Gamezilla!
Console

February 19, 2002
Overall score:  67 Space Jam (PSX)
by Acclaim Entertainment  Reviewed by: Mark Skorupa

Overview:
Bugs Straight off the movie screen and onto your Playstation comes Space Jam, the video game. Based on the fairly successful movie staring Michael Jordan, Space Jam lets you play a quick game of basketball as any of your favorite Warner Brothers characters. Step up against the evil mutant Monstars or, if you feel like being the bad guys, play as the Monstars.

I'm sure you are wondering how Michael Jordan got himself in this crazy mess. Well, the universe is being overrun by monsters. These monsters started off small but have suddenly started to grow. Since they are now quite tall, the only thing they want to do is play some basketball. So these monsters show up in toon land ready to beat up on some Looney Toons. The Looney Toons team does not stand a chance against these beasts. Luckily, someone has an inside track to Mr. Jordan and they have convinced him to join the Looney Toon squad. So lace up your Air Jordans and let's save the universe from big-headed monsters!

Gameplay:
Let's get one thing straight from the top. Space Jam is a game for kids, plain and simple. If you are looking for a super action, slamming basketball game, look somewhere else. If you go in with the expectation that the kids will enjoy the game, you will be much better off. This really didn't dawn on me until I heard my buddy's 7-year-old playing the game. He was having a blast. That made me realize that this was purely and simply a kid's game. Too bad, because it would have been great for the middle-aged gamers who grew up on Bugs Bunny to have a game staring their hero that they could enjoy.

Space Jam is a cartoon-based basketball game that uses the same game engine as NBA Jam. It is basically NBA Jam with cartoon characters in place of NBA players. This means that you have all of the slamming that made the NBA Jam series so successful, only there are a few added little twists. Take, for example, Wile E. Coyote. He has the Acme dunk where he pulls out his springs and bounces high off the screen. The ball falls into the basket and Wile E. slams to the ground, then his parachute opens. A lot of the different characters have special moves that correspond with their on-screen antics. Let me just say that these special dunks were the most enjoyable part of the game for me and the kids absolutely loved it.

ScreenshotNow let's talk characters. We all have our favorite Looney Toon characters. Chances are, that character is in the game. Each of the characters has an ability ranking with a maximum of three. The categories that are ranked are speed, shooting and rebounding. Needless to say, our first character, Michael Jordan receives 3's in all three categories. The other characters include Bugs Bunny, Lola Bunny, Taz, Daffy Duck, Foghorn Leghorn, Sylvester, Yosemite Sam, Elmer Fudd, Wile E. Coyote, Porky Pig and Pepe Le Pew. Like I said before, each of these characters is ranked on their ability and you can play either 2 on 2 or 3 on 3 so you can have a maximum of three characters on the court at a time.

Space Jam has two modes of gameplay. The first is a standard 2 on 2 or 3 on 3 game. This is just a battle to the finish to outscore your opponent. In this mode, you can make substitutions to your players throughout the game. The second mode is the Intergalactic Tournament. This is a tournament that has the toons against the Monstars with the goal of winning five games in a row. There are no substitutions available in this mode. You pick one player at the beginning to be the captain of the squad and after each game you pick two new players. The Monstars are not too kind in the tournament so always watch your back.

ScreenshotSpeaking of gameplay, this is where Space Jam suffers when it comes to holding the attention of adults. The thing that made the NBA Jam series so successful was the fast-paced action. Space Jam is so slow that you feel like you are running in quicksand. I think the pace was slowed for the kids, which is fine, but I think it makes the game suffer horrendously. Also, either team rarely misses shots. It is basically up and down the court and trade baskets. Once again, this is alright for the younger fans but us kids at heart will not make it long.

The last thing that Space Jam offers is little sub-games between quarters. I never really understood the significance of these sub-games. The first is the trophy room. You play as Daffy Duck and you run around a room trying to collect Michael Jordan's basketball equipment while Charles the watchdog tries to stop you. After halftime, Bugs Bunny runs around the locker room looking for Michael's water bottles. If you find enough, it will increase your turbo power during the game. After the first quarter, you can race in the Speedy Gonzalez space race. This is a race against another ship that, if you win, increases your court speed. The last sub-game is Yosemite Sam's shootout. This is the only game I could actually win. The basketball court has different sections that have numbers associated with the section. There are 2 pointers, 5 pointers, all the way to 20 pointers. This is the only game that has anything to do with basketball.

Graphics:
I really enjoyed the graphics in Space Jam. All of the characters look like they do in the cartoons and the animations on the special dunks are a riot. The crowd is very detailed and if you look closely, you may see some of your other favorite characters cheering you on in the crowd. The game looks just like you are watching Bugs Bunny and Friends after school before going outside to play with your army men.

Bottom Line:
This game is really targeted for the pre-10 age group. I think the slow gameplay will keep anyone older than 10 unsatisfied. If I were scoring this game from an 8-year-old's eyes, it would get about an 84, but since this is such a small percentage of the gaming population, I have to score it from my point of view. If you have young ones, this should keep them entertained. If not, stick with NBA Jam.

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