NBA Jam: On Fire Edition announced for PSN/XBLA

Last year, NBA Jam (which we especially liked) returned to largely positive reception, and it’s coming back for more in downloadable form in fall 2011 for XBLA and PSN. With the addition of numerous modes and abilities, this editionappears to be less of a condensed re-hash of the last entry and more of a refinement of gameplay features. While keeping the classic NBA Jam formula intact, the new entry is adding some elements in hopes of keeping the experience fresh.

Three modes from On Fire have been highlighted in the franchise’s online arcade venture: The first, Tag Mode, gives the player the ability to spontaneously sub in ballers. Team Fire sets your entire team ablaze to add ridiculous speed and skill to all your players at once. The final announced addition, Razzle Dazzle, implements “special style moves” to let players “express” themselves in the middle of a game. What this adds beyond taunts is unknown for now, but given NBA Jam’s purpose of adding exaggerated antics to shooting hoops, it seems appropriate alongside the new gameplay changes. EA also announced a refined A.I. system for the game, posing a much greater challenge than the last game did.

We’ll have a release date and more details soon.

Jul 7, 2011