Game Preview: Five New Things You're Gonna Love About "NBA Jam"

Image via Complex Original

When 2K Sports announced that notorious sports-game holdout Michael Jordan would be on the cover (and in the game) of 2K11, there were a lot of questions, the main one being "what's EA gonna do?" The NBA Live franchise didn't seem to be keeping up, and the specter of MJ seemed like it would be making things a lot tougher for the venerable (and vulnerable) franchise. Then EA hit on the idea of a reboot; the series would become NBA Elite, with promises of a better game. But EA Sports didn't stop there. They gave fans what they were looking for—nay, begging for: NBA Jam! Not only was Jam one of the best NBA games around, but it's one of the greatest arcade titles, period. EA might have pushed Elite back to next year, but they're also releasing standalone copies of Jam for all the major consoles (rather than bundling it with NBA Elite 11 for PS3 and Xbox 360, as originally planned). And now that we've spent some time with the new Jam, we're excited for many reasons, but we'll break it down to a simple five. We're heating up!

Complex says: Not only can you unlock special courts, but the good folks at EA promise all 30 NBA teams and over 100 unlockable teams, characters, privileges, and mascots. You want specifics? Try this on: J. Cole and 9th Wonder, who contributed to the NBA Elite 11 soundtrack, will be unlockable characters. Should be easy to get On Fire when Cole's already got that flaaaaaame!

Complex says: We know the post is called "The Five New Things You're Gonna Love About NBA Jam", but we're looking forward to the old fast-paced gameplay: pushing, shoving, last-second alley-oops, and dominating blocks. 360 and PS3 owners will have to button-mash it up while Wii users will have the choice of classic controller schemes or motion-control play to perform all the moves. If you lag for a second, the play will go dead. You don't score until you score! And you thought that speech was only going to be useful on prom night.

Complex says: Mister Boomshakalaka is back! Yes, Tim Kitzrow, the game's original commentator, is ready for the revamp. You'll get the classic sayings that would piss you off when you were down or hype you up when you were thrashing an opponent. Not to mention that EA has given the fans a chance to make up some new lines. Although our favorite still has to be "Wow, it looks like he went to school at Dunk-On-UUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU!"(word to Soulja Boy).

Complex says: Real NBA games are fun because they make things so realistic. Jam provides the silliness needed to have a truly good time. Having trouble guarding someone? Shove them into the side-lines. Wanna block that shot? Jump 20 feet in the air. Need want to make a four-pass alley-oop with only two characters? No problem. Not to mention the photo "realism" design, with images of player's faces on moving bodies that change depending on the action they're performing. The only exaggeration we don't want to see is Andrew Bogut's injury-inducing dunk fail. That was wild all on its own.

Complex says: No one plays Halo for just the campaign, it's Slayer all around. So why would you just play basketball with all the potential Jam has? Boss modes, Elimination, 21, Backboard Smash, Domination. Wait, Backboard Smash? Domination? Sounds like your girlfriend! Boomshakalaka!!! Aaaand we're outta here!