This classic one-on-one basketball game on the Commodore 64 originated on the Apple II in 1983 and was later converted to other systems courtesy of Electronics Arts.

One on One: Dr. J vs. Larry Bird is remembered as one of the best basketball games of all time and does indeed have a lot of subtlety to it that isn’t obvious until you play it.

The player controls famous historical basketball players Julius Irving or Larry Bird and must take on the other, controlled either by another player, or the computer AI. A menu screen allows a choice between timed games, or playing to a set score, and also different difficulty modes (Park and Recreation, Varsity, College, and Pro). Needless to say, Pro mode gives the toughest game, and the AI is pretty good for such an early video game. And if you find the difficulty too high you can return to the menu (by pressing F1), lower it, then continue your game. This game was way ahead of its time…

The animation of the players is also top notch. They dribble, spin, and shoot convincingly and move fast enough to allow fairly complex moves to be strung together. And when you begin to get good at it games can become really intense. Especially in two-player, with plenty of trash talk thrown-in by your friends…

An instant replay feature plays back the best baskets – a first for this type of game – and also: if a particularly hard slam dunk is scored the backboard will shatter, prompting the janitor to come out and sweep it up…

One on One: Dr. J vs. Larry Bird was a big hit for Electronics Arts – particularly on the Commodore 64. It has since gone on to be remembered as one of the best sports games of all time. Which it really is. I spent many hours playing this with my brother as a teenager, and that was happening with kids all over the world in the mid-Eighties.

More: One on One: Dr. J vs. Larry Bird on Wikipedia