Play for a couple of hours and you'll get the timing of the perfect release down - and get it spot on and you'll be awarded with an extra point for each basket, a crinkle in Playgrounds' eccentric scoring system - but that seems against the spirit of a game whose heart is in the pick-up-and-play ethos of Midway's 90s arcade classics. Crossovers allow the rhythm of attacks to be altered, though it's too easy for each push forward to come apart thanks to a surprisingly finickity shooting system. Power-ups are tied to a meter that's steadily topped up via your actions, and once full it gives you access to a selection of items that range from guaranteeing you sink your next shot to allowing you to double your points haul if you let rip from a designated zone on the court. NBA Playgrounds is a much slower game than its inspiration, foregoing the end-to-end action of the original NBA Jam for something a little fussier. It's all very familiar, then, but also it's all very different. This is basketball best played with your elbows out, which ensures it's a game that positively shines in local multiplayer. There are outrageous power-ups, and the only rule you need care about is the shot clock ticking down. The fundamentals are almost exactly the same this is a two-on-two take on basketball that's got a flair for the improbable and spectacular, and one that loves a good dunk as much as any self-respecting person presented with a hot cup of tea and a custard cream. In being faithful to all that NBA Playgrounds is a worthy cover version of the Midway original, though it is prone to a few too many fumbles of its own.
I've not really thought about basketball that much since, but I still think back to NBA Jam's brilliant distillation of it of flaming hoops, shattered backboards and sneakers that burn bright red as they squeak across the court. Not that the offline mode - which features Exhibitions and a Tournament - is that much more generous. Scottie Pippen! Patrick Ewing! Karl Malone and Hakeem Olajuwon! Online is slim, and currently non-existent on Switch where it's due to be patched in later. As the sport was briefly taking hold in the UK, it was a small window into an exotic world presided over by absolute gods. My memories of NBA Jam are entwined with recollections of life in the 90s - the local Quasar had a cabinet, and I'm fairly sure I'd waltz down there while wearing a Global Technicolour t-shirt, whistling the tune of Deeply Dippy on a Melody Pop - and for a short while I was beholden to Midway's rowdy take on basketball. Availability: Out now on Switch, PC, Xbox One and PS4Īnd what a gem it was.
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