Tag Archives: Sim-Arcade Hybrid

This is Wayback Wednesday, your midweek blast from the past! From retrospectives of basketball games and their interesting features, to republished articles and looking at NBA history through the lens of the virtual hardwood, Wednesdays at the NLSC are for going back in time. This week, I’m taking a look back at NBA ShootOut ’97, aka Total NBA ’97 in PAL regions.

The first NBA ShootOut was an admirable effort by a brand new studio to provide an alternative to EA Sports’ established series of basketball games. However, as I noted in my retrospective of that game, it ultimately fell short of NBA Live 96 PC, which remains my pick for the best 1996 NBA sim title. Having recently spent more time with the PlayStation version of NBA Live 96, I’d also have to say that EA beat Sony on its own platform! Nevertheless, it was nice to have options; something that many of us greatly miss in light of NBA 2K’s virtual monopoly over the virtual hardwood.

To that end, when we had more developers throwing their hat into the ring with basketball video games back in the day, a few of them didn’t just stop at one. They made an effort to establish their own NBA series with annual releases to compete with NBA Live. Obviously it was ultimately NBA 2K that succeeded in dethroning EA’s game, but there were other commendable attempts along the way. That brings us to NBA ShootOut ’97, aka Total NBA ’97. Did Sony Computer Entertainment’s second hoops title improve upon the first NBA ShootOut? Let’s take a look back…way back…

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This is Wayback Wednesday, your midweek blast from the past! From retrospectives of basketball games and their interesting features, to republished articles and looking at NBA history through the lens of the virtual hardwood, Wednesdays at the NLSC are for going back in time. This week, I’m taking a look back at NBA Jam 99.

After Acclaim snatched the NBA Jam moniker away from Midway, they attempted to continue the series with NBA Jam Extreme. Although losing the iconic brand was naturally a blow, Midway nevertheless released their own superb follow-up to NBA Jam Tournament Edition in NBA Hangtime. To that point, while Acclaim had the name, Midway boasted the superior game. With that in mind, it’s perhaps no surprise that Acclaim sought to change up the formula with NBA Jam 99, moving away from an arcade style and adopting more of a sim or sim-arcade hybrid approach.

Of course, while that differentiated it from previous NBA Jam titles and Midway’s new arcade hoops games, it also placed NBA Jam 99 in direct competition with the NBA Live series. However, Acclaim didn’t completely abandon the series’ roots with NBA Jam 99, as it included an arcade mode. While true sim-arcade hybrid basketball games have their place and I’ve come to appreciate them, NBA Jam 99 wasn’t a good take on the concept. Indeed, it was proof that Midway deserved the name that they coined far more than Acclaim did. Let’s take a look back…way back…

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This is Wayback Wednesday, your midweek blast from the past! From retrospectives of basketball games and their interesting features, to republished articles and looking at NBA history through the lens of the virtual hardwood, Wednesdays at the NLSC are for going back in time. This week, I’m taking a look back at ESPN NBA 2Night.

Although Konami has produced some classic releases that earned them a reputation as one of the most iconic video game developers, the virtual hardwood was never their best genre. That’s not to say that their basketball games have all been terrible. Indeed, their sim-arcade hybrid titles that include Run and Gun, NBA Give ‘n Go, NBA in the Zone, and NBA in the Zone 2 are nostalgic favourites for many long-time basketball gamers. They provided an experience that found a good middle ground between the more serious approach of NBA Live, and the over-the-top style of NBA Jam.

However, as sim-oriented basketball games were improving and becoming deeper and more realistic in the late 90s and early 2000s, Konami’s releases were soon outclassed. From gameplay and graphics to modes and features, they fell short of NBA Live, as well as new contenders in the space such as the emerging NBA 2K series. At the same time, Konami’s NBA games did find an audience, and some of them had their good points; or at the very least, a few interesting ideas! For better or worse, ESPN NBA 2Night is a great example of that. Let’s take a look back…way back…

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This is Wayback Wednesday, your midweek blast from the past! From retrospectives of basketball games and their interesting features, to republished articles and looking at NBA history through the lens of the virtual hardwood, Wednesdays at the NLSC are for going back in time. This week, I’m taking a look back at NBA ShootOut, also known as Total NBA ’96.

With NBA 2K’s dominance over the virtual hardwood going back to the seventh generation consoles, it’s easy to forget that NBA Live was once the name in sim basketball video games. Its predecessor, the NBA Playoff series, had some strong competition in the form of Tecmo Super NBA Basketball, but the revamp with NBA Live 95 firmly established EA Sports as the top brand in the genre. NBA Live 96 was a strong follow-up, particularly on PC. Of course, other companies were still willingly throwing their hat into the ring with alternatives to compete with NBA Live.

I’ve enjoyed finally getting my hands on several of those alternatives in recent years. That includes Sony Computer Entertainment Europe’s NBA ShootOut, titled Total NBA ’96 in PAL regions. Although it was never the top dog in the genre, it did tip off a series of games that competed with NBA Live, and later NBA 2K, right through to the 2004 season. As with many of the alternatives to the two biggest brands, the NBA ShootOut series ultimately fell short of truly challenging them, but it had a handful of interesting ideas from the very first release. Let’s take a look back…way back…

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This is Wayback Wednesday, your midweek blast from the past! From retrospectives of basketball games and their interesting features, to republished articles and looking at NBA history through the lens of the virtual hardwood, Wednesdays at the NLSC are for going back in time. This week, I’m taking a look back at NBA Give ‘n Go.

Back in the 90s, EA Sports were the dominant brand in sim basketball games with NBA Live, while Midway developed the best arcade hoops titles with NBA Jam. However, Konami were producing some fun games in the sim-arcade hybrid genre; that middle ground between sim and arcade that’s not too over the top, but still isn’t too concerned with realism. I’ve already covered a couple of those Konami games, namely NBA in the Zone and NBA in the Zone 2. Left Field Productions also tried to imitate Konami’s formula with Slam ‘N Jam.

As I’ve said before, I didn’t really have much interest in those games growing up. I either wanted the sim approach of NBA Live, or the wild arcade action of NBA Jam. The hybrid style of Konami’s games or Slam ‘N Jam was certainly intriguing, but that middle ground didn’t really appeal to me at the time. All these years later, I have far more appreciation for the sim-arcade hybrid, even if it isn’t my first choice. Konami’s NBA Give ‘n Go is a classic release in that genre, and I’m definitely overdue to cover it. With that being said, let’s take a look back…way back…

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This is Wayback Wednesday, your midweek blast from the past! From retrospectives of basketball games and their interesting features, to republished articles and looking at NBA history through the lens of the virtual hardwood, Wednesdays at the NLSC are for going back in time. This week, I’m taking a look back at Street Hoops.

There was a time when multiple studios threw their hat into the ring with basketball video games, providing a choice beyond the brand leaders such as NBA Live and NBA 2K. Of course, while that era is nostalgic now and many of us miss having a plethora of hoops games, the market glut definitely wasn’t sustainable. Not every game ended up being a big enough hit to spawn sequels or a series, often for very good reasons. Still, there are some overlooked gems and interesting releases that became cult classics and personal favourites for gamers who grew up with them.

As I’ve expanded my collection, it’s been fun to experience games that I overlooked back when I was primarily playing NBA Live, NBA Jam, and NBA Street. Even the titles that lack the polish of the all-time classics are still fun to revisit, and they’re definitely fascinating to dive into all these years later. That’s an apt summary of Street Hoops by Black Ops Entertainment! Like its spiritual sequel, AND 1 Streetball, this 2002 release for PlayStation 2, Xbox, and GameCube is rough around the edges, but unquestionably had ambitious ideas and potential. Let’s take a look back…way back…

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This is Wayback Wednesday, your midweek blast from the past! From retrospectives of basketball games and their interesting features, to republished articles and looking at NBA history through the lens of the virtual hardwood, Wednesdays at the NLSC are for going back in time. This week, I’m taking a look back at NBA in the Zone 2 by Konami.

I’ll freely admit to being a bit snobbish about my basketball games when I was much younger. Sim was sim, arcade was arcade, and never the two shall meet. Sure, it was fun to have an arcade setting in NBA Live, but Acclaim’s attempt to combine the two genres of hoops games in their continuation of the NBA Jam series was a bust. I’ll take a deep dive into those games at some point, but there have been some great sim-arcade hybrid releases. As I said when I covered the first NBA in the Zone, Konami arguably perfected the genre as Midway did pure arcade basketball with NBA Jam.

That of course began with Run and Gun, an arcade-only release that didn’t feature any real teams or players. Upon acquiring the NBA license, Konami ported the game to Super Nintendo as NBA Give ‘N Go, which they followed up with Run and Gun II in arcades and NBA in the Zone on PlayStation. The latter spawned a series of annual games, which brings us to NBA in the Zone 2. Released in November 1996, it went head-to-head with 1997 season titles such as NBA Live 97, NBA Full Court Press, and NBA ShootOut ’97. Can it hang with them? Let’s take a look back…way back…

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We’re at midcourt, and the ball is about to go up…it’s Monday Tip-Off! Join me as I begin the week here at the NLSC with my opinions and commentary on basketball gaming topics, as well as tales of the fun I’ve been having on the virtual hardwood. This week, I’m tipping things off with some thoughts on how to go about crafting an alternative to NBA 2K.

At this point, it’s painfully apparent how important alternatives and choices are in the sports gaming space. For years, too many people in the basketball gaming community seemingly delighted at NBA Live’s struggles. They relished in its shortcomings, eager to pounce on every preview with snarky mockery. That’s not to say that there weren’t valid criticisms, even the ones delivered drenched in snark. NBA Live is dormant for a reason – several reasons, actually – but too many gamers wanted to see its downfall. “Just give up and go away,” they sneered. “It’s NBA 2K’s time, now.”

Misguided as it may have been, that stance was at least understandable when NBA 2K was at its peak, delivering quality on the virtual hardwood and fairness to the gamer. It was easy for the series to become the darling of basketball gamers, while Take-Two became the “good guys” who kept virtual hoops on PC when EA Sports abandoned the platform. As I said in a previous article however, Take-Two has become EA now, from greedy practices to games that fail to innovate and excite as they once did. NBA 2K is admittedly in much better shape than NBA Live was at its lowest, but there’s still room for viable alternatives. The question is how do you craft a competing title?

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This is Wayback Wednesday, your midweek blast from the past! From retrospectives of basketball games and their interesting features, to republished articles and looking at NBA history through the lens of the virtual hardwood, Wednesdays at the NLSC are for going back in time. This week, I’m taking a look back at NBA in the Zone, developed and released by Konami.

The sim-arcade hybrid genre of basketball video games is one that I’ve really come to appreciate in recent years. I didn’t play many of them growing up, as I preferred NBA Live for its more realistic approach to the sim style, and NBA Jam for its definitive arcade experience. While I ultimately still prefer games that are firmly sim or arcade in their style of play, sim-arcade hybrid titles undoubtedly have their place. The best ones strike a fun balance between a realistic depiction of basketball, and exaggerating the action for looser, up-tempo gameplay that takes a few liberties with accuracy.

Because they occupy a middle ground between simulation and arcade games, there are a handful of games that could be considered sim-arcade hybrids. And 1 Streetball is definitely in the conversation, mixing 5-on-5 gameplay with some power-ups and slightly exaggerated dunks. NBA Live 2003’s wackier elements arguably make it a candidate, though it’s still mostly sim at its core. When I think of prime examples of sim-arcade hybrid games though, Konami’s hoops titles are what come to mind, and that includes NBA in the Zone. Let’s take a look back…way back…

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From courtside of the virtual hardwood, it’s Episode #510 of the NLSC Podcast!

Are the NBA 2K League competitors actually the best NBA 2K gamers in the world? Both we and the community have some thoughts on that, as well as a ridiculous comparison to real NBA players. Meanwhile, a session with Street Hoops by Black Ops Entertainment has revealed it to be a hidden gem, as we had an absolute blast with it! We also discuss the importance of the unwritten rules of sportsmanship in basketball, and thanks to the NBA Live 2001 Legends, reflect on the real and virtual accomplishments of Keith Van Horn. Finally, since we shared our basketball gaming resolutions last week, this week we open up the mailbag to find out what the community has planned for 2024.

Download or play on your mobile device/tablet: CLICK HERE (Running time: 1:16:01 — 52.6MB)

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify

To get involved with the mailbag or to provide any feedback on the show, hit us up in the comments, reach out on social media, or post here in the NLSC Forum! For more information on the NLSC Podcast including episode guides, check out this page in our Wiki. You can also find the show on our YouTube channel, along with the rest of our video content. As always, thanks for tuning in, and go get buckets!

We’re at midcourt, and the ball is about to go up…it’s Monday Tip-Off! Join me as I begin the week here at the NLSC with my opinions and commentary on basketball gaming topics, as well as tales of the fun I’ve been having on the virtual hardwood. This week, I’m tipping things off with some thoughts on the sim-arcade hybrid genre of basketball video games.

When it comes to 5-on-5 basketball video games, I’d consider myself a sim gamer. Going back to playing NBA Live in the 90s, it was my desire to see the series strive for more realism. When I finally warmed up to the NBA 2K series, I was delighted at the authenticity in the games. Sure, there were a few rude shocks as I realised that I perhaps wasn’t as sim as I thought, and had to adjust to play a more realistic style of virtual basketball, but I loved that that was necessary. There have been some great sim titles in every era that I’ve enjoyed immensely.

At the same time, I’m a fan of the arcade style, too. I grew up playing NBA Jam as well as NBA Live, and I’d alternate between the two, depending on what I was in the mood for. To that point, while I’d call myself a sim gamer, I’m an arcade gamer as well, with many fond memories of playing both types of hoops titles. However, there is a style of basketball video game that I’ve tended to overlook through the years: the sim-arcade hybrid. These games have combined elements of sim and arcade titles to create their own style of gameplay that definitely has its place in the genre. As I’ve expanded my collection, I’ve come to appreciate these sim-arcade hybrid games.

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While there’s been plenty of discussion about sim and arcade basketball video games over the years, not enough attention has been given to the sim-arcade hybrid subgenre. I’ll actually be talking about it in a future Monday Tip-Off article, but in the meantime, why not check out one of those games in action? That game is the PC version of Slam ‘N Jam featuring Magic & Kareem.

Dee recently played a game of Slam ‘N Jam using Magic & Kareem’s All-Stars against Atlanta, and put together a highlight reel for our YouTube channel. As you can see, the game combines simulation elements as far as 5-on-5 play with NBA rules, but leans in an arcade direction with a fast pace and soaring dunks, without going full NBA Jam. It’s a very similar style to Konami’s games such as NBA Give ‘n’ Go, and as these highlights demonstrate, that approach to the virtual hardwood can be just as fun as games that are strictly sim or arcade. See for yourself!

I’ve previously profiled Slam ‘N Jam in a Wayback Wednesday retrospective, which you can check out here. Be sure to subscribe to our YouTube channel for more gameplay highlights, as well as retrospectives, video essays, and other content, including the weekly Top 10 Plays curated by Dee, which has just entered it’s third year. As always, feel free to hit us up with any suggestions for games that you’d like to see us play!