NBA Showtime: NBA on NBC Publisher: Midway Developer: Midway Platform: Dreamcast

Disclosure: Core received this title for review from its publisher. The Bottom Line Each and every year, without exception, a slew of basketball titles hit the market for every established platform. The vast selection available to gamers looking for a good hoops title can be overwhelming. However, dependent upon a preference for either an arcade style hoops game, which de-emphasizes realism, or a sim title, which seeks to emulate the game of basketball as closely as possible, the selection can dwindle to a more palatable number of titles. Midway, known for their Blitz series of football games, among others, decided to port their NBA Jam-esque arcade basketball game NBA Showtime: NBA on NBC to the PlayStation, N64, and Dreamcast. Showtime features all 29 NBA teams and well over 140 NBA players with team rosters that are current as of September 10th. While Showtime is definitely fun to play and sports some nice features, an overall lack of polish and depth keep it from earning "must buy" status. A Closer Look Approximately a decade or so ago Midway unleashed NBA Jam on arcade patrons everywhere. Its combination of special effects, exaggerated graphics, real NBA players and teams, and fast pace made it an immediate hit. For all intents and purposes it set the benchmark for arcade basketball games and had a significant influence on arcade sports games of all kinds. Those of you who remember playing the first NBA Jam or the many subsequent sequels will recall that the graphics were very cartoonish and exaggerated. Such aesthetics perfectly fit the game's relatively unconventional gameplay; for a basketball game of course. Although there's been a name change, NBA Showtime is essentially another incarnation of NBA Jam, albeit with quite a few appealing features. Graphically, NBA Showtime looks very similar to its NBA Jam brethren, but its look is slightly more polished likely due to the Dreamcast's graphical capabilities. The floors of the various arenas in Showtime have that sheen that so many of the real arena floors get as a result of the slew of large lights that hang from the arena ceilings. In addition to the traditional basketball courts that the real NBA teams play on, Showtime also features some unorthodox playing surfaces, like a playground court. The players' physiques are very overblown, and the various codes found in the many NBA Jam incarnations, like the Big Head code, are present in Showtime. The crowd could've looked a bit nicer, ala NBA 2K, and the various menus could've been made to look a bit more attractive, but other than that the graphics are relatively solid overall. As far as music goes, it's really an afterthought. The incredibly loud announcer, whom many of you will remember from NBA Jam, does the color commentary in Showtime, and he's just as obnoxious and annoying as he was before. Fortunately, you can adjust the announcer, sound effect, and music volume levels in the options mode, but nevertheless, there's absolutely nothing redeeming about Showtime's play-by-play man. The sound effects are pretty dead on; you'll hear the screeching of sneakers as your player moves about the court, an emphatic slam sound when you do a dunk, and the extraneous sounds like that of an airplane when you get major air prior to hitting a dunk. Also, for those of you who have every watched a regular season or playoff NBA game on NBC, you'll almost certainly remember the familiar NBC music that plays as they go to and come from commercial breaks. That signature music greets you when you start up a game of Showtime, although it's not present at any point during the games themselves. Showtime's various modes and associated options are almost identical in many respects to that of NFL Blitz, Midway's football counterpart to NBA Jam. That's no coincidence as the team responsible for the Blitz series also produced Showtime. From the main menu, you can choose the "Start Game" option, "Controller Configuration" option, or the "Game Settings" option. The latter two choices are self-explanatory. When you select "Start Game" you're taken to a screen that gives you a choice between creating a player, entering your initials, or selecting a team. If you choose start game you'll play an exhibition game against another computer-selected team, and none of the stats you accumulate during the game will be stored. If you opt for the initials option, you can enter three initials and a pin number, and any victories you have as well as a myriad of other stats will be kept track of. When you create a player, you enter the name and pin number you want to use to access said player, you pick a head for your player, and you finally select what number you want to appear on your player's jersey. Your created player is saved to your VMU, and once you've created a player he'll be accessible at the Select Team screen, so you can add him to the roster of your favorite NBA team. The total number of players available for use, not including created players, varies from team to team. On the low end you've got the Clippers, who only have three players, and on the high end you've got the Kings with a total of seven players. The control in Showtime is quite good, and shouldn't give even those of you with bad hand eye coordination much grief. The action does move at a bit too quick of a pace, but after a little playtime, you'll become accustomed to it. Plenty of moves will be at your disposal such as head fakes, spin moves, and a bevy of different passing options. It's a little difficult playing defense however, as knocking your opposition to the floor with a punch of sorts is your only recourse as far as preventing your opponents from scoring goes. When, and if, you can successfully knock over a ball-carrying opponent, you may or may not have knocked the ball loose from him. If not, expect a foul to be called a lot of the time. The "On Fire" feature found in NBA Jam and NFL Blitz is in Showtime, but instead of your player getting on fire after making three shots or completing three passes, in the case of Blitz, there are undetectable spots on the floor where different players will always hit a shot. It varies from player to play. For example, Gary Payton may have an "On Fire" spot at the top of the key, but Alonzo Mourning may have an "On Fire" spot just inside the top left part of the three-point line. The fouls reset after each quarter, but if you get six fouls before the end of any given quarter you'll send your opponent to the free throw line, and the computer doesn't miss. The D-pad or the analog stick can be used to move your players around, so if you find the analog stick too loose and not precise enough, or you think the D-pad is too stiff and brutal on your thumb, you've got a choice. On top of all that, you'll get coaching tips between quarters, halftime stats at the half, and the ability to select different players at halftime. This is only two on two basketball though, so you won't have many bench players to choose from on the whole. Showtime really is a lot of fun to play, but it's one of those games that simply doesn't have lasting power as a one-player experience. You'll have a blast dunking over one to three other friends in the multiplayer mode, but the computer opposition becomes predictable and ultimately unsatisfying to play against. While it's not altogether fair to compare Showtime to a more sim focused title like NBA 2K, it is fair to say that NBA 2K has more depth and substance than Showtime, despite the fact that the two are about as different as two basketball games can get. If you've got a lot of friends that you see often who like a sports game that doesn't take itself seriously, you'll most likely get a lot out of Showtime. However, for all the sports game purists out there and the folks who play by themselves the preponderance of the time, Showtime just isn't worth the price of admission. Graphics: +Smooth animation +Nice looking arenas -Menus not as polished as they could've been +/- Player detail is good, but again, not as good as it could've been Sound: +Crisp, clear sound effects add to the game's atmosphere -Obnoxious announcer becomes very grating very quickly -Music is mostly an afterthought; doesn't seem like a lot of effort was put into it Gameplay: +Loose, arcade style control makes the game easy to play right off the bat +"On Fire" spots spice up the game a bit -The speed at which the game moves is too fast and can be frustrating at times Replay Value: +Create a player mode lets you add a personal touch to your favorite team +Stat tracking lets you see how you're faring in comparison to the rest of the league -Unless you've got friends around to play, the one player mode will get boring in a hurry Overall: Graphics: B+ Sound: C+ Gameplay: B- Replay Value: B- Overall: B

Title: Samurai Shodown 2 Publisher: SNK Developer: SNK Platform: NeoGeo Pocket Color

Disclosure: Core purchased this product for review directly from retail. The Bottom Line SNK systems have long been the systems of choice for those who adore fighting games. Each and every Neo Geo console has been flooded with fighting games. Some of these games have been stand alone titles that weren't a part of any particular series. Many of the others, probably the majority in fact, have been. The King of Fighters series, the Fatal Fury series, and the Samurai Shodown series have all been and continue to be extremely popular among fighting game fans. Not to be left out, the NeoGeo Pocket Color was christened with several versions of the previously mentioned series, all of which are a part of what SNK is calling its Pocket Fighting Series. Samurai Shodown 2 is indeed one of these titles and delivers a fighting game experience nearly equaling some of today's major console fighting games. Those who are looking for a phenomenal handheld fighting game need look no further than Samurai Shodown 2. However, if you don't like fighting games, you won't find anything much to like in Samurai Shodown 2. A Closer Look The three things most responsible for the success of the Samurai Shodown series are the unique characters, intuitive control, and the excellent weaponry. When the first Samurai Shodown came out there weren't too many weapons based fighters around. Now, with titles such as Namco's superb Soul Calibur leading the way, we'll undoubtedly see more and more weapons based fighters hit the market. Now, making a good fighter for a console is one, but making a good fighter for a handheld is far more difficult. SNK has long been known for their prowess as a fighting games developer, and that prowess is evident in every facet of Samurai Shodown 2. Graphically, Shodown 2 looks as good as it can possibly look given the NGPC's limitations. It is a 16-bit handheld, but nevertheless, that still puts considerable restraints on the graphics and sound. Even so, SNK has managed to give SS2's graphics all the color, vibrancy, and fluidity that anyone could reasonably expect. The characters' movements are incredibly smooth and well animated, and are just about as good as those found in the various console incarnations of Samurai Shodown. The stages are also extremely well done, and even change from day to night in many instances. While still impressive, the music and sound effects in SS2 aren't quite as astounding as the game's graphics. The subtle, deliberate music from the console version of SS2 is faithfully reproduced in the handheld version, so you won't be subjected to any generic pop rock music. The sound effects, such as the slashing noise that accompanies a strike or the landing noise that's made when you come down from a jump, are relatively good considering the sound capabilities of the NGPC. Both are solid overall and most definitely respectable, but not incredibly impressive or awe-inspiring. The modes available in SS2 are nice, but they're your standard fighting game fare. Still, there's nothing wrong with that. SS2 has One Player, Survival, Versus, Collection, and Option modes. Most everyone is familiar with One Player, Survival, Versus, and Option modes, so let's skip those and get right to the Collection mode. SS2 employs a neat little system based on attribute cards. Each time you beat the game with any given character you'll earn a little attribute card. It can be a defense up card, a special move card, or any number of other things. Once you've accumulated at least one card for a particular character you'll be given the option of equipping that character with that card or cards when you play with them again. Should you have a friend who happens to have a NGPC and a copy of SS2, the two of you can trade your accumulated cards with the aid of a link cable. You can only equip two cards at a time before you begin to play, but each character can acquire a total of eight cards; four for the Bust style of play and four for the Slash style of play. Slash and Bust will be explained later in this very review. Along with the game's graphics, the gameplay really shines through and shows that the development team put a lot of time and effort into making the control as good as it can be. Lots of really cool moves like the Rage Explosion and the Rising Low and Middle attacks add considerable depth and thus give you lots of options. Sometimes certain moves are more handy when facing certain characters, so the wide range of moves for each character is very helpful. Be forewarned though, even on Normal difficulty you can get through the game pretty easily, so if you want to be at all challenged you'll need to play on Hard. When you begin, a total of fourteen characters will be at your disposal, many of which are mainstays in the Samurai Shodown series. They are, in no particular order, Shiki, Jubei, Ukyo, Charlotte, Haohmaru, Morozumi, Asra, Galford, Hanzo, Rimururu, Nakoruru, Genjuro, Sogetsu, and Kazuki. By inputting a code at the character select screen the referee from the Samurai Shodown series, Kuroko, can be unlocked, bringing the character tally to an impressive fifteen. Each character is easy to control, and the moves are a breeze to pull off. That's likely thanks in large part to the NGPC's innovative thumb-joystick, which is essentially a tiny joystick that takes the place of the standard hard plastic D-pad. In addition to regular and special moves, each character has a POW meter, which is also found in Samurai Shodown 1-4. When your POW meter is full you can then perform a special attack that does massive damage. There's a brief pause before your character executes his or her special attack, so timing is of the essence. The Bust and Slash fighting styles mentioned previously decide whether your character will be chivalrous or treacherous. Slash is the chivalrous fighting style and Bust is the treacherous fighting style. Each character has a slightly different set of moves for both Slash and Bust, although most of the characters have a few moves that are common to both styles. SNK has proven without a doubt that they're right up there with Capcom and Namco as far as producing high quality fighting games go. The attention to detail and the sheer depth of the handheld version of Shodown 2 is something the Shodown 2 development team should be commended for. If you've got a NGPC and you like fighting games, Samurai Shodown 2 is a must-have title. The marvelous graphics, phenomenal control and gameplay, and the unique features such as the attribution cards all add up to equal a fantastic handheld fighter. For great fighting action on the go it's hard to beat Samurai Shodown 2. Graphics: +Incredibly smooth and fluid animation +Plenty of color +Picturesque stages that often change from day to night Sound: +Low key music fits the game perfectly +/-Good sound effects considering the capabilities of the NGPC, but perhaps a bit too generic Gameplay: +Lots of moves for each character +Moves are easy to perform thanks to the NGPC's great thumb joystick +Attribution cards for each character add to the game's depth Replay Value: +A total of fifteen characters to master will take some time +Trying to get all the character attribution cards will keep you busy for a while -Even on Normal difficulty the game is way too easy Overall: Graphics: A+ Sound: B- Gameplay: A+ Replay Value: A- Overall: A-

Title: SNK vs. Capcom: Match of the Millennium Publisher: SNK Developer: SNK Platform: NeoGeo Pocket Color

The Bottom Line Every so often, a game comes along that supercedes all others in its genre. These are the games that are more than just excellent titles, they're the cream of the crop; the titles that people look back on as being landmarks and classics. Games like Pac-Man, Street Fighter 2, and Tetris are examples of such games, and SNK vs. Capcom for the NeoGeo Pocket Color could well end up in such elite company. Quite simply, this game is the best fighting game ever released for any handheld, and is up there with the likes of Zelda: DX as one of the greatest games ever made for a portable system. Everything from the graphics, to the sound, to the bevy of features make SNK vs. Capcom not only a phenomenal title that you'll come back to again and again, but a memorable game that you'll cherish for years to come. A Closer Look There's usually some semblance of a storyline in every fighting game, although some fighting games have far better storylines than others. SNK vs. Capcom's storylines are good enough, but they're definitely not at all gripping or intriguing. Depending on whether you choose an SNK or Capcom character in the Single fighting segment of the Tourney Mode (or whether you've got an SNK or Capcom character as the leader of your team in the Team fighting segment) the story varies slightly, and I do mean slightly. The main storyline goes a little something like this. M. Bison has joined forces with Geese Howard to hold the Battle Tournament of Evil. Bison and Geese promise fame and fortune for whomever prevails. However, their real intent is to capture the tournament entrants and make them into their "Immortal Military", which essentially amounts to zombie slaves. SNK vs. Capcom's graphics are stunning. The colors are vibrant, the characters look like perfect shrunken down representations of their console brethren, and the stages and backgrounds are fantastic. Lots of stages from previous SNK and Capcom games have been included, among which are Akuma's Cave, the Great Wall of China stage from Street Fighter Alpha 1, the moving train stage from Fatal Fury, Haohmaru's rocky seaside stage from Samurai Shodown, and Ryu's Japan stage from Street Fighter 2. Great pains were obviously taken to ensure that every aspect of the graphics were as good as they could possibly be. Each character moves very smoothly, and the included stages from previous games are so faithfully reproduced that such things as the birds flying in the background of Ryu's SF2 stage are present. The on-screen information is presented and organized in such a way as to make it all not only aesthetically pleasing, but practical as well. A picture of your chosen fighter appears in the top left-hand corner of the screen, with your character's name to the right of that, and their energy bar directly below their name. Depending on how many rounds you have set, a certain number of boxes will appear under the little picture of your character in the top right-hand corner of the screen. So, if you've decided to make each fight a best of three, two little boxes will appear under your character's picture. When you win a round, the leftmost box becomes red and flickers on and off to signify a victory. The super bars are on the bottom of the screen as is customary, and the super level indicators are right next to them. One minor complaint; the characters' skin looks too pale, but likely won't bother most players. Even the transition scenes, such as the map that shows you the location of your next fight, all look fantastic. The cinemas that help the story unfold look phenomenal, and are of such a high quality that they'd even be good looking for a Genesis or SNES game. The game's sound is also extremely good. Each track is not only catchy, but doesn't suffer from the tinny-sounding problems so often associated with handheld games' music. Some of the tracks will sound familiar to some players because they are, in fact, from various SNK and Capcom games. There are some new tunes also. Granted, the music here doesn't sound as good as console music does, but it's about as good as music can be for a portable game. I won't try and categorize the tunes because they're quite different from one another. Some are fast paced and upbeat, while others are a bit slower and gloomier. This combination makes for a very appealing soundtrack that contributes significantly to the fantastic atmosphere. The sound effects are all quite good, though not groundbreaking or stunning in any way. As you might expect, there are sounds for everything, including taunting, punching, kicking, projectile throwing, and the like. With the exception of the punching and kicking sound, all the other sounds are quite distinct from one another. While Match of the Millennium excels in every conceivable way, its substantial depth is perhaps its best aspect. Its depth is made possible by the startling number of modes and features present. No handheld fighting game has ever had more depth and replay value than MotM, and I wouldn't be surprised if no future portable fighter ever does. After you get past the intro, you'll be brought to the title screen and will have two choices. You can go to "Set Up", which is the options menu, or you can select "Start". Once you've selected start you come to the game's main menu. Six options will greet you including Tourney, Olympic, Sparring, Vs. Mode, Entry, and Record. Tourney is the heart of the game and is the mode with the storyline. When you select Tourney you get three options; Single, Tag, and Team. Single is self-explanatory. Tag really is too, but there's one really noteworthy aspect of Tag play. Those of you that have played PlayStation fighting games know that any PSX fighting game that features Tag play, complete with tagging in and out, suffers from slowdown and awkwardness. Well, albeit a little cartridge for SNK's handheld, tagging in and out in MotM's Tag mode doesn't slow down the action one iota. You can tag in and out as fluidly as you could possibly want to. It's fantastic. Team play is the same as Tag play except for the fact that you have a team of three characters instead of two. A total of 18 characters are initially selectable; 9 on the Capcom side and 9 on the SNK side. You can also earn 4 hidden characters for each side, including Akuma, M. Bison, Geese Howard, and Yuri Sakazaki to name a few. The Olympic Mode really could have been a game unto itself. Both the Capcom side and the SNK side are represented by team captains; Karin Kanzuki for the Capcom team and Rimururu for the SNK team. Depending on which team you select you'll have a somewhat different set of events to compete in. I say `somewhat' because both sides shares three events and have two that are unique. The three shared events are Survival, Time Attack, and First Blast. The Capcom side's unique events are Ghost Trick and Cat Walk, while the SNK side's two unique events are Target 9 and Blade Arts. All of these games wouldn't be enough for an entirely separate cartridge on a game-to-game basis, but collectively they definitely would. The Ghost Trick, Cat Walk, and Target 9 events in particular are incredibly fun and addictive. The incentive to competing in the Olympics comes in the form of the Master Skill selection menu. When you compete in an event and medal you get a certain number of points depending on how well you did. Over time these points accumulate. On the Master Skill menu you'll find little boxes with pictures of every character you happen to currently have. When you highlight any one of those boxes you'll see the name of a move, the number of Vs. points you have, and the number of Vs. points required to purchase that character's super special move. There are literally dozens of other things that could justifiably merit mention, but for the sake of your attention spans I won't go into them all. If it hasn't become apparent by now, this game oozes replay value. If you're a 2D fighting game fan you will never get bored of this game. It simply doesn't get old. The Tourney Mode is enough to keep you occupied, but the Olympic Mode, Vs. Mode (which lets you trade data with the Dreamcast version of KOF 99, Card Fighters Clash for the NeoGeo Pocket Color, and the upcoming SNK vs. Capcom for the Dreamcast), and Sparring Mode will ensure that you'll be playing MotM for quite some time. There's so much to do and to master that it's almost difficult to give any approximation of the game's longevity, other than to say that it's really, really substantial. The control is spot on, so fighting game vets and newcomers alike should have no trouble pulling off the moves. If you're a little rusty you can jump into the Sparring Mode and get some of that rust off. The NGPC's nifty thumb joystick makes controlling your character intuitive after a while. Those who choose to plunk down the necessary cash and buy SNK vs. Capcom: Match of the Millennium won't be disappointed, unless they don't like fighting games. This gem goes beyond the realm of `best handheld fighting game'. It's up there as one of the very best games ever released for a handheld system, and is, in my mind, one of the best games of the year so far, be it for a console or a handheld. If you like 2D fighters at all you'll be immensely pleased with this game. If you love 2D fighters like I do you'll wonder how you ever got by without this game. MotM is reason enough to buy a NeoGeo Pocket Color, and those who already own a NGPC should have this game in their library. Fighting on the go just doesn't get better than this. Graphics: + Character animation is superb. + Lots of stages from previous SNK and Capcom games that are faithfully reproduced. + Colors are vibrant. + Awesome cinemas. + Great intro. - Characters' skin looks a bit too pale. Sound: +Tracks for old SNK and Capcom fighting games are faithfully reproduced. + New tracks made just for MotM sound as good as the reproduced ones. + Lots of sound effects for just about every action in the game. Gameplay: + Single, Tag Team, and 3 on 3 Fighting. + Tons of moves for every character. + You can acquire new moves for each character in the Olympic Mode. + Excellent control. + The Olympic Mode events aren't useless filler; they're actually fun. + Link up with a friend and duke it out. + You can trade data with KOF 99 and SNK vs. Capcom for the Dreamcast + Heck, you can even trade data with the Card Fighters Clash titles for the NGPC. Replay Value: + Six different modes. + You can purchase new moves for every character in the Olympic Mode. + Data trading can be done with two Dreamcast games and two NGPC games. + Singles, Tag Team, and 3 on 3 action + Extremely fun mini-games in the Olympic Mode + 26 characters total to master Overall: Graphics: A+ Sound: A+ Gameplay: A+ Replay Value: A+ Overall: A+

[More Console-tations]

[Back to Collector Times]

[Prev.]

[Return to Reviews]

[Return to Gaming]

[Disclaimer]

[Next]

Copyright © 2000 Ian Johnston ian@coremagazine.com About the Author