NBA Action '94 for Genesis

Image: MobyGames

NBA Action '94

Silent simulation

Genre: sports - basketball

Publisher: Sega

Year: 1994

System: Genesis

Gameplay Score: 3

Gameplay Notes:

About as good as you could hope for a simulation-style basketball game. Easy to complete a pass and get open to shoot. Defense is difficult and it's rare that a steal attempt works. Blocking a shot is also nearly impossible, although the computer does it with regularity. My only gripe is that movement is challenging due to the weirdly skewed camera angle. You can move in all 8 directions but the court is angled at about 30 degrees so it's not possible to drive in a straight line to the basket from the top of the key. You have to take a weird angle to get where you want to go. Feels a bit awkward. The screen rotates when you cross halfcourt. It's faster than other games, but still disorienting. Why did they do this? It's also rare to get a dunk. 9 times out of 10 you get a layup, even if you're crashing down on the rim with Shawn Kemp. Makes the game feel a bit like a WNBA game.

Level Design Score: 2

Level Design Notes:

Exhibition and season. No playoff/tournament mode. No difficulty settings or arcade mode, but you can turn off fouls and fatigue.

Theme Score: 2

Theme Notes:

Full NBA and NBAPA licenses. Lacks the presentation qualities in EA, Tecmo, and Konami games of this era. It just feels...pedestrian by comparison.

Art Style Score: 4

Art Style Notes:

Small sprites, but they look good, animate well, and are matched to the size and characteristics of individual players. Quite possibly the ugliest title screen in a basketball game.

Audio Score: 2

Audio Notes:

Haunting silence during the game. All you can hear is the bounce of the ball and an occasional shoe squeak. There's no sound at all when getting a bucket, making a pass, stealing the ball. Nothing. Occassionally the announcer will say something but this is rare. There's a song which plays on the title screen, timeout, and end of quarter screens but the game just feels eerily quiet.

Overall Score: 54

Review ID: 1093