Beastie Boys, Obama Added as Secret Characters in ‘NBA Jam’

If you were a hip-hop head and gamer in the 1990s, there's little doubt that you spent hours at arcades and in your friends' living rooms playing the basketball classic 'NBA Jam.' In the original version, good play was rewarded with a plethora of ridiculous secret characters and one of the biggest perks was eventually getting to play as the Hall of Fame-bound Beastie Boys. Well, EA Sports just released a new, modern version of 'NBA Jam' and have reached back to the past to include the much-older Beasties are secret characters again.

In addition to musical acts, the game has also updated its old formula of including current politicians on secret teams. While voters will be able to decide the balance of the U.S. and state governments after the upcoming November elections, gamers will be able to hold their own Democrat vs. Republican battles on the basketball court. The game features President Obama, Joe Biden, Al Gore, Bill and Hillary Clinton on one side, while George W. Bush, Sarah Palin, John McCain and Dick Cheney will take the court on the other.

There will also be another secret musical guest that gamers can discover upon beating the game. Thus far, EA Sports is remaining quiet, but hinted that this artist is the perfect fit for the wacky, over-the-top game play that the franchise does so well.

"I can say that we do have another musical act and we're super psyched to have him, but I can't reveal who he is just yet," said developer Jon Robinson to ESPN. "He is one of our super, super secret characters, but he fits the style of game that we're making. He's a really cool guy and we hung out with him and played the game with him and he loves it. He was an old school 'Jam' fan, but I got the no-go on being able to talk about him. You'll just have to wait and see if you can unlock him yourself."