NBA Jam (iOS) Review

 I was immediately excited upon hearing about the possibility of NBA Jam coming to the iPhone. When EA made it official, I began to wait when it went live on the app store. The game did not disappoint, delivering the trademark fast-paced action of the NBA Jam series. While the iPhone version doesn’t stack up to the home console versions, it’s a very good portable game and still a lot of fun to play.

I’m not a fan of virtual joysticks and d-pads common in iPhone games, but the controls work pretty well in NBA Jam with a relatively low amount of slipping. The 3-button controls translate better to iPhone than those of simulation basketball games, which are oversimplified to work on the platform. Sometimes I will accidentally pass or shoot when trying to use the turbo button, but the buttons are well laid out on the screen, and are positioned in a way that feels quite natural and comfortable. The other control layout is the gesture controls, which uses a virtual joystick and slide-based controls. However, I didn't find this to be very different, because you can slide to the actions from the turbo button to make flashy passes or attempt a crazy dunk.

The game modes consist of single game and classic campaign. Single game speaks for itself, but classic campaign is where you will spend most of your time. You choose a team to play as, and then play current teams in groups of five, with each group followed by a classic team (such as Stockton and Malone). It’s a solid campaign mode that will allow you to unlock some classic players. Mostly, it provides a nice structure that is way better than just playing a bunch of single games.

The in-game challenges that allow you to unlock new players (from legends like Larry Bird to mascots like Rufus the Bobcat) provide a nice purpose to playing games. Some of them involve beating classic campaign with certain teams, or classic campaign with a team from each division, which is a nice way to get you to keep playing. Others involve accomplishing certain goals within a game, such as grabbing 10 rebounds in a game (unlocks David Robinson) or winning a game without shoving (unlocks Mark Price). Obviously there are some challenges that are much easier than others, but it provides a nice alternative to buying classic players (which isn’t terribly expensive). The game handles in-game purchases well, giving players the option to unlock them by playing the game or paying for them.

The game is $5, which is expensive compared to many apps, but I think it’s a very good game that is well worth the money if you are looking for something to play on iPhone or iPod Touch. With simple, intuitive controls and the classic gameplay you love, one might say that EA Mobile is on fire!