A Look Back, Part 3

He's On Fire! Chances are you've heard that phrase before in relation to someone other than Michael Jackson or a Vietnamese Buddhist monk. It's time to celebrate the game that brought that phrase into mainstream jargon: the video game NBA Jam. I'm a bit biased towards NBA Jam Tournament Edition, the follow up to NBA Jam, so that's the game I'm going to devote this blog to.
What more is there to say about NBA Jam? Everyone who's at least sixteen years of age has heard of it, even if they haven't played it. It introduced phrases such as "Boom Shaka-Laka," "He's Heating Up," and the aforementioned "He's On Fire."
The designers of the game also had the foresight to make this a realistic game....at least in the sense of streak shooting. After three made shots in a row by the same player, that player is on fire. In what in my opinion, qualifies as a genius decision, the creators decided to literally have the ball set on fire and scorch the net as it goes in.
Another gem about this game is that you can shatter the backboard glass. Basically you have to dunk a lot through the entire game, and then in the fourth quarter, a guy who is rated highly in the 'Dunk' category can shatter the glass. The cool thing about this feature is that it represents a part of the NBA at that time that is now lost. Hoops are built now to withstand even more maximum force than Shaq could provide, so unfortunately, we will no longer see anything like this.

Speaking of parts of the NBA that have been lost to history, this game is great for remembering some of those random scrubs that you haven't thought about in years. Eric Montross, anyone? How about Todd Day? Or Rony Seikaly? And the best part is, that if you go on to beat all 27 NBA teams, the roster expands and you're able to play with even more players who have faded into obscurity.
The only two glaring omissions are MJ and Shaq. Apparently their names were too expensive to be included in the game. Shaq had his own video game for the Sega Genesis, and Jordan wouldn't have been on the roster anyway for the NBA Jam T.E. version released in 1994.
A few random thoughts on this game: My favorite player to play with is Derrick Coleman. He's an absolute beast, especially for his dunks and ability to knock even the biggest guys over. Every time I play with him I think about the Hall of Famer he should have been.
In this game, Scott Skiles bears a striking resemblance to Dennis the Menace.
The best upgrade from NBA Jam to T.E. in my opinion, was the option of playing with hot spots and power up icons. The hot spots were stars on the floor with a number in it. If you made a shot from that spot on the floor, you were given points equal to the number in the star. The power up icons were different hexagons scattered across the floor. Each one stood for something such as speed, on fire, etc., which you acquired if you picked it up. It was a good way to mix the traditional game up.
It was always frustrating to play the computer in this game. You'd have to be up by at least three at the end of the game, because you know they were never going to miss that last second full court shot to win the game. I'd try to plan the last few possessions out so that I'd be able to take the last shot, whether I was winning or losing.
As a kid, I always played with the Bulls. Scottie Pippen was a great player in the game, but always seemed to miss every shot you took with him in the clutch. In an interview, NBA Jam creator Mark Turmell revealed that there was a code programmed into the game so that any Bulls player would miss a last second shot against the Pistons. He says it's only against the Pistons, I'm convinced it's against everyone. For the full interview (a really interesting read, by the way), click here.
So if you have this game stored away somewhere in your closet or attic, dust it off. It will bring you right back to your childhood. When you had less worries and more Clarence Weatherspoon in your life.