classicgames.org - 3-Point Basketball

In my August 2000 review of YAB Baseball, I wrote: "There is no ignoring the fact that very few sports games for the PC are any good." To honor the fifth anniversary of those momentous words, I bring you MVP Software's 3-Point Basketball.

3-Point Basketball captures the action of actual basketball in the same way that Animated New Testament captures the actual life of Jesus Christ. The authors chose to a focus on a single basketball-related activity: the three-point shooting contest. On the list of good concepts for video games, this ranks somewhere between refereeing a game involving Rasheed Wallace and mopping up sweat on the court during timeouts.

Before actually starting the action, you're treated to the pregame show, which is longer than an NBA game. At this point you are introduced to the caricatures of the hottest basketball stars of 1993 who will participate in the tournament. Next you get to watch all of your opponent's 25 shot attempts.

Finally the gameplay begins. Or perhaps it would be more accurate to say that the user interaction begins. You take your shots by clicking the mouse, and the timing of your clicks determines the accuracy of your shot. You repeat this 25 times. And .. that's the game.

I must commend the authors, however, on their creative choice of music. Many would think that hip-hop is the natural soundtrack for basketball. Others, like the late sportswriter Ralph Wiley, would argue that the coordinated individualism of NBA play is best reflected in jazz. I personally would have chosen Nils Lofgren's "Bullets Fever." 3-Point Basketball defies convention by accompanying the game with a tinny Adlib reproduction of "Jamaica Farewell."

My feelings on 3-Point Basketball are complex, but they are best summarized in this timeless lyric:

They've made the playoffs for twelve years straight.
It takes a lot of pride to play that great!
Seven years in DC have given us all
A magic game called basketball.

Posted by Kevin on 2005-08-02

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