The much-beloved NBA Jam series may never return in its original form, but fans of the long-dead series have been hoping that NBA Playgrounds will be able to scratch the near decade long itch for a new iteration. As much as it pains me to say this, Playgrounds is not near the quality of its spiritual predecessor, and in its current state it will leave you wanting for more.
NBA Playgrounds is priced on a budget and is most definitely developed on a one as well. While the game sports a healthy roster of licensed players all with their own unique stats, the quantity of everything else fails match the variety of playable characters. Thankfully, the two modes and small selection of maps can be overshadowed by how different team combinations can drastically change you in-game strategy. Whether you’re playing as a new up-and-coming star or a retired legend, NBA Playgrounds offers slightly different gameplay experiences every time you switch out your character.
Characters are unlocked through card packs which you gain when you level up or complete a tournament. While the game doesn’t feature any microtransactions at this point, the license agreement you sign to start the game mentions them quite heavily so they could potentially get introduced in the future. Each pack contains five different players with gold packs having a higher chance at containing a legendary player. Any duplicate cards you get will be swapped out for a small amount of XP.
Out of the hundred plus characters you’ll be unlocking, only four of them can appear in a single game. Taking place on small courts, Playgrounds’ games are short matches of two-on-two with a heavy emphasis on timing. Depending on where you are when you shoot, you’ll have to hold down the ‘X’ button for a different amount of time. If your opponents are about to shoot then you can either attempt to get the ball off them or, when they attempt to score through shooting or dunking, slap the ball off course.
With the gameplay being focused entirely on timing, it becomes quite essential to play the game on a decent display. Initially, I was playing the game on a standard television but due to a fairly high response time—which most TVs have—it made the game incredibly difficult. The game also has noticeable amounts of rubberbanding if you’re doing too well so that the AI can catch up to you and provide a more exhilarating match. Playing on a high response time TV like I originally was can combine with the rubberbanding to make a more infuriating experience, however, thankfully I swapped over to a very responsive monitor, but not everyone will be that lucky.
Playgrounds timing-based gameplay is actually a lot of fun, when it works. Every player—that I unlocked—felt well-balanced due to the wide variety of different stats and the way they counter each other. For example, some characters have more stamina allowing them to sprint or crossover more effectively, taller players can dunk better than shorter characters, so on and so forth.
Although there are only two proper modes and a handful of locations, NBA does what it does well. You may get bored after long play sessions, as the fundamentals of its gameplay are tied to short bursts with friends, but if you’re a fan of the NBA Jam or NBA Street games, this is a decent purchase at a modest price.
Summary
NBA Playgrounds doesn’t look impressive, it’s quite repetitive, and there isn’t much content on offer. With the right setup and good enough reflexes, Playgrounds is a cheap and effective substitute for the still-missing NBA Jam series.
Lewis is a games journalist, freelance gaming and consumer-tech journalist. They contributed 344 articles to ICXM between 2015–2017, focused on opinion pieces, game reviews, Windows and PC, and Xbox news: has since served as Editor-in-Chief at StealthOptional and Gaming Editor at MSPoweruser, with bylines at Gfinity Esports and FRVR.