NBA Jam 2000 is a good, not Great game

NBA Jam 2000 was released in 1999 and was exclusive to the N64. This is the third game in the Acclaim branch of the NBA Jam series. It is similar to the previous game, as it is more of a simulation of basketball.

There were a few improvements made to the core game. Most of them have to do with the create-a-player and create-a-team modes. While this is cool to see in a game like this, it is still disappointing that they went away from the arcade format.

Acclaim made some strange decisions with their version of the series. They wanted a yearly product that would compete with the other NBA games. It is a similar approach to what they did with the NFL Quarterback Club games. This isn’t necessarily a bad idea; it is just an odd decision to do this with NBA Jam.

Acclaim wasn’t in too much trouble in 1999. They still had licenses and a decent reputation. The company was growing into other areas to secure new properties. Not all of these would work out, and the quality of their games didn’t really improve during the 2000s. They were still publishing good games, but it wasn’t enough to save them.

TLDR: A good basketball game, but not a great NBA Jam game.

Narrative

While there isn’t a story or career mode in this game, you can create-a-player or create-a-team. This is a nice way to use your imagination and make up a story. It isn’t a bad way of doing things, but it is putting a lot on the player. You can also just ignore this and play the game as you want.

Gameplay

NBA Jam 2000 has pretty good gameplay. It is a little faster than the previous game, which is a big improvement. My biggest issue with this game, and the previous game, is that the game doesn’t feel like an NBA Jam game.

This is, again, a traditional 5-on-5 game of basketball. All the rules are from the NBA, and they’re enforced. There is nothing wrong with this approach, but it is odd for people who wanted something closer to the arcade game or NBA Extreme.

The rosters are taken from the 1999-2000 NBA season. Like a lot of these sports games, the rosters were locked at a specific date and might not be totally accurate to that season. Granted, I wouldn’t have known how accurate they are, especially since this is a retrospective on a game released over 25 years ago.

Much like the previous entry, there is a Jam Mode. This is where you can play something close to the arcade game. I guess this is better than nothing, but it just makes me wish I was playing Midway’s series or the arcade game.

Overall, the gameplay is fine. There are a few other game modes, but they don’t really separate from each other. It just feels like you’re playing a basketball video game that could be called anything. I like that there is an option for something close to NBA Jam, but I wish it was the main game.

Visuals

NBA Jam 2000 looks pretty good for the time it was released. Character models, arenas, and animations look good. I didn’t notice much of a difference between this game and the previous one. There just doesn’t appear to be much of an improvement in this area.

This game didn’t make big changes to the character models. There might be something that looks better. But I didn’t notice. The animations for the players don’t look all that different to me. I’m sure something was done to improve them, but I really don’t see a difference.

I really like how they use the camera in this game. It isn’t too different from the previous game, but it is still quite good. It never felt like it was causing problems.

The arenas look great for the time. There isn’t too much they could do to improve on this. The crowd could’ve been better, but the focus is on the court, which looks very good. I don’t know what they could’ve done to make this much better than the last game.

If you wanted to see the “on-fire” stuff, then you have to go to the Jam Mode. It looks fine for what it is. I still prefer how it looks in the Genesis and SNES versions of the game. The arcade game probably looks better as well.

Overall, I thought the graphics were fine. Nothing stood out as being good or bad. The camera was pretty good, the game felt a little cinematic at times, and I liked how the players looked. Sadly, most of what made an NBA Jam game fun has been stripped out of the main game.

Reviews at the Time

Reviews for NBA Jam 2000 were mostly positive at the time. There were a few outliers, and the final score doesn’t tell the whole truth. The scores were between 3.6 and 7.1/10.

EGM had four people review the game. Those scores were 7, 5, 2, and 6/10. The game was still too slow for one of the reviewers, and “devoid of any fun aspects whatsoever,” for another. They also said it wasn’t as fun as NBA Showtime, which is part of Midway’s branch of NBA Jam games.

GameSpot gave the game a 5.6/10. The reviewer said that there were dropped or missing animations. This is something that was mentioned in another Acclaim sports game, which points to something technically going on. It was labeled as “a rental.”

IGN gave it a 7.1/10. The reviewer said that the main game didn’t “do anything different enough from ’99 to warrant a purchase.” They compared the Jam mode to Showtime, and said it was a nice alternative to that game.

Once I pivot to the Midway games, it will be nice to compare them. I’m not sure what to make of these scores, mostly because I haven’t played too many basketball games from this period. I’m sure I’ll have a more concrete opinion of them as I keep playing these games.

6.5/10. I like this a little more than NBA Jam 99. The graphics and gameplay are fine for the time. I didn’t notice anything terrible, but there are a few questionable things. At the end of the day, NBA Jam 2000 just doesn’t feel like an NBA Jam game.

Pros

• Good Graphics
• Create-a-player and team
• Decent Gameplay

Cons

• It doesn’t feel like an NBA Jam game
• Too much of a simulation

Conclusion

So far, the Acclaim NBA Jam games have been disappointing. Turning these into something that they never were is a little strange. There was still room for an arcade sports game, and they had the name of a very successful one. It is just an odd decision.

I’m seeing a few of the same problems cropping up as I go through these games. As with NFL Quarterback Club 2000, reviewers complained about missing animations in NBA Jam 2000. Something was going on at the development studio at this time, and it will be interesting to see if it persists.

Acclaim is an odd company, and they made some odd decisions. I’ve gotten used to playing indie games, where the developers want to create something great. Companies like Acclaim and EA were more concerned with the bottom line at this time. That is what happens when your company gets too big.

I’m still looking for a great game from Acclaim. There have been some good ones, and a few that I like more than others. At this point, I haven’t found something that I can say is great or underrated.

If you liked this post, check out some of my others on the NBA Jam games. Such as NBA Jam Extreme or NBA Jam 1999.