Sega Genesis: NBA All-Star Basketball

NBA All-Star Basketball is a basketball game for the Sega Genesis that focuses less on team play and more on one on one. The game sports all of the licensed NBA teams, but only has one player per team. That means you can play as Michael Jordan, but Scottie Pippen is missing. Or, if you play as the Hornets, you can play as J.R. Reid, as if he were better than Scottie? Please.

This fault aside, the game does a great job of giving you plenty of players to play as since it really is a stripped down version of a team sport. Since you only play as one player at a time, it makes sense to not need entire rosters of players.

The game modes are One On One, Free Throws, 3 Point Shootout, HORSE, and One on One Tournament. One on One is really the only way to play the game. The 3 Point Shootout is boring, the Free Throws game is terrible, and HORSE turns into a repetetive cycle of losing. Once you miss a shot, it’s over. The computer will hit jumper after jumper and put you away in no time flat. There are no trick shots available to make it interesting, and it gets old fast.

One on One Tournament offers the most replay value. It allows you to take your player through multiple opponents, and the games are always tough. The AI is no slouch, and you will have a tough time going all the way. It makes for something to do other than stand in a spot and shoot the ball, which is what the other game types consist of. Even this mode will get boring soon, however, and you will find yourself looking for more full featured basketball games to pass the time with.

The sound in the game is average to decent. It is on par with other basketball games of its time. The graphics are a bit poor, but not terrible. They don’t ruin the gameplay, but you will find the colors and models to be bland and repetetive after a while.

Overall the game is shallow and offers little replay value. The production values on this game were minimal, and it shows. If you want a fully featured basketball game try out one of the NBA Live games. If you want better arcade action go for NBA Jam. This game will offer an initial excitement to play HORSE, but after you realise how shallow it really is, you will turn your system off shortly thereafter.