Review by: Jason McMaster

There’s ten seconds on the clock. Kevin Garnett passes to Larry Bird. Bird fakes out Lebron James and cuts to the basket. Five seconds left. Another quick spin leaves him open. Bird takes two steps and launches. Three seconds left. He’s five feet above the backboard and spinning. The dunk clears the net as the last second ticks from the clock. The Celtics win based on Bird’s fast break and amazing, high-powered dunks! That’s not what you’re likely to hear from any basketball game ever. Ever.

Except NBA Jam.

Jam is the intensely crazy and over the top 2-on-2 basketball game created by Midway and now owned by Electronic Arts. There are very few enforced rules in Jam; players regularly push and slam into other players with reckless abandon and the ball changes hands more times than a childhood game of hot potato. The action is fast and the entire presentation is a spectacle.

One of the hallmarks of the series is the announcer who shouts nonsense at the top of his lungs at a fairly regular pace. “Just like my wife’s top drawer: nothing but nylon!” That sounds a little creepy; it’s more endearing to hear it spoken.

On Fire is loaded with unlcokables: upgrades, achievements, extra players – NBA Jam is rife with such dangling carrots. You earn points after every game for your performance and these points can be used in the store to purchase players, mascots, etc. Among the unlockables are players like Larry Bird, Magic Johnson and Dr. J but not all of them are sports legends. There are quite a few hidden characters and non-sports figures to mess with, which again, is something you are only likely to see in a game like this.

The new feature in this release, other than the point-based unlocks, is opponent A.I. Using the A.I. from Fight Night, you’ll see a difference in behavior for each individual player. This makes the different players work towards their strengths instead of having one, overall template. The A.I. is much improved over the last edition, undoubtedly, but it still falls for some tricks. With Larry Bird, I found it pretty easy to spin near the three point line and drop the trey. Either way, though, the A.I. is improved.