Menu
Home | Tag: Dunk Contest

Tag Archives: Dunk Contest

Happy Thanksgiving! Virtual Hardwood Highlights!

Happy Thanksgiving! Virtual Hardwood Highlights!

Happy Thanksgiving to all of our virtual ballers in the United States! I realise that many of you are probably enjoying quality time with family and friends right now, but I wanted to offer up a couple of Thanksgiving treats in the form of NBA Jam: On Fire Edition and NBA Live 08 videos. Dee has also recently uploaded some great highlight reels for NBA 2K14 and NBA Live 16 that you should definitely catch if you haven’t already.

First up, there’s a seasonally-appropriate NBA Jam: On Fire Edition video, featuring a full game between The Gobblers and characters from SSX. I’m playing the game on Real AI difficulty, which means that the CPU is very aggressive, and throwing my own strategies back at me. These turkeys may have escaped ending up on the dinner table, but it was a tough challenge to avoid them being roasted on the virtual hardwood instead!

Next up is a redux of my re-creation of Dazzling Dunks & Basketball Bloopers’ recap of the 1988 Dunk Contest in NBA Live 08 PC. You may recall that I posted that re-creation back in February for Michael Jordan’s 60th Birthday, and I decided to create a picture-in-picture version that compared my efforts to the original segment. As for Dee’s videos, he put together a reel from our exciting co-op session on NBA 2K14 using 2012 rosters, as well as a game of NBA Live 16 that he played against the CPU. We discussed both of those games in Episode #504 of the NLSC Podcast.

Check out all of those videos below! Once again, Happy Thanksgiving to everyone who is celebrating it today. Be sure to subscribe to the NLSC YouTube channel for more basketball gaming content, and as always, feel free to hit us up with any suggestions of games that you’d like to see us play.

Read More »

NLSC Podcast #465: A History of Annoying Mechanics

NLSC Podcast Logo

From courtside of the virtual hardwood, it’s Episode #465 of the NLSC Podcast!

Another NBA All-Star Weekend is upon us, but sadly, the event has basically lost its lustre for us. Call us grumpy old heads if you must, but we miss genuine competition in the midseason classic! On a brighter note, we had a blast partaking in All-Star activities in NBA Live 08 – including creating a 1988 dunk contest video, and enjoying a wild three-point shootout that went to a tiebreaker – as well as revisiting NBA 2K13 to play some Blacktop. As promised on last week’s show, we’re taking a deep dive into the most annoying mechanics in the history of basketball gaming, with our listeners also sharing their biggest frustrations on the virtual hardwood.

To get involved with the mailbag or to provide any feedback on the show, hit us up in the comments, reach out on social media, or post here in the NLSC Forum! For more information on the NLSC Podcast including episode guides, check out this page in our Wiki. You can also find the show on our YouTube channel, along with the rest of our video content. As always, thanks for tuning in, and go get buckets!

Wayback Wednesday: Basketball Gaming Urban Legends

Wayback Wednesday: Basketball Gaming Urban Legends

This is Wayback Wednesday, your midweek blast from the past! From retrospectives of basketball games and their interesting features, to republished articles and looking at NBA history through the lens of the virtual hardwood, Wednesdays at the NLSC are for going back in time. This week, I’m taking a look back at some basketball gaming urban legends.

Given the amount of secret content that’s been packed into video games over the years, it’s no surprise that there are more than a couple of urban legends across all genres. TV Tropes creatively titles the phenomenon “Urban Legend of Zelda“, which is extremely apt considering how many examples the Legend of Zelda series itself provides. Basketball games have had their fair share of urban legends, perpetuated through a combination of schoolyard (and later, internet) chatter, misunderstandings, and the occasional trolling hoax.

There have been some interesting urban legends associated with the virtual hardwood, concerning both sim and arcade games. In some cases, you can see how gamers came to believe them, especially before the ins and outs of player likenesses were widely known. I’m sure you’ve heard some of these before, but it never hurts to debunk urban legends, and tell the real story if there is one. Let’s take a look back…way back…

Read More »

NLSC Podcast #350: What’s My Age Again?

NLSC Podcast Logo

Episode #350 of the NLSC Podcast is out now! Derek (aka Dee4Three) and I are your hosts for this week’s show.

We’re celebrating our 50th episode as a duo, which leads us to reflect on some famous number 50s in NBA history. After that, it’s down to business with a discussion of the latest news surrounding NBA 2K21 Next Gen. From server issues to a widespread ban, there’s a lot to catch up on, and we have a lot to say. We also talk about stat padding in online games, and how it’s led to what we feel is an unappealing style of play. Recent events also prompt us to discuss ageism in basketball gaming, and troubling practices in the modding community. This week’s mailbag topics cover recycled faces in NBA 2K, and the idea of petitioning 2K to make certain changes.

What’s your take on this week’s conversation? Sound off in the comments section below, or join in the discussion here in the Forum! Additionally, feel free to hit us up with any feedback on the episode, as well as mailbag questions and topic suggestions for future episodes. For more information on the NLSC Podcast including episode guides, check out this page in our Wiki. The show also comes out on our YouTube channel, so be sure to subscribe for future episodes and other video content.

The Friday Five: 5 Times Basketball Games Were Rude to Gamers

The Friday Five

Welcome to this week’s edition of The Friday Five! The Friday Five is a feature that I post every Friday in which I give my thoughts on a topic that’s related to NBA Live, NBA 2K, and other basketball video games, as well as the real NBA, and other areas of interest to our community. The feature is presented as either a list of five items, or in the form of a Top 5 countdown. This week’s Five is a list of five examples of times where basketball video games were rude to the gamers playing them.

One of the great things about video games is that when they defeat or otherwise annoy you, you can tell them off without fear of repercussions. You can be as profane as you like – at least until your housemates or neighbours complain – and you won’t hear a single retort from the game or system. Of course, there are times when a game might sling a rude remark your way, sometimes in response to the way you’re playing, and other times almost completely unprovoked. That in turn might lead you to throw out a few more obscenities, though the game will take it all in stride.

As basketball video games have sought to incorporate more personality, and a bit of humour on some occasions, developers have slipped in a few rude messages. Now, these messages aren’t profane or obscene, but their blunt or taunting nature can leave you muttering a few choice words in response. Other times, the game isn’t trying to be rude, but whichever developer was responsible for writing the messages has ended up adopting a tone that they possibly didn’t intend. Whatever the case may be, I’m listing five times that basketball video games ended up being rude to gamers. Your opinion may vary as to whether or not they actually enhance the experience!

Read More »