NBA Playgrounds | Xbox One

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​Channelling the ghosts of the past, NBA Playgrounds aims to play a game of charged-up arcade B-ball, but, like Dennis Rodman’s hair, it has some great moments, though falls short of reaching the play-offs.

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by ​Rob
​Holt

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​@acousticmagic

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Developer: Mad Dog
Publisher: Saber Interactive
Platforms: Xbox One, PS4, Nintendo Switch, PC
​Players: 1 - 4

From the offset it’s obvious that Playgrounds endeavours to go toe-to-toe with the 2-on-2 basketball games that were popular in the 90s, such as genre classic NBA Jam and the not quite as well know - but adored in my household - Barkley Shut Up & Jam. The game’s over-the-top dunks, power-ups, card collecting and corking hip-hop soundtrack can be interpreted as pros or cons, depending on your love of nostalgia.
 
A straightforward control scheme contributes to Playgrounds’ ode to the old, with pass, shoot, jump and sprint mapped to single buttons and comprising most of your toolset. Interacting with these in different ways, like holding shoot to throw farther and combining sprint and shoot to perform an outrageous dunk, add some depth, alongside the ability to call for the staple alley-oop and to throw the opposition a dirty elbow. The latter is another nod from developers Mad Dog, and something we’ve thoroughly enjoyed utilising!

​The game has a simple selection of modes to complement its arcade stylings: Exhibition and online play offer places to hone your skills, but Tournament is the real meat on the bone. You’ll play through four matches in each competition to unlock new playgrounds (Seattle’s rainy rooftop and Paris’ evening court are our favourites), new tournaments and new gold card packs. Those packs unlock legendary players from the sport to play as, like Magic Johnson and LeBron James, but, sadly, Rodman and his obnoxious hair are missing.

The tournaments are good fun in the beginning, though start to become a bit of a grind towards the end, especially when played for longer bouts. The matches can often feel woefully unfair, as you miss shots for no apparent reason, whilst the AI drains perfect jump shots from deep, adding four points to their total under Playgrounds’ interesting scoring system (bonus points for perfect release, first score of the game, etc.). Add to this the treacle-slow inbounds (re-starts after each basket) and the ease at which the AI gets lottery picks (random power-ups such as the score x2 multiplier, endless stamina, etc.) and frustration is never too far away.  

Get some friends over, however, and you’ve got yourself a cracker of a party game. Elbowing a friend to the floor as they look certain to score a dunk is glorious, as is activating the score x2 multiplier when you're not on the receiving end. It’s a shame that the single player elements of the game don’t carry the same wonder, but not surprising considering the market that Playgrounds is pitched to. Online multiplayer is almost equally as fun, provided you can find an opponent who doesn’t rage quit, but it lacks the divisional tiers that make the likes of FIFA or NBA2K such enjoyable time sinks.

Get some friends over, however, and you’ve got yourself a cracker of a party game - elbowing a friend to the floor as they look certain to score a dunk is glorious...

Playgrounds’ visual presentation is a definite highlight, with both the players and the playgrounds themselves really shining. The chunky, cartoony character models exaggerate the features of each player, as well as gifting them comically bulging muscles to provide some real laughs. Courts add to the fun factor by playing on recognisable stereotypes, from Shanghai’s cherry blossom trees, to New York’s graffiti, to Westminster with the London Eye.

Shooting from deep, the game also scores on the audio front. A cracking hip-hop theme tune plays in between games, with a vocoder-infused voice blasting lines about being “a high flyer” against a backdrop of rhymes like “alley-oop to the hoop”. The fun doesn’t stop there though, as each venue has its own theme tune, again riffing on the stereotypes of that country - Paris has accordion in its tune, par exemple.

NBA Jam had classic commentary phrases as legendary as its gameplay, and Playgrounds aims for the same territory here. Jam’s very own Ian Eagle is present, along with co-commentator E.J. Johnson, creating a mostly hilarious pairing. Lay-ups are met with comments about finger rolls, jelly rolls and butter rolls, and they also take great pleasure in breaking the fourth wall with nuggets concerning your ability with the controller, which usually bring about a chuckle.

​While initially entertaining, the verbal bashings get old rather quickly, mind; we’ve lost count of the number of times Mr Eagle has ended a game harping on about his own skills on the hardwood. Playgrounds is proof that new isn’t always better than old, with nothing coming close to the genius, childhood-defining delivery of “BOOMSHAKALAKA”.

So, as the shot clock ticks down and the game nears its close, it’s obvious that, although Playgrounds can be fun, it certainly isn’t the new NBA Jam. If you’re a huge fan of NBA Street et al then you’ll get your £15.99’s worth, but for everyone else, the ball will hit the rim and bounce back out.
 
Pros
 

• Chunky, humorous character models
• Solid local multiplayer fun
• Pick up and play controls
• Great soundtrack
• Commentary can be hilariously good...

 
Cons
 

• … But also hilariously bad
• Timing of shots is hard to gauge
• Poor AI
• Online multiplayer lacks depth
• Lacks originality

 
Score 6/10

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Saber Interactive were good enough to provide us with a copy of the game for review.