"All opinions are valid" is a nonsense statement.
On a more important scale than video games there are far too many opinions based on prejudice or ignorance that have been expressed loudly, and protected inadequately, by the concept that an ill-informed opinion has the same value as an informed one.
Back in the world of video games this isn’t as dangerous or scary, but it's still annoying.
I touched the problem way back on Day 14 with Mr Shifty; a game that isn't, and isn't trying to be, Hotline Miami - but was still criticised often for not being Hotline Miami; which is not a valid opinion.
NBA Playgrounds is not NBA Jam. This is obviously a fact, but it's also been expressed often as a negative opinion. However, the validity of this rests on the answer to a different question:
Is NBA Playgrounds trying to be NBA Jam?
It certainly evoked NBA Jam in it's marketing. The very first line spoken in the very first trailer I ever saw for the game stated 'Classic arcade action is back' and went on to talk about 'New features'. The language used throughout is the kind of thing you'd expect from a sequel, not an original game.
The structure is more than superficially NBA Jam-esque too. Being a two-on-two basketball game is not reason enough (for me) to confirm an aspiration to the throne - but a two-on-two baller with a turbo-meter and a focus on OTT dunks? The case is building.
Then there's NBA Street comparison to consider. Very few have complained that Playgrounds isn't Street. The NBA Street franchise (One of my favourite game series of all time) was characterised by it's tricks and an almost sepia toned nostalgia for the legends of the sport.
But NBA Playgrounds isn't trying to be NBA Street, if the contrary were expressed as a negative opinion it would be completely invalid - the difference is that very few did, or do, hold that opinion.
So, is Playgrounds trying to be, or at least trying to be an 'unofficial sequel' to, NBA Jam?
Yes, absolutely it is, and criticising it for failing to live up to that billing is valid.
But does it? Fail to live up to that billing, I mean?
Again, pretty much yes.
Don't misunderstand me, Playgrounds is a fun game. The graphics are bright and colourful with nicely caricatured depictions of ballers old and new, the dunks are elaborate and well animated, and the mechanics are easy to pick up and play. It's very breezy and entertaining in it's basics, but starts to trip over itself when it comes to the new stuff.
The first misstep for me is the 'Lottery' power-up system. You fill a power bar with shots, dunks, and rebounds. Then, when the bar is full, this triggers a randomly selected power-up.
The idea here is clearly to introduce some variety, but the problem is that the rewards are not equally powered. Despite the achievement (filling the bar) being equal every time the reward is not, and I didn't enjoy being out of control of this aspect.
A choice of available 'supers' activated with different button combinations would be a more elegant implementation, and ultimately add an extra level of strategy to the game.
Another issue is the way new characters are unlocked. This is done via 'Card Packs' containing 5 characters. This is fine early on, but the more you play the more likely you are to get duplicates. The game awards a stat boost in this event to soften the blow, but it's still an imperfect solution.
I didn't have that much of a problem with this in itself, but if you unlock a pack in the middle of a tournament you have to navigate all the way back to the main menu to open it. Moreover, there's no quick way to see the stats of the characters you've received so the casual or non NBA fan has no idea if their new character is a game winner or bench warmer; believe it not, America, most of the world has no idea who Chris Bosh is, and having to go to a different menu option to find out is not a slick interface.
Essentially the issue with NBA Playground is that what it adds to the NBA Jam formula 'functionally' doesn't add to the game enjoyably. Or, at least, not enjoyably enough.
I don't think this would be any different even if this were an official sequel, in fact, reception for it in that hypothetical situation could have even been less favourable.
Ironically Playgrounds' saving grace is that it isn't NBA Jam, it was built from the ground up by a separate developer and in that regard it's successes should be applauded - but you can't invoke a legend to promote your game and then complain when you are harshly judged by comparison.
As a footnote I just wanted to mention that this game has been now been delisted from all digital storefronts. This is probably because 2K acquired the rights to publish the (Micro-transaction riddled) sequel and were probably concerned people would opt to buy the original rather the newer, more profitable, version.
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