izigame.me

IN-DEPTH REVIEW. As someone who grew up playing thousands of hours of NBA JAM and NBA JAM Tournament Edition, I want to write this review for those familiar with NBA JAM (simplified sports games) and those not familiar with these games. I'll try to explain both
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This game in my mind is a cross between NBA Jam and Freestyle Basketball 2.
It is a 2v2 basketball game that is highly dependent on a) Timing b) momentum management c) character matchups.
This game is similar to NBA Jam (hereafter referred to as NBAJ) in that it is a 2v2 basketball game with sprint/boost, shoves, elbow throws, super flying dunks, power ups. Its dunks, blocks, steals, shooting and defense are all VERY TIMING based. Just like NBAJ. But the timing is even more strict and takes awhile to learn, unlike NBAJ.
It also has important character stats like shooting, dunking, 2 pointers, 3 pointers, steals, blocks, stamina, speed, rebounding. Keep in mind 2 pointers and dunks are different things. Basically each of these have their own timing window and better ratings allow you more forgiving timing window.
This game is different from NBAJ in that momentum management is hugely important. This is similar to Freestyle basketball 2. Basically, the way you open the defense up is by getting them to jump on your pump fake or be too aggressive on defense. Doing so will pigeonhole the defender into a certain type of defense, which u can exploit.
As an example, if you receive a pass, you pump fake and the defender jumps super high to block. You then move slightly over and shoot a free 3 pointer. Or you receive the pass and defender tries to steal, in which case you throw elbows and knock him back. It's basically a counter-counter mind game.
NBAJ had some of this but you could recover on defense much faster because there wasn't really momentum applied to the characters besides jumping. Here, even a bad steal attempt and especially a bad shove attempt puts you out of position on defense.
Other features to consider:
Stamina -
So there was a turbo meter in NBAJ but in this game you need to learn to defend well without relying on steal/shove. You need to learn timings and positioning. A shove attempt completely depletes your stamina and it's hard to land. A steal attempt takes less stamina but about 3 attempts completely depletes you. This is even if you never sprint on defense, which you will.
This is because the offense has a juke move on Right stick, another major difference from NBAJ. I actually like this change because people and PGs who are great at steals can MURDER you in NBAJ and games like this. Juking does take about half your stamina though, but it gives u a slight boost downcourt as well. Dunking also takes a lot of stamina and if you don't have any you will do a layup instead.
Timing -
Dunking and shooting timings are very strict and hard to learn at first. If you miss, it will tell you "early" or "late". It's tough but you will learn it eventually. It may be offputting to younger gamers, but this type of "just play until you learn it" mechanic is totally normal if you grew up playing Super NES or Sega genesis.
Defense -
As I mentioned before it's hard. You may feel just go offense and outscore your opponent. But if you DO have a solid defense, you can just destroy your opponent. The game is very snowball due to power ups I mention below.
You cannot goal tend like you could in NBAJ. Well, in NBAJ you could basically catch the ball out of the air by lining up with it on its way up (and slightly on its way down even). In this game you need to play close defense and time your jump to block their shots. Great blockers will jump SUPER high to block a jump shot.
For blocking dunks it's more about jumping WITH the dunker and matching his momentum. If you do, you will basically collide in the air with him and knock out the ball
On Fire system -
There is no on fire system like NBAJ. But there is a power up system. If you fill a certain power bar, you get a random mario kart like powerup (infinite stamina, guaranteed 3 pointer, etc). To fill the bar you must perform well, and if your opponent dunks on your face it can lower your bar.
So, this is very much a rich-get-richer type of system. Not sure how I feel about that, I feel they should be exclusive of each other OR actually help the loser catchup.
Characters -
Thank god there's no micro$ in this game to get characters. But you will have to play and "level up" to get player packs and unlock players. I'm guessing that you eventually get every player in game just by playing. That is good.
You need to find your playstyle and what characters you want to use. Right now, it's pretty much all Shaq and Curry. But player matchups are definitely a thing.
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Needs fixing
- Audio bug. Cannot save music level and it's loud
- If you receive a pass and throw elbows, you cannot dribble after, which is wrong basketball-wise. You can catch and pump fake then dribble, which is correct. But an arm movement doesn't preclude you from starting a dribble. This should be fixed.
- multiplayer. I personally can't find any match. I've changed my Steam Download region to Asia, US-Los Angeles, New York and London. Found one match. So I'm guessing mp is broken pretty much. I just queued for 25 min on US-LA region while writing this review.
Also keep in mind There is no 2v2 right now. And there is no friend invites. The only mp is playing random 1v1 online. If you want this to play with friends, I recommend to WAIT and DO NOT BUY
- FPS lock. It's locked to 60 fps. Would be nice to have 144 fps but I'm guessing this won't happen
Conclusion
I do recommend this given you understand all the above and like these mechanics. However, if you want a more relaxing or forgiving sports game, it may not be for you.
I also forsee a "meta" unfortunately forming based on certain things (namely dunking into alley oop pass and dunk) being incredibly efficient in terms of success rate. There needs to be dunking teams, 2 pointer teams, 3 pointer teams, and defensive / rebounding teams viable.
But I do now know if the devs have the means or will to make this competitively balanced. This is a 20$ game after all. We will see.
Feel free to comment on this review if you have questions. I'm very passionate about sports games like this and Super Mega Baseball and Rocket League .