White Men Can't Jump (video game)

White Men Can't Jump

Official video game box art of White Men Can't Jump
Developer(s) High Voltage Software
Publisher(s) Atari
Distributor(s) Atari
Platform(s) Atari Jaguar
Release date(s)
  • NA: July 1995
Genre(s) Sports
Mode(s) Single-player
Multiplayer (up to four players)

White Men Can't Jump is a video game released for the Atari Jaguar in 1995 by High Voltage Software, loosely based on the 1992 20th Century Fox movie of the same name. As in the movie, players play games of two-on-two street basketball. It was bundled with the Team Tap Adaptor, which allowed three or four players to play in tandem despite the game box saying "1 or 2 players". Due to its poor graphics, among other factors, it has been hailed as one of the worst games of all time by some critics.[1]

Gameplay

In Vs. Mode up to four players can take part in individual two-on-two street basketball games, with remaining players controlled by AI.

Tournament Mode can be played with 1 player or 2 players (on the same team). Players start out with $500 and bet money on each game.[2] Once players earn $5,000 they are entered into The City Slam Tournament. If the player fails to earn $5,000 over 30 games, or loses all money, the Tournament Mode ends.[2]

Players can pass, fake a pass, jump, shoot, dunk, and punch (try to knock down an opponent). Players can "Speed Boost" by using extra energy. The more energy a player has, the more likely they are to pull off a Super Dunk at a distance from the basket. Each character can pull off a variety of "Super Dunks". Players can also switch between both characters on their team when using an AI teammate.

Like the movie, the entire game takes place in the Los Angeles area. The first four courts are playable from the beginning in Vs. mode. The fifth court, Inglewood Forum, appears only in the Slam City Tournament.[2]

Reception

Reception
Review scores
PublicationScore
EGM5/10[3]
Next Generation[4]

White Men Can't Jump received mostly negative reviews. The two sports reviewers of Electronic Gaming Monthly panned the game, citing the confusing camera perspective, poor animation, blocky graphics, and ineffective control.[3] GamePro commented that "Poor control, bad graphics, and annoying sound make Atari's White Men Can't Jump the worst basketball experience since watching the Clippers." They particularly criticized that controls often fail to respond and shots tend to miss the hoop even when shot in the correct direction from right next to the basket.[5] A critic for Next Generation dissented with the majority opinion; while he said that the game occasionally suffers from erratic camera movements and requires multiple players to get full enjoyment out of it, he generally applauded White Men Can't Jump for its intense violence, "swooping" camera angles, sprite scaling, street-style audio commentary, and generally solid balance.[4]

See also

References

  1. ↑ Seanbaby.com - EGM's Crapstravaganza: The 20 Worst Games of All Time
  2. 1 2 3 White Men Can't Jump Game Manual
  3. 1 2 "White Men Can't Jump (Jaguar) by Atari". Electronic Gaming Monthly. Ziff Davis (75): 124. October 1995.
  4. 1 2 "White Men Can't Jump". Next Generation. Imagine Media (10): 114. October 1995.
  5. ↑ "White Men Never Gets Off the Ground". GamePro. IDG (87): 120. December 1995.
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