NBA Jam Extreme is an excellent sequel to Acclaim's NBA Jam, based on an arcade game of the same name. The game suffered poor sales as a result of very high hardware requirement: even on the cutting-edge (in 1996 that is) Pentium 133, the game runs very sluggishly at the highest level of detail. Which is a pity, because the game itself is a lot of fun. Anyone who has played NBA Jam will be familiar with the set-up: you choose two players from NBA's leading teams to compete in a 2-on-2 game. There's a powerful 3D engine and ultra-realistic player movement based on motion capture technology. The level of graphics detail is excellent: players look more or less like their real-life counterparts, with similar build and height. Thanks to the official license from NBA, there are over 170 NBA players in the game, each with their strong and weak suits. There are 29 teams represented, with 29 corresponding courts you can compete on. Playoffs, Finals, and All-Star modes are available, and any of the four players on the court can be human-controlled. One of the best features is the "Jam Cam" zooming in on the action automatically. True to the name, you have over thirty outrageous new 'Extreme' dunks to pull off, all accessible by pressing the 'Extreme' button. Over fifty hidden players and secret teams round off this excellent and fun arcade-oriented basketball game that will keep you occupied for hours on end. Highly recommended. Reviewed by: Underdogs |