NBA Jam was originally released in arcades in 1993. The huge commercial success led to it being ported to many consoles, and then an updated version was released: Tournament Edition. This also did good business for Midway, and Acclaim, who dealt with the console ports, started releasing it on nearly every format available. One of these formats was the 32X. As with all of Acclaim's 32X games, this is an upgraded version of the Genesis port. It seems a little more effort was put into it than usual, as the graphics are considerably better -the player sprites are larger and look more like the arcade game's players. The 32X version also has much more color than the Genesis version and looks much better than it. The music has also been completely re-done.

For those who've never heard of it, NBA Jam is an over the top basketball game where teams consist of only two players. The goal is to score as many points as possible by slam dunking the ball in the opponent's net. The dunks are probably the most impressive part of the game, as many of them have the player leap ridiculously high into the air. As well as dunking you'll have to work with your team mate to pass the ball and stop the opposition -even if it means pushing them over!

To get the most out of the game you'll need a few friends. The single player gets boring quickly but when you've got four human players going at it (two for each team), NBA Jam really shines. This is the best sports title for the 32X and is possibly still worth checking out even if you have the Genesis version already.

NBA Jam's single player mode has you pick a team and then face off against the other teams. Each team has several different players, and each player has their own stats. You will be asked to enter your initials whenever you start, which keeps track of your progress via batter back-up. Head to head mode lets two human players face each other -you'll each get a CPU team mate to assist. Team game is where up to four human players can play.

The A button is for making shots and dunks, depending on where your player is on the court defines what kind of shot they'll make. The B button is for turbo, making your player run faster. This turbo isn't unlimited, and the bar beneath their name will decrease when it is used. The bar will fill back up quickly when the turbo isn't being used or has been emptied. The C button is used to pass the ball to the other player on your team. By press the B and C buttons together, you can shove one of the opposition over and get them out of the way. When you haven't got the ball, the A button makes your character jump (useful for blocking shots) whilst the C button is used to swipe the ball away from the opposition.

If a player makes 3 baskets in a row he'll be "on fire" which will add a flame effect to the ball and also gives the player unlimited turbo and more accuracy for shots. The fire status lasts until the other team scores or the player with the on fire status makes four more baskets in a row. As well as the team and head to head modes, there is also a practice mode where there won't be an opposing team to face, letting your try out shots from whatever distance at your leisure.

These button codes must be entered quickly as the "tonight's match up" screen:

Always on fire:
Down, right, A, A, B, left

Baby mode:
B, A, B, up, down, left, right

Display shot percentage:
Down, up, down, B, up

Instant passes:
Down, right, right, A, A, down, left, left, right, B

Slippery court:
B, A, down, A, B, right, right, right, right, right

Turbo never runs out:
B, B, down, A, A, up, left


When asked to enter you initials, try out these to unlock a new character for your selected team. Each initial you enter must be entered by pressing start and the relevant button at the same time. For example, to unlock Larry Bird, you'd highlight the letter B and then press start and A together. Then highlight R and press start and C together. Then highlight D and press start and A together. You'll know if you got the code working as the words "SECRET PLAYER" should appear.

"(any)" means you can press A, B or C, but do not press start with the button as if you do, the code won't work.

-Early editions of the arcade version had some extra characters such as Death, along with Raiden, Reptile, Scorpion and Sub-Zero from Mortal Kombat! The NBA demanded for them to be removed from future revisions, and sadly they are also absent from the 32X port.