Developer: Electronic Arts
Publisher: Electronic Arts
Platform: DOS
Release Year: 1989
Genre: Sports / Basketball
Long before basketball games became annual multimedia spectacles filled with motion-captured players, television-style presentations, and enormous career modes, Electronic Arts was already experimenting with how to bring the excitement of professional basketball to home computers. Lakers versus Celtics and the NBA Playoffs is one of the most important examples from that early period.
Released for DOS in 1989, the game offered something particularly exciting for basketball fans: the opportunity to take control of recognizable NBA teams and players and experience playoff basketball on a PC.
Welcome to the NBA Playoffs
As its title suggests, Lakers versus Celtics and the NBA Playoffs places considerable emphasis on two of the defining NBA franchises of the era: the Los Angeles Lakers and Boston Celtics.
For anyone familiar with 1980s basketball, that rivalry immediately brings to mind the legendary battles involving stars such as Magic Johnson and Larry Bird. The game captures a small piece of that era and turns it into an accessible computer basketball experience.
Rather than attempting an extremely complicated simulation, Electronic Arts created a game that combines recognizable NBA elements with relatively straightforward arcade-style action.
You control the players directly on the court, moving the ball through passing, shooting and defensive play. Matches unfold from a side-oriented perspective that provides a clear view of the action while allowing the players themselves to appear surprisingly large for a late-1980s PC sports game.
Basketball Stars with Personality
One of the game’s most memorable features is its attempt to distinguish famous players through their abilities and characteristic moves.
That may sound completely normal today, but in 1989 it was an impressive concept.
Star players weren’t simply interchangeable collections of pixels. The game tried to communicate the idea that individual NBA athletes had different strengths and signature abilities.
Seeing recognizable basketball moves recreated on a DOS computer gave the game tremendous personality. It helped transform what could have been another generic basketball simulation into something that actually felt connected to professional NBA basketball.
Gameplay
The controls are relatively simple compared with modern basketball games.
Players can move around the court, pass the ball, switch between teammates and attempt shots. Successful play requires more than repeatedly charging toward the basket, however. Passing and positioning become increasingly important against stronger opposition.
The pace is deliberate by modern standards, but once you adjust to the controls there is an enjoyable rhythm to the matches.
Offensively, moving the ball around until an opportunity appears is satisfying. Defensively, positioning your players correctly and attempting to disrupt the opponent gives matches an additional tactical dimension.
The AI naturally shows its age, and experienced players can discover patterns that can be exploited. Nevertheless, the game still manages to produce entertaining contests.
Two-player games are particularly enjoyable, turning the computer into a small digital basketball court for competitive matches between friends.
Graphics and Presentation
Visually, Lakers versus Celtics and the NBA Playoffs is unmistakably a product of the late 1980s.
Yet within those technological limitations, the presentation works remarkably well.
The players are large enough to make the action easy to follow, and their animations give dunks, jump shots and other moves a satisfying sense of personality. Courts and backgrounds are comparatively simple, but this keeps attention focused firmly on the basketball.
The limited color palette and pixel graphics have also acquired considerable retro charm.
Modern players accustomed to highly detailed 3D arenas will obviously find the presentation primitive. For retro enthusiasts, however, those chunky graphics are part of the attraction.
Sound
Sound is understandably modest.
Effects and music cannot compete with later sports games, but they provide enough audio feedback to complement the action. On period hardware, the combination of simple effects and PC audio helped reinforce the feeling that you were playing something considerably more ambitious than a basic basketball arcade game.
Today, the audio is best appreciated as another authentic part of the DOS-era experience.
A Glimpse of the Future
Perhaps the most interesting aspect of Lakers versus Celtics and the NBA Playoffs is what it represents historically.
Many concepts that eventually became standard in basketball video games can already be seen developing here: licensed professional teams, recognizable players, individual abilities and an attempt to reproduce the personality of real-world basketball.
Electronic Arts would continue developing its basketball games during the following years, eventually producing the NBA Live series.
Looking back at Lakers versus Celtics today therefore feels almost like examining an ancestor of the modern basketball simulation.
The technology was primitive, but the ambition was already clearly visible.
How Well Has It Aged?
There is no denying that the game requires some adjustment for modern players.
Movement can initially feel stiff, the controls are limited, the AI is relatively basic and the audiovisual presentation obviously belongs to another generation.
But judging the game entirely by modern standards would miss what makes it interesting.
Once you become accustomed to its pace, there is still an enjoyable basketball game underneath the dated presentation. Matches are straightforward, easy to understand and sufficiently tactical to remain engaging.
More importantly, it captures something that cannot easily be reproduced by modern games: the atmosphere of late-1980s PC sports gaming.
Retro Verdict
Lakers versus Celtics and the NBA Playoffs represents an important chapter in the history of basketball video games.
Its combination of licensed NBA basketball, recognizable stars, direct player control and distinctive moves was impressive for 1989. Although later basketball games would become dramatically more sophisticated, many of the ideas that defined the genre were already beginning to emerge.
For DOS enthusiasts, basketball fans and gamers interested in the evolution of sports games, it remains well worth revisiting.
It may look simple today, but when those pixelated players run onto the court and the battle between basketball legends begins, the appeal of this pioneering Electronic Arts classic quickly becomes clear.
GameSphere Magazine Verdict: 8/10
A pioneering DOS basketball title that successfully brought the excitement and personalities of late-1980s NBA basketball to the PC. Dated by modern standards, but historically significant and still entertaining for retro sports fans.
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