For those of you who were waiting for the spiritual reincarnation of NBA Jam, the wait will last just another week as NBA Playgrounds will be released on May 9.
The game will be released on Xbox One, PS4, Switch, and PC for $19.99.
A new arcade-style basketball game
Arcade-style basketball are a rare commodity these days, and NBA Playgrounds may fill the gap. As featured in an article appearing on Polygon, the title is a two-on-two contest like NBA Jam, differently from NBA Street’s three-on-three. The gameplay is very similar to NBA Jam on both offense and defense.
IT’S OFFICIAL – NBA Playgrounds is releasing on May 9th! Watch exclusive gameplay @Polygon now! https://t.co/FFbgX7Suo6 pic.twitter.com/3M1wskBHTH
— NBA Playgrounds (@nba_playgrounds) May 3, 2017
The controls are similar to the old-time classic, although NBA Playgrounds added some flavor to it like cross-over dribble moves with the right analog stick. The game will also feature other little things to spice up the gameplay, like star icons spread out on the court to give users a chance to double or triple the score of the shots from those positions.
It will debut with two-player head-to-head online games, with four-player support coming in an “early update.” Saber Interactive has plans for post-release additions, including roster updates. Players will be able to discover the game’s rosters little-by-little, starting with a few players, and then being able to get card packs with new players. In spite of this mechanism, NBA Playgrounds won’t have in-game purchases, at least initially.
