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One-on-One

aka: Dr. J and Larry Bird Go One on One, Julius Erving and Larry Bird Go One on One, Julius Erving vs. Larry Bird One-on-one, One on One, One-On-One Basketball
Moby ID: 488
box cover
Released
1983 on Apple II
Credits
9 people
Releases by Date (by platform)
Publishers
Moby Score
6.9
#14,598 of 24.5K
Critics
70% (12)
Players
(66)
Review Ranking
Collected By
45 players
Genre
Sports
Perspective
3rd-person (Other)
Sport
Basketball
Apple II Specs
Business Model
Commercial
Media Type
Floppy Disk
Input Devices Supported/Optional
Joystick, Keyboard
Number of Players Supported
1-2 Players
[ view all 45 specs ]
Buy on Atari 7800
$14.00 used, $34.95 new on eBay
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Description official description

Control either Julius Erving or Larry Bird in front of a single basket, in a game of one on one. The user can select to play either to a certain score or for a certain amount of time. When on offense, the player can rotate to keep away from his rival, take a shot from a distance or move in to the basket for special up-close slam-dunks. When on defense, you can try to take your rival's ball or jump up to block a shot. Particularly good set-ups get a slow-motion replay. You can even smash the glass on the backboard, which will send an irate janitor onto the court to clean up the mess.

Spellings

  • ワン・オン・ワン - Japanese spelling

Groups +

Screenshots

Promos

Credits (Atari 8-bit version)

9 People (8 developers, 1 thanks)

Programmer
Graphic Shapes
Producer
Manual
Photography
Package Design
  • Steinhilber Deutsch & Gard
Creative Direction and Liner Notes
  • Goodby Berlin & Silverstein
Special Thanks to
  • The Springfield Police Department and all the helpful people who we met there.
Manual Design by

Reviews

Critics

Average score: 70% (based on 12 ratings)

Players

Average score: 3.4 out of 5 (based on 66 ratings with 2 reviews)

The Birth of EA Sports

The Good
"One on One" was a seminal sports game, one no self-respecting owner of one of the early PCs would have ignored. Its large, detailed sprites representing the players were nothing short of revolutionary at the time, along with a variety of different shot types triggered by the distance and angle the player was to the basket. You must also keep an eye on the energy level of each player, in order not to overexert them and end up too exhausted to play effectively. The audio portion of the game was also a standout, from the various sound effects on court to the impressive theme song (sounded better on the SID chip on the 64 than the tinny PC speaker). The smashing of the backboard was another irresistable detail to the game. There were also quite a few different play options available to lend variety to the game.

The Bad
The AI was pretty simplistic, and even at Pro level it didn't take long to work out a pattern where you could consistently shut out the competition.

The Bottom Line
This is a classic piece of early computer gaming, just another EA product that raised the bar of quality about 20 meters.

PC Booter · by Ummagumma (74) · 1999

I remember this game! A very little known CLASSIC and GEM !

The Good
This was a one on one Basketball game. 1 player vs 1 player, or 1 player vs computer. The players assume the character of Dr. J and/or Larry Bird. The movements were Incredibly LIFE-LIKE ! Just as NICE as the most digitized movements in modern games of today! For its time the graphics were stunning. Even nowadays the graphics would do a decent job of holding up, though nowhere near better than modern games' graphics. Hardcore arcade action, with some strategy (like faking out your opponent.) There is a very customizable options menu. Decide length of each game, each quarter, and much, much, more.

The game mechanics involved in dribbling, shooting, lining up shots, blocking, etc.. were well executed. Timing is everything. There are many moves. The game plays and feel as if you are actually on the court!

The Bad
During its time, there was NOTHING to dislike about this game. Right now the graphics are outdated. But the game play is still there. As good, and even better than the game play in 80% of all modern, current, sports games.

The Bottom Line
One of the best ever basketball sports games ever made. Possibly the best ever basketball game. (There is 1 other classic one I remember playing, but can't remember the name.). This game really shines when 1 player plays vs another player. 2 players can play endless hours vs each other. I still can't get over how realistic and life-like the movements are! Even up against todays current games!

Commodore 64 · by XplOrOrOr (14) · 2004

Trivia

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This was the first computer game with celebrity endorsements.

Copy protection

This game became successful on the Commodore 64, where its complicated copy-protection became famous not only with hackers intent on breaking it, but with users who had to listen to it tear their old behemouth 1541 floppy drives a new one. The PC copy protection was similarly legendary--96 sector headers on track 15 took a long time to figure out and duplicate.

Development

  • The concept was created by Hawkins based on his recollections of the 60's era "One on One" televised sports contests, sponsored by hair tonic Vitalis.
  • The crowd sounds featured in the Amiga version are actual audio recorded by the developers at a Golden State Warriors game. Even the hot dog and beer vendor heard are actual vendors who happened to be recorded during the session.

Awards

  • Happy Computer
    • Issue 04/1985 - #10 Best Game in 1984 (Readers' Vote) (Commodore 64, Apple II and Atari 8-bit versions)

Information also contributed by Trixter

Analytics

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Related Sites +

Identifiers +

  • MobyGames ID: 488
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Contribute

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Contributors to this Entry

Game added by Ummagumma.

ZX Spectrum added by S Olafsson. PC-98 added by Infernos. Apple II added by Droog. Commodore 64 added by tbuteler. Atari 7800 added by RKL. Macintosh added by Kabushi. Amiga, Atari 8-bit added by Terok Nor. ColecoVision added by Scaryfun. TRS-80 CoCo added by L. Curtis Boyle.

Additional contributors: Buuks, Shoddyan, formercontrib, Patrick Bregger, ZeTomes, Kayburt, Giorgos Papanatsidis.

Game added November 28, 1999. Last modified May 12, 2024.