NBA Jam (1994)

NBA Jam, which featured 2-on-2 basketball, is one of the first real playable basketball arcade games, and is also one of the first sports games to feature NBA-licensed teams and players, and their real digitized likenesses. A key feature of NBA Jam is the exaggerated nature of the play - players jump many times their own height, making slam dunks that defy both human capabilities and the laws of physics. There are no fouls, free throws, or violations except goaltending and 24-second violations. This means the player is able to freely shove or elbow his opponent out of the way. Additionally, if a player makes three baskets in a row, he becomes "on fire" and has unlimited turbo and increased shooting precision. The "on fire" mode continues until the other team scores, or until the player who is "on fire" scores 4 additional consecutive baskets while "on fire." The game is filled with easter eggs, special features and players activated by initials or button/joystick combinations. For example, pressing A five times and right five times on any Genesis controller would activate "Super Clean Floors". This feature would cause characters to fall if they ran too fast or changed direction too quickly. And players can enter special codes to unlock hidden players, ranging from US President Bill Clinton to Hugo the Charlotte Hornets mascot. On the arcade machine, there is also a hidden 'tank' game that allows the player to run around a 3D wireframe field. In order to access this mode, however, the player must be able to toggle the on/off switch located behind the machine. While the game was powering back on, the player holds Up and all buttons on player 1 and Down and all buttons on player 2.