Chapter 119: Late Entry
Although it was already spring, the weather still wasn't particularly warm. Harvey, along with his two friends James and Miles, walked through the city wearing jackets.
As they drew closer and closer to the game store, Harvey could already see the large GG sign hanging above the building.
A huge poster of Magic Johnson and Larry Bird standing back to back was prominently displayed on it.
"See that? That's the EA I was telling you about, the king of sports games!"
Harvey pointed excitedly at the GG sign from afar. It was impossible to tell how many times he'd already bragged to his two buddies about EA's greatness.
"I've heard you say that a hundred times already, Harvey," James replied, deliberately letting out an exaggerated yawn.
Neither of them could understand why Harvey was so obsessed with it today.
"With all this time we've wasted, we could've shot a thousand baskets by now," Miles added, equally uninterested.
If Harvey hadn't promised to buy them dinner afterwards, Miles would have never come to a nerd hangout like this.
"I just hope I don't catch stupidity from those bookworms. If people at school found out I'd been hanging around here, my reputation would be finished."
"Could you guys take this seriously? Damn it, this is the new One on One! EA's very first home console game!"
Harvey was genuinely annoyed by their lack of enthusiasm, almost as if it were a personal insult.
Although James and Miles both had some prejudice against video games, even the two of them had to admit one thing.
There were far more people here than he expected. Crowds carrying bags streamed in and out, clogging the road in front of the store completely, and even the parking lot was as packed as a major supermarket during the holidays.
"There it is! Quick, one of the demo stations is free!"
With quick eyes and quicker feet, Harvey darted over and claimed a seat in front of an NES demo unit.
The NES already had One on One inserted, and the title screen showed the two players soaring beneath the basket, battling for the same basketball.
Just above them was EA's iconic title.
EA SPORTS PRESENTS
Then came the enlarged, bolded close-up title featuring Johnson and Bird. The main title, One on One, instead looked like an unremarkable supporting role, existing only to highlight the names of the two superstars.
"Mean Machines magazine gave it an 85!"
Harvey grabbed a gaming magazine from the nearby rack and held it up in front of the other two.
Mean Machines was an exceptionally strict review publication. Even Wolfenstein 3D, which had once taken the entire gaming industry by storm, had only received a score of 98.
For One on One, a relatively niche sports game and a sequel at that, to earn such a high score was already proof of its outstanding quality.
"Holy shit! Versus mode! I knew it! I knew it!" Harvey pumped his fist and shouted excitedly.
Taken from NovelPhoenix, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.
After pressing the Start button, a settings menu actually appeared.
Besides a full four quarter game, 11-point matches, 15-point matches, the Slam Dunk Contest, and Three-Point Shootout modes, there was even an option allowing a second player to join!
"Let's play versus mode! I want to be Johnson. Who wants to be Bird?"
Hearing that, James and Miles exchanged glances, each clearly hoping the other would volunteer.
Come on, watching was one thing, but if they actually picked up a controller and someone they knew saw them... they'd never hear the end of it.
"James, aren't you a Bird fan? You do it."
Miles leaned back against the couch with his arms folded, making it perfectly clear he wasn't going anywhere near the controller.
After the two shoved him back and forth several times, James was ultimately forced to sit beside Harvey and take the NES controller.
"Block! Ha! You think the same trick will work twice?"
James shouted triumphantly as he controlled Bird to make a successful block, stealing possession. Although Harvey had been forced onto the defensive, he didn't give up. He quickly guided Johnson toward Bird, who had already reached the right side three-point line.
If Bird made this shot, the lead Harvey had worked so hard to build would disappear instantly.
"You're not the only one who can block! I'll block you too!"
Seeing that James seemed to have found the perfect shooting position, Harvey immediately pressed the A button.
The Johnson he controlled leaped high into the air, stretching out his arm in an attempt to stop the shot, but that was exactly what James had planned, and the moment he saw Harvey commit to the block, the corners of his mouth curled into a grin.
Instead of shooting, he simply abandoned his current position and performed a fake, shifting to the other side.
Meanwhile, Harvey's Johnson was still in midair, so there was nothing he could do. Bird then leaped gracefully, and James pressed the B button at the perfect height.
Clang!
Accompanied by an impressively realistic scoring sound effect, the game immediately played an incredibly catchy celebratory tune for his basket.
"Damn it, you tricked me."
Harvey cursed in frustration, genuinely impressed by James' play.
Three pointers weren't that easy to make. If the height or angle was even slightly off, the shot would never go in, it was the very definition of confidence backed by skill.
"Versus mode is a genius idea!"
Harvey knew exactly what the previous One on One had been like, and compared to this, it was a world of difference.
Not to mention the completely overhauled visuals, the One on One he'd played on his Commodore 64 back then had never been this smooth. When it came to hardware performance, the NES was simply in a league of its own.
"I told you already. EA are the experts when it comes to sports games. You guys just wouldn't believe me."
After saying that, Harvey suddenly remembered something and turned around to look at Miles, who was standing behind them.
Miles' eyes were still fixed on the screen, as though he hadn't heard a single word the two of them had been saying. Only when the game was paused did he finally snap back to reality.
He realized Harvey was staring straight at him, wearing an especially smug expression.
"Ahem... why are you looking at me?"
"Hehe..."
Harvey didn't even need to ask. Miles was terrible at hiding his emotion; his expression had already given everything away.
"You... like it, don't you?"
"What are you talking about? I just thought it was hilarious watching James, a complete rookie, beat you."
"So, want to give it a try?"
"Ahem... I'll play it purely from a critical perspective. I think your terrible gameplay completely tarnished Johnson's reputation! You're basically an anti-fan pretending to be a real fan!"
By the time evening fell, the number of customers in the store had finally begun to thin out, even the store manager had personally come over to urge people along.
Only then did the three of them come back to their senses, and without realizing it, they'd spent the entire afternoon playing. Watching Miles and James reluctantly put down their controllers, Harvey grinned proudly. Now those two had to admit he was right.
"All right, say whatever you want. I'm buying an NES."
To Harvey, as spectacular as the new game was, it wasn't completely perfect. At the very least, he now had to spend another couple hundred dollars buying an NES for himself.
Other than that, he genuinely couldn't think of a single flaw. Miles and James exchanged glances and shrugged.
Just as they were about to follow Harvey over to check out the NES display, they suddenly noticed someone walking past them carrying a NovaBox, along with a floppy disk titled Double Dribble.