Flashback Friday: Space Jam the Video Game

This is going to be fun...and painful at the same time. Let's talk about one of the first games I ever played on a Playstation system: Space Jam.

What could go wrong?

Why? Well, there seems to be some scuttlebutt going around now that there may indeed be a Space Jam 2 starring LeBron James. While that remains to be seen, it got people.....excited may not be the right word...maybe intrigued?

I was given a Playstation for Christmas LONG ago, and I also was gifted 4 games, this, 2Xtreme, Street Fighter: The Movie (ugh) and Crash Bandicoot. I did not own a Sega Saturn in my life (guess you could say I already had a feel for the video game industry and knew the Saturn wouldn't do well) so the original Playstation was my first taste of 3D graphics. (I got the PSX before I got an N64). Also my first chance to feel load times. Gotta love those.

Graphics....yeah...

So maybe I wasn't as keen on the video game industry as I thought. Guess I hadn't been told yet that games based on movies usually suck. Granted, it was the mid 90's so my 11 year old brain only thought of pro wrestling, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, and "give me all the games". Funny, my 28 year old brain is pretty much the same.

So, this game is not very good.

It's real basic 3 on 3 basketball as you take control of either the TuneSquad or the Monstars and play a game of basketball. That's it. No "Story Mode", Online was pretty much nonexistent at this point, and, let's just say, people weren't clamoring to come over to my house to play Space Jam. 

Can't imagine why...

Before the game, you play as Daffy Duck collecting Michael Jordan's uniform while avoiding the family dog. Does it help you in the actual game? No. After the 1st and 3rd quarters you do one of 3 mini games, then at halftime you, as Bugs Bunny, collect water bottles from lockers. It's all dumb, and after a while you're better off just skipping them.

Your reward for winning the game? Probably turning it off.

It's kind of an unwritten rule that video games based on movies always suck. There are a couple exceptions: see this, this, and well, duh! However, this was right in that dark age of movie games. Just get ready for the inevitable Space Jam 2 game.

Though I still have the Space Jam soundtrack, and if you say anything bad about it, we can't be friends.