Galaxy Jam: Space Basketball Wars Review

What happens when science fiction, role playing games, space exploration, anthropomorphic animals, and basketball are all mixed into one demented game design pot? The result is what could only be described as surreal. Galaxy Jam: Space Basketball Wars, though sounding like a mouthful, is actually far simpler to gasp that it may seem. But is that enough to make is stand out from the already overwhelming number of options available in the free-to-play crowd?

Basketball is a game that is all about shooting a ball through a round cylinder. Galaxy Jam, at its core at least, boils down to the same concept of preventing other interstellar insurgents from successfully doing the same. Unfortunately, unlike the similarly named film there will be no cameo from Michael Jordan. Thankfully there is a horde of other animals, creatures, and aliens willing to take a shot at hitting the hardwood. Sure they aren’t an all-pro NBA stars, but at least they can be leveled up to be just as talented.

The main crux of the actual game is a back and forth battle where the player is either on offense attempting to score as many points as possible on the opposition, or on defense where they swipe through the air trying to bat away errant shots, collect falling currency, or activate power-ups. Both offensive and defensive special abilities are available for each player and can be upgraded/customized through the title’s RPG elements.

When not in the game, players fly around from galaxy to galaxy scouting new talent, destroying everyone on the hardwood, and then moving on. This nomadic and highly repetitive lifestyle gets rather boring very quickly. Though the core aspects of the gameplay are slightly addicting, it isn’t enough to weather the storm once gameplay tokens are all used up. Plus, when it takes over twenty minutes to respawn a single match token it is hard to justify not moving on to other titles that are less stingy.

Basketball has never been portrayed quite as colorfully as in Galaxy Jam: Space Basketball Wars. It was an interesting experiment in RPG design, melded with tried and true sports action. However, it simply isn’t compelling enough to warrant anything more than a passing glance. It is free, so if arcade basketball is anyone's “thing” then by all means. Just be ready to have another game on deck when waiting for the next turn grows tiresome.