Review by: Andrew Groen

NBA Jam on Wii will send a flood of warm memories throughout your body the moment you turn it on. BOOMSHAKALAKA! rings out loudly from the speakers as you press the start button on the main menu. That one phrase would end up being the theme of the entire experience. In short, EA Sports nailed it, and was able to do so because of a crystal clear understanding of what made this game fun back in its arcade heyday.

NBA Jam is rife with fan service and call-backs to old jokes. The famed announcer from the original game still screams catch-phrases non-stop like the aforementioned “Boomshakalaka,” which I'm sure made some kind of sense back in the 90s. Once you've played a few matches you'll begin to realize just how important that announcer is to this whole experience.

That's only a part of the personality that makes this an NBA Jam game though. The sense of humor runs throughout the entire design. For instance, one of the original game's hallmarks was the ability to unlock politicians and other celebrities, and that too has returned for the latest installment. Barack Obama, Sarah Palin, George W. Bush, and Joe Biden are just a few of the high-powered politicians available this time around—and in case you're wondering: no, tossing an alley-oop to the president of the United States has not gotten old.

What's most surprising about this retro revival is how well the core gameplay has held up. Resurrecting an old game can sometimes be ruined by a timid developer that lets the gameplay get stale by not updating enough of the formula. But EA Canada found the sweet spot in making changes to an established game. Every fan will instantly know how the game works, but may not immediately notice the extra polish. Make no mistake, this is a much better game than the original NBA Jam, but the changes are subtle enough that you may not even notice.

The fast-paced 2-on-2 basketball-esque action is as fun as it ever was. There's a kinetic adrenaline rush that comes from making your character leap 45 feet into the air with a flaming basketball, doing six front-flips and shattering the backboard. Shockingly, the Wii controller aids this rather well.