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Play As Sarah Palin, Barack Obama In New NBA Jam Video Game

EA Sports just released a new edition of the classic NBA Jam franchise, and fans of the iconic arcade game will be happy to see that the game’s comically exaggerated animations and player leaping abilities are alive and well – not to mention looking better than ever, thanks to technological advancements.

And if that’s not enough, the development team kept alive another great NBA Jam tradition – hilarious unlockable characters. Specifically, as Fox News recently explored, the game went heavy on political personalities, with players like President Barack Obama, Al Gore, Sarah Palin, and John McCain, among others, there for the taking. EA Sports president Peter Moore talked about why they did it:

“In [NBA Jam's] early inception, 1993, Bill and Hillary Clinton were both in the game – incredibly popular addition to the game – we thought as we brought the game to the modern generation, we would update it with current politicians.”

For the record, judging by the footage you’ll see below, Bill and Hillary make return appearances in the new version. The hosts also gave Moore a tongue-in-cheek grilling about Obama having “special skills” in the game…which he thought was only fair because of Obama’s basketball-playing past.

Video of the interview (along with several clips of in-game action) below. How can you resist a game where Bill Clinton is throwing behind-the-back passes to Hillary and the potential of Dick Cheney jumping 20 feet above the rim for a thunderous jam is always on the table?