| Space Jam | |
|---|---|
 North American PlayStation cover | |
| Developer | Sculptured Software |
| Publisher | Acclaim Entertainment |
| Engine | NBA Jam Extreme |
| Platforms | Sega Saturn PlayStation MS-DOS |
| Release | PlayStation Saturn DOS |
| Genre | Sports (basketball) |
| Modes | Single-player,multiplayer |
Space Jam is asports video game that ties in withthe film of the same name, and based onLooney Tunes characters byWarner Bros. It was released for the SonyPlayStation andSega Saturn consoles, andMS-DOS computers. Unlike the film and real rules of basketball, each team plays 3-on-3. Players have a choice whether to play as theTuneSquad or the Monstars. It features basic controls and 2D graphics. The game was developed bySculptured Software, who also developed the Looney Tunes-based basketball gameLooney Tunes B-Ball forSunsoft the year prior to the production of theSpace Jam film, and published byAcclaim Entertainment, who also published theNBA Jam series of basketball games.[3]
Before the actual game of basketball begins, Daffy Duck takes part in a game where he has to find parts ofMichael Jordan's uniform, avoiding the family dog Charles. In-between quarters, mini-games such asShoot Out,Space Race, andHall of Hijinx are available; after the 2nd quarter, Bugs takes part in a minigame where he has to find water bottles containing Michael's secret stuff.
| Publication | Score |
|---|---|
| Computer Games Magazine |   (PC)[5] |
| Consoles + | 79% (PS1)[4] |
| Electronic Gaming Monthly | 5.25/10 (PS1)[6] |
| GameRevolution | D (PS1)[7] |
| GameSpot | 3.6/10 (PS1)[8] |
| Mega Fun | 78% (PS1)[9] |
| Next Generation | (PS1)[10] |
| PlayStation Official Magazine – Australia | 7/10 (PS1)[11] |
| Super Game Power | 3.5/5 (PS1 & SAT)[12] |
| Video Games (DE) | 27% (PS1 & SAT)[13] |
| Saturn Power | 46/100 (SAT)[14] |
| Sega Saturn Magazine | 53% (SAT)[15] |
Space Jam received unfavorable reviews, with critics generally commenting that the basketball is overly simplistic and easy.[6][8][14][15][16] Some attributed this to the unbalanced characters, stating that Michael Jordan is overpowered and the Monstars are all underpowered.[6][10] Most found the mini-games to be poor.[6][8][10] The graphics were also criticized, with many critics saying they could have been done on 16-bit consoles,[6][8][10][15][16] though the depictions of the popular Looney Tunes characters were praised.[6][8][10][14][16]
GamePro described the game as "ordinary".[16]GameSpot's Tom Ham stated that "despite the use of much-loved Warner Bros. cartoon characters,Space Jam fails miserably in every category."[8] Dan Hsu and Crispin Boyer ofElectronic Gaming Monthly also panned the game, while their co-reviewers Shawn Smith and Sushi-X defended it, arguing that it was clearly designed for children, making the simplistic gameplay and low difficulty appropriate for its target audience.[6] A reviewer forNext Generation countered this argument by pointing out that it uses one more button thanNBA Jam does, which he felt made it too complicated for young players. He remarked that "While it's hard to forgive the poor basketball, it's even harder to likeSpace Jam given the disc's numerous carnival style mini games ... They add some variety, but are so simplistic that the effort put into creating them would have been much better spent on improving the core game."[10]Sega Saturn Magazine's Lee Nutter felt thatSpace Jam was decent as a multiplayer game, but fell short of other basketball games on the market, most notably Acclaim and Sculptured Software's ownNBA Jam Extreme.[15]
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