitting for an NES game (or even a Game Boy Color game) than a GBA game with the players and the crowd being the worst offenders.
- Every time you take a shot, it's very hard to see if you made the shot or not. The net doesn't move at all, so the only thing that will tell you that you hit a shot is the crowd cheering. That's it. This makes the game feel difficult to design. Thanks to that, making baskets is almost non-existent.
- During games, the announcer's voice is horrible. The announcer repeats the same phrases all the time which can get on your nerves. Also, the announcer sounds way too bored as if the voice actor knew that this game was gonna such so we can't even blame him.
- Playing a single basketball game feels lifeless. The only things that are moving are the players while the audience feels more like mannequins or dummies. There isn't any music either that's playing which also adds up to the poor quality of the game.
- Character animations for the players are oddly slow and choppy. Just look at how they move from one part of the court for the other. And every time they dribble the ball, the ball does not seem to be in contact with the player's hands.
- Terrible gameplay even for a game about basketball of all things. Unlike what you typically see in better basketball games, the game feels like a big cakewalk. To prove this to you, you can notice how easy driving around your opponents' defense and the score is. Ball stealing is also easy to do with fouling being unnoticed by the referee of all people. Did the referee not notice what was going on during the basketball game? maybe not!
- Playing in hard mode isn't gonna help either because you can still easily win somehow.
- There may be a lot of modes, but there's still a lack of replay value due to the game's nature.
- Lack of multiplayer mode despite being a game about basketball with the GBA being capable of multiplayer via a link cable.
- The game modes like HORSE, Quick Game, Playoff, Season, and Arcade are not fun at all. They get boring really fast.
- The game's clock is only visible about a quarter of the time since it's only displayed on the half-court press bench. Unless if you are focused on the timepiece during playtime, you will never know when the period's about to end. Seriously, how can you tell when the game is over when you want to have a better look at the clock.
- The turbo gauge. Just using the turbo gauge goes away too quickly and the refill isn't balanced enough for any of the players. Using the turbo will cause the meter to go away very quickly without any rhyme or reason. Why can't the game give players a chance to shine when it's only a quick small boost.
- When you get to be on fire, the only thing you get is the enhancement of a flaming basketball albeit it's get very confusing when the opponent gets your ball. Could there just be another way to tell who has power and who has not!
- The password system is pathetic. Future NBA Jam games have an autosave feature or it gives players an option to change. Here, it's outdated much like in NBA Jam 2001.
- The ball's physics are clunky and don't blend well with the players. Seriously, this is basketball we're talking about and the physics for the ball should be more close to reality and not be broken.
Qualities That Can Shoot It
- The graphics only stand out on the menus thanks to the designs.
- The menus and the rest of the sound effects do have better sound quality.
- A good roster selection that is up to date during its time.
- The controls are decent for the most part.
Reception
Metacritic gave the game generally unfavorable reviews. AllGame gave the game 1 star, GameSpy gave the game a 35%, and Nintendo Power gave the game a 3.3/5.
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