First of all, surprise surprise: Mark Turmell is a consultant on the new game, helmed by a development team up at EA Vancouver. The Wii game is set to revisit the same "photorealistic graphics but over-the-top action" two on two basketball that the original game brought to life. It's clearly meant as a straightforward arcade action experience.
The game will feature a unique hybrid visual engine that utilizes 3D character models but 2D heads featuring actual photos of key NBA stars. Each athlete has a variety of heads depending on the action, including "good play" and "bad play" expressions, clipped from high resolution photography from a variety of NBA sources.
NBA Jam will feature Wii Remote/Nunchuk motion control that keeps the gestures simple, but taking a cue from the design success of Punch-Out!! the game will also feature classic Wii Remote-exclusive control for the hardcore that prefer not to have motion control get in the way of their arcade action.
The photos that span the six page feature within Nintendo Power should get any true NBA Jam fan excited -- at least in stills it looks like the Wii exclusive captures the atmosphere and excitement of the two-on-two basketball game that lit the arcades on fire.
We'll have more on NBA Jam as it progresses in its development cycle. No release date has been listed for the product.