Year released: ? (Genesis)

Number of Players: 1-2 simultaneously (up to 4 with a 5-player adapter)

It's a 2D basketball game!

Graphics: Mmm, not the best. A step down from the SNES' graphics. It kind of embarrasses it before simplistic-looking games (by comparison, that would be the NBA Jams). Everyone looks so much more lifelike than what I've seen before though, and the variety of color isn't nearly as boring as other basketball games.

Play control: Awesome. Everything moves smoothly. You'll be able to flow all of your motions, and switch from a dunk to an alley-oop on the fly. You can even set your buttons and save them to a Control Pak. Oh, yeah... you HAVE to use a Fighter Stick SG-6 if you have one...!

Sound: The music in the Genesis version is kind of refreshing in its odd instruments. The sound effects are weird... and voice clips are scratchy.

Challenge: The later teams you go up against know the ins and outs of the court, and will whipe the floor with you if you don't. It even learns patterns of your movements. However, early on, it's easy to win a game with even a 20 point lead.

Gameplay: Turbo, shoot, pass. Same as most other basketball games. However, you have secret codes that change the gameplay slightly (haven't discovered most of them, personally). Also, computers will go for alley-oops--they jump at the net and you pass to them mid-jump for two points. It's very useful when you're stuck in a crowd. Also, the stats affect your character a lot more than I've noticed in other basketball games. Not to mention that shoving in this game doesn't always guarantee you getting the ball...
Oh, yeah, you can create a character! Then you can customize it to your tastes... awesome. Also, every fourth game you win you get more points to use to boost your player's attributes. Some of the heads you can use are hilarious... there's even a wolf.

Bottom line: The challenge and gameplay come great, especially to someone who's tired of all the other 2D beat-all-the-other NBA teams games. But saving... ulgh! Unlike the Nintendo 64 version, which had the great idea of using a Control Pak (use your character anywhere, doomed only by the fact that the Control Pak loses your saves), or the SNES version, which used battery backup saving, the Genesis once again shows its reluctancy to allow saving and NBA Hangtime won't save. My version might be busted, but I'm pretty sure from Genesis' streak that it's not supposed to save...

Submissions and rebuttals should be e-mailed to nintendofanssite@yahoo.com. Proper credit will be given, and please tell me if you don't want your e-mail revealed on the site.