WELCO METOT HENEX TLEVEL - ESPN NBA HangTime '95

Publisher: Sony Imagesoft Developer: Sony Imagesoft Release: 1994

The parade of ESPN-branded sports games continues its slow, agonizing march. I don't have any history with NBA HangTime '95, so I went into this thinking I was about to experience the only authentic NBA simulator on the system – the only other NBA title on the Sega CD was NBA Jam, to my knowledge.

Imagine my surprise when I found out that HangTime '95 is actually a half-court, 2-on-2 hoops game whose only link to the NBA is the roster of 90s-era players. This is basically a much less exciting NBA Jam. And no, it's no relation to the later NBA HangTime series from Midway.

The game is played from a half-court perspective, where the players run in and out of the screen in 3D space. If the system's hardware scaling is being utilized here, I really can't tell. Everything is really bland and boring to look at. And when you consider the game play is more or less the basis for the fantastic NBA Jam minus all of the crazy power ups and spectacular dunks, you just have to wonder what in the world would ever make this game worth playing?

There is one semi-interesting thing about HangTime, however. Not only is it the only ESPN game on the Sega CD that goes for a more arcadey experience rather than sports simulation – there's an entirely separate World Tour mode included. This is accessed from the front end, where you press the A Button to switch to an entirely new, ESPN2-branded title screen and menu system.

The whole vibe here is much more 90s hip and edgy, which isn't surprising considering that was the main focus of “The Deuce” when it first went live in 1993.

World Tour features none of the licensed players found in the HangTime side of the game. Rather, you choose to play as a selection of racial and regional stereotypes. The Canadian team, of course, features two Eskimos wearing thick parkas, while the Japanese team is made up of two sumo wrestlers in their traditional in-ring garb. Awesome.

The game play, though, is exactly the same. World Tour is basically a re-skin of HangTime.

This appears to be one of the more rare Sega CD games out there. It's pretty difficult to find a lot of information on it at all – in my admittedly short research time I was even able to find an ebay auction where a pretty worn, boxed copy of the game went for almost $50.

One more ESPN game to go.