Nintendo 64

NBA Hang Time

Jam-style hoops is nothing new, but Hangtime does it with enough flash and freshness to keep you happily dunkin' like a fool. The multiplayer action's particularly awesome. Hardcore b-ball sim fans won't find the depth they're looking for, but a few games will leave you jonesin' for more of those wild double dunks and alley-oops.

If you want the best basketball game on the N64 it’s Courtside 2 featuring Kobe Bryant. If you want a fun multiplayer game that you can play in short bursts and happens to be based on a basketball game than Hangtime is for you. Knowing what you know about my hate for Arcade titles it’s hard to believe that I’m endorsing this title but it’s true. I think that Hangtime is one of the better gaming experiences on the 64 and I don’t care if that conflicts with my stance about arcade gaming. I’d rather you know the truth at the sacrifice of my opinion rather than being pig headed about something.

This game would probably be better described as NBA Jam 64. It seems that Williams bought the rights to the first Jam engine when Acclaim decided it was time for a change. This being the case, the title offers basically nothing new, except updated players and bigger character sprites. The ability to create your own player does make for added playability. The graphics look 16-bit (quite a feat for the N64), and the sounds aren't much to talk about either. Buy this if you want to Jam on your N64.

In the final analysis, NBA Hangtime is a fun, arcade-perfect port that will bring most basketball fans lots enjoyment. NBA Hangtime fills a necessary gap in the sports genre, and Midway has executed a solid conversion -- with four-player capabilities -- at a relatively early stage in the system's game cycle. However, there is very little improvement in gameplay, graphics, or sound that couldn't appear on a Saturn, PlayStation, or even Super NES. And technically, it's a little bit of an embarrassment to show your friends your cool new, 64-bit system, and then play NBA Hangtime, which takes advantage of nothing N64 has to offer.

Except for these minor changes, this game is old hat. However, if you're one of the few people still hopelessly addicted to NBA Jam, then Hang Time could be the wisest purchase you'll make this year.

Even though NBA Hangtime was made by the creators of the original NBA Jam, they weren’t allowed to use the Jam name due to legal reasons. However, the lawyers couldn’t stop the developers from using the same exact engine and nearly identical gameplay.