nba jam review game
Test: NBA Playgrounds: the NBA Jam of modern times?Here's a little game that made a lot of noise when it was released: NBA Playgrounds has landed on several machines at once, including on Switch, Nintendo's new laptop. Enough to fuel the buzz around a game of a genre that we thought was gone, dead and buried with NBA Jam. We must believe that we were wrong, since the title of Saber Interactive is doing pretty well.
The world of basketball video games is unrelenting; Archi-dominated by the hegemony of Visual Concept and its NBA 2K, the environment has gradually dried up. He who was so fertile a decade ago! So, to make space in this new genre of no-go, Saber Interactive did not hesitate for a second to imitate, in large widths, one of the most popular games on the orange planet: NBA Jam, with his two against two hyper arcade and his fiery dunks. With some success, it must be said, but also a number of annoying failures.
IT IS IN THE OLD JARS THAT WE MAKE THE BEST JAM
For anyone who has experienced the joys of NBA Jam, NBA Playgrounds should present a particularly attractive face. The game allows you to take part in two-on-two matches in an atmosphere that smells of the old arcade. Playgrounds will draw from rosters in the current NBA but also in the past, which allows LeBron James and Kevin Durant to be pitted against Scottie Pippen and Hakeem Olajuwon, for example. As in NBA Jam, the stars of NBA Playgrounds are represented in a very cartoon style, with a deliberately disproportionate head. It is rather successful overall, with a style that many caricaturists that we can meet would not deny, a beautiful summer day, around the Sacré Coeur. Moreover, visually, the title is doing pretty well, with decor rich in detail, successful light effects and especially animations more licked than you would expect. Whether slow motion on dunks, shoots, blocks, everything seems to have been done with care and attention. So a good point.
Like its glorious but distant cousin, NBA Playgrounds is shaking up the codes of classic basketball with a very, very arcade approach to the sport. The players are able to chain the triple-lutz and the passing of legs, in the air, before slamming dunks of madness; countermeasures are never illegal, like contacts which are even rather encouraged. It is therefore quite possible to go and savat an adversary in flight, while he was preparing to send a missile through the nylon. The dunks, blocks, and steals increase a gauge which, once filled, gives random access to a modifier: double points on the dunks, speed bonus, inevitable shot, opponent possession time reduced to 12 seconds, etc. Things are more varied than in an NBA Jam, and we rejoice, but in practice, things are very different.
Because controller in hand, it does not take long to notice many small faults that end up scratching the parties and our pleasure. Let's start with the modifiers we were talking about just now: these involve a random element which quickly takes up too much space in matches. Of course, putting twice as many points on each dunk is very practical, and often it allows you to win a game that is too close; on the other hand, the speed bonus is practically useless and alas, it comes out too often. For its part, the AI is either very lucky, or benefits from the precious help of the game which does not hesitate to make things easier, in a perfectly scandalous way. Understand by this that, too often, while you have the hand on the match, the team controlled by the AI will suddenly have the best bonuses, and succeed in all its actions. Perfectly. What we didn't tell you is that perfect shots are worth more points, and still to this day, unlike AI, we are not yet sure that we understand what a perfect shot. And that is annoying.
That the game gives a little boost to the AI, we could do with, if only the rest of the gameplay was not as frustrating, at times. Let's talk for example about the small endurance gauge which only concerns your players: sprinting, trying to steal, or jostling your opponent will gradually empty it, and you will therefore have to manage it intelligently to get out of it. Except that in absolute terms, you will very often be in the red since to overcome the incredible shooting efficiency of your opponents, you will have to be very aggressive in defense, and especially on the ball carrier. A concern for attention that does not affect the AI, as we said, since it itself almost always succeeds in its attempts of blocking or interception. And even the most improbable counter, starting 5 meters behind your player. On your side, the cons are less automatic, unfortunately. It is sometimes a bit difficult to understand the logic of this system of counters. Often, the player seems to be locked on the ball and will follow its trajectory, which generally results in a backsliding since the ball moves faster. While staying in place, the defender would have been much more effective.
With these inequalities at stake, we very often end up limiting actions as much as possible during the attack phases. Since the AI is insensitive to crossovers and other dribbles And-one Mixtape, and that it is able to poke the ball very easily (especially when it is in difficulty), we avoid lingering too much or doing too much of passes, to simply run towards the circle and dunker. The parties therefore quite often resemble a coast-to-coast series and necessarily, in terms of interest, it is rather limited. We could discuss for a moment the annoying little inaccuracies, for example on the management of rebounds: whether it is because of a bad prospect or because our players suddenly forget how to catch the ball, we miss it too much. Even when the ball rolls on the ground, it can sometimes not be caught for no particular reason. As a result, playing against the AI quickly annoys.
SOBRIETY, EFFICIENCY?
Except that here, we can not say that NBA Playgrounds is full of content. The main game mode allows you to play a series of tournaments all over the planet; if we appreciate this little trip around the world, and the discovery of new game environments, the rest can be summarized in endless grind phases, which will allow you to improve the stats of your players and especially to gain new card packs. These packs are one of the very good ideas of this NBA Playgrounds: inspired, we imagine, of the MyTeam mode of NBA 2K, these small boosters allow you to unlock new players. And there are many of these players, some of them, of course, stronger and rarer than the others. Suffice to say that you will have to play a hell of a long time before unlocking LeBron James, Kevin Durant or Stephen Curry, probably the best players in the current NBA. Of course, some will argue that the game artificially boosts its lifespan, and it would be hard to disagree with them, but in reality, these card packet opening sessions are really fun.
Especially since we should not believe that the game is devoid of any form of technicality. Before chaining the victories, it will be necessary to compose a complementary duo; each player has statistics and it will be necessary to pay attention to always have in his team at least one dunkeur, and a player able to defend correctly. The first will bring easy points, since dunk is undoubtedly the easiest action to perform in the game, and the second may hinder the opponent's attack, especially with his ability to counter the ball. It's up to you to find the best associations, but don't underestimate the importance of a good shooter. Curiously, the game is very picky when it comes to the timing of your shots, and it will take a bit of exercise before you succeed. Like more technical basketball games, like NBA 2K or even NBA Live, the gauge dedicated to shooting timing varies depending on the type of shot you are trying to make, whether it be a 3 point, a mid-range on catch- and-shoot or a shot in motion. We appreciate the effort, and the games against friends necessarily gain in interest.
Because if the game allows you to face other players online, it is especially locally, against friends, that NBA Playgrounds will deliver all its flavor. Despite its shortcomings, despite its inaccuracies, the game turns out to be, in this particular situation, a very correct source of entertainment. And it's probably the only thing that will count for many of you.
The notes
+ Positive points
Player design
Their animations
Completely crazy dunks
The timing of the shots, which adds a little technical side
The card pack system
Very nice with friends
Negative points
The too random side of confrontations against AI
AI that can return a match in 10 seconds
Few game modes
Rebounds
A somewhat fragile online
Alone, we get bored quickly
With its uninhibited dunks and its players all the funnier one than the others, NBA Playgrounds had everything to be a small game of arcade basketball stupid, therefore absolutely essential, as could have been NBA Jam in its time. Unfortunately, the solo experience is marred by gameplay inaccuracies and absolutely unplayable AI when the game decides. In local multiplayer, on the other hand, it is another thing, and we will appreciate at their fair value the few technical points of the game, especially on the timings of shoot or alley-oop. Enough to feed a few evenings with friends.
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