| Bill Laimbeer's Combat Basketball | |
|---|---|
Box art |
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| Developer(s) | Hudson Soft[1] |
| Publisher(s) | Hudson Soft[1] |
| Platform(s) | Super NES[1] |
| Release date(s) | |
| Genre(s) | Sports[1] |
| Mode(s) | Single-player Multiplayer (up to two players) |
| Rating(s) | |
| Media/distribution | 4-megabit cartridge |
Bill Laimbeer's Combat Basketball released in 1991 by Hudson Soft, is a futuristic full-contact basketball video game for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System.
Unlike in real basketball, players can physically check each other on the court without the threat of personal or team fouls. Destructive items such as bombs frequently appear on the court. The game often receives criticism for oversimplified controls (using only one button in addition to the directional pad to perform all in-game actions), lack of injuries/destruction (like in Mutant League Hockey and Mutant League Football), and predictable AI. Bill Laimbeer, a now-retired basketball player for the Detroit Pistons of the NBA licensed his name and image to this game at a point in his career when he and his Pistons teammates were notorious for aggressive and physical play, in a Pistons era where they were known as the "Bad Boys" for this.
A season lasts 14 games without any playoff games. After each season, the top two teams in each league advance to the league above, and the bottom two teams in each league get moved down to the league below. Ties are broken by beginning season standings. If two teams finish the season with the same record, the one that was ranked higher at the beginning of the season will be ranked higher.
The game predicts a science fiction version of the year 2030 in which there are only robot basketball players (excluding Bill Laimbeer who has chosen to remain fully human). Basketball teams play in gruelling league matches where new players are bought and sold. Within this future, basketball uses a dedicated robot to perform the toss up at the start of each match as referees had been fired by Bill Laimbeer sometime prior to the year 2030. As a result, players now wear armor to their games and weapons are thrown from the audience. The plot of the game played a significant role in Barkley, Shut Up and Jam: Gaiden.[3]