NBA Jam 99

Other products by Acclaim

Product Details

• Shipping: Currently, item can be shipped only within the U.S. and to APO/FPO addresses. For APO/FPO shipments, please check with the manufacturer regarding warranty and support issues.
• ASIN: B000034DE9
• Media: Game Cartridge
• Release Date: December 1, 1998
• Average Customer Review: 2.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #27,284 in Video Games (See Bestsellers in Video Games)

Product Description

Platform: Nintendo 64

GameSpot Review

Acclaim and Iguana have pulled off the video game equivalent of a Ricki Lake talk-show makeover with NBA Jam 99, dressing it up with plenty of new game features and adding five-on-five simulation gameplay. This will come as bad news for gamers hoping to relive the glory days of "Phi Slamma Jamma." But for players who think NBA Jam's fire burned out long ago, this newest incarnation for the Nintendo 64 takes a positive leap in providing a realistic, in-depth, and mostly enjoyable basketball experience.

NBA Jam 99 is actually two and a half games in one, so the best way to review this game is to address each one separately. The game's bread and butter is its NBA play simulation mode. It's rich in features and options, the most notable being a fantasy draft in which you can rebuild the NBA with custom rosters, then trade and create players under a bonus points cap. The 80-plus plays are easy to customize and call on the fly.

The game plays well as a sim, if a little on the slow side. The control is very responsive, and the inclusion of icon passing and special-situation options caters to most gamers' playing styles. For instance, the ability to call for a screen is so easy that I found myself using it at least once every offensive trip. The computer AI on both sides of the ball is sharp: Computer players are aggressive stealers and shot blockers, plus there's lots of movement off the ball. Still, there's room for improvement. The free-throw shooting method gets points for originality, but it's an analog-based style that may irritate some gamers. Also, there's apparently no option to switch to the defender closest to the ball; instead you have to toggle through the roster, which is a burden.

The second "game" is the jam mode, a more challenging five-on-five affair that adds the spectacular dunks, special moves, on-fire players, and wacky comments synonymous with NBA Jam. Now, Acclaim touts this mode as an added "bonus," so it's hard to knock it. Still, if Acclaim's going to call it Jam Mode, it better live up to its billing. It doesn't: It's basically an over-the-top sim mode with added bells and whistles. That's not a bad thing, but it plays too slow and dull to be enjoyable for extended periods. You'd be sorely mistaken to think this game offers anything close to the original arcade.

The "half" game is the skills mode, essentially two minigames. The three-point contest is fairly fun, especially as a multiplayer event, while the free throw shooting is there more for practice purposes.

In terms of presentation, it's clear Iguana knows hi-res graphics. The stadiums and court floors are more than adequate visually. The players, while still slightly boxy, are animated well. Plus there's enough room in the memory to actually put a ref on the floor during fouls and tip-off. There are notable instances of slowdown, such as on some special move animations, but they don't hamper gameplay flow to a great extent. As far as sound goes, the good news is that there's a great deal of two-man commentary from Kevin Harlan and Bill Walton, especially given the N64's limits. The bad news is that occasionally they'll blurt out incorrect phrases or serve up a bit too much chatter.

For gamers doing comparison shopping, here's my two cents: NBA Jam 99's many extra features and gameplay modes give it a strong edge over NBA Courtside - especially for hoops-sim junkies who want to build fantasy franchises and their own players. It certainly has enough moxie to hang with NBA Live 99 but not enough to dethrone that solid title so easily. The two titles borrow so much from each other this season that neither currently has hand in their relationship.

Those looking for a well-rounded hoops sim won't go wrong with the solidly built NBA Jam 99. If Iguana can address its minor slowdown and sound glitches, plus pump up the fun and intensity of the Jam-style gameplay to match its arcade predecessor, this title's sequel has the potential to be the next "it" game in the genre. --Nelson Taruc
--Copyright ©1999 GameSpot Inc. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part in any form or medium without express written permission of GameSpot is prohibited. GameSpot and the GameSpot logo are trademarks of GameSpot Inc.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars EXELLENT, December 15, 1999

By A Customer

Durability:5.0 out of 5 stars Fun:5.0 out of 5 stars Educational:5.0 out of 5 stars 

This game has great comentary,players,and swift cool moves.The create a player mode is one of the best I have ever seen.I would recomend this game to any NBA fan!

3.0 out of 5 stars What happend to the real NBA JAM style?, May 4, 2005

By	Micheal Hunt (Hellbourne) - See all my reviews

Fun:3.0 out of 5 stars 

First of all, I am pretty disapointed that this version of NBA JAM does not inculde the classic 2 on 2 style from the original and best NBA JAM games. This version is much like the NBA LIVE games and it's all 5 on 5 regular basketball. If you want the NBA JAM classic 2 on 2 game, I recomend the SNES versions. Dont even bother with NBA Hangtime, that game was rejected out of the arena.

Coming to terms with the fact that this is 5 on 5, I gave it a go and overall, i'm not thrilled with it.

This game is basicly the typical basketball game. It has a season mode, with drafts, trades, ceate a player etc.. but thats on just about every BBall game anyway. Then there is Jam mode, which is just an exhibition mode. And then there is a useless skills game to choose, where you pick either a 3 point shoot-out, which there is no stratagy to, it's boring and there is no real challenge to it but to just work out the timing of when to release the button when shooting. And there is also a free throw option, which makes no sense to choose random players, 'cause you only get to shoot as one. Its just a free throw practice, but it does however have an interesting stratagy to make a free throw that I do like better then a lot of other games ways. You have to use the stick to position a picture of a ball, inside a pic of a hoop (not tht easy) and then hit the shoot button.

There is the typical options, of real play to turning whatever option you want on and off.

The gameplay itself is no fun. The intros are annoying, and tho you can skip them, it would be nice to have an option to skip them automaticly. the tip off seems to have no real way of winning it, just mash the buttons I guess. Dribbling sucks because you can't stnd still for 1 second without the computer stealing the ball or pushing you over, and most of the time the computer plays a full court press and gets the ball when you inbound it, making it so annoying. Shots just do not want to go in. If you try to dunk, you'll most likely get blocked if a computer player is near you. If you try to go for a break-a-way, the computer will shove you, even if it's 1000 feet away from you.

The only way I was able to enjoy this game for a breif time was using these codes..then it made it a bit better.

Garenteed to make next shot (within offense half court)
Pause the game and press, L L (C^) L L (C^) L L (C^) Z

Dunk From Anywhere (individual player you use when entering code)
Pause the game and press, L L (Cv) L L (Cv) L L (cV) Z

Tie The Score
Pause the game and press, L L Down L L Down L L Down Z

Whole Team Is On Fire
Pase the game and press, L L Right L L Right L L Right Z

There are other codes at www.gamefaq.com

With those cheats the game became a bit better when shots would actualy go in for a change. The on fire code was badly needed. It was good to be able to use anybody and knock a 3 pointer in from anywhere within the offensive half court zone. Some shots would even go from the half court line. The dunk from anywhere code is OK, but there is an annoying dunk where the player bounces the ball first then takes off a second later, and that one is a garenteed steal for the computer if there defending you and close enough.

There is no Michael Jordan in the game, the PG for the bulls is Jordan, but it's player number 99, just like a lot of other games. I might be wrong about this, but there is no way to edit a created player once you've created them. The whole game needs a memory pak and uses the whole thing up.

Overall, I think this game is better then NBA Hangtime, but I do wish this one had an out-door court. It is almost the same as NBA LIVE, only there is the NBA JAM style of B.S dunks, and on fire etc... and it's a bit better then those Kobe Court Side games. But still, compared to the old SNES BBall games, these games might have better sound and graphics, but the game play and fun factor havent been found on the 64.

2.0 out of 5 stars Boo, stinky basketball game, November 23, 2001

By	Wendy Adams (Santa Ana, Ca USA) - See all my reviews

This is a good game if there's a lot of people at your house, but the Season mode does't live up to its NBA Jam predecessors. It also uses every space on a normal memory card,so don't buy this game unless you need every basketball game on earth.

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