Welcome to the 32 Dangerous Cheat Codes, a brand new series that will run daily between November 24 and December 25. Join us as we discuss the hazardous ramifications of some of your favorite cheat codes. Today we're inflating our heads and egos in NBA Jam. This is one of the most popular codes of all time, spawning a quarter-century of copy cats and imitators. Find out why having a big head may be bad for your heath in this brand new episode of the 32 Dangerous Cheat Codes.


This is my mother, Nancy. She's a good-natured woman who owns her own bakery and occasionally sells her cookies, pies and cinnamon rolls at local bazaars and festivals. What you may not know about Nancy is that her little shop has been voted the best bakery in town three years in a row. As you might imagine, this game my mother a massive ego boost. You would think she won the Nobel Prize, because all she talks about are her award-winning treats. It's painfully clear that the fame and notoriety has gone straight to her head.

The same can be said about NBA Jam, the arcade game that pioneered one of the most popular cheat codes of all time -- Big Head Mode. By holding up, the turbo button and steal button until tip-off, your favorite NBA player's noggin would balloon up to absurd proportions. It didn't provide any strategic or gameplay advantage and may actually make the game harder to play, but it was a fan favorite that players couldn't get enough of.

In fact, the big head mode proved to be so popular that we saw similar codes pop up in a lot of other games. First it was the rest of the arcadey sports games, like Wayne Gretzky's 3D Hockey, NFL Blitz and NHL Open Ice. Then it slowly seeped into the rest of the genres, with big head codes showing up in GoldenEye 007, Tekken 2 and even Batman: Arkham City. Not even the Caped Crusader can escape large super-deformed heads.

And don't think we've seen the last of this silly code, either. Just twelve months ago we saw Avalanche Studios hide the big heads in Just Cause 3, making Rico Rodriguez that much more irresistible. At this point I'm more surprised when a popular franchise hasn't succumb to this dumb tend.

The good news is that my mom's big head was more figurative than literal. As annoying as it was to hear her rattle on about how everybody loves her pumpkin logs, that's still a lot better than having your head balloon in size. For one thing, your brain would probably bounce around in that giant skull, which certainly can't be good for you. But just on a practical level, suddenly growing a massive head would make walking through doors, getting in the car and putting on shirts nearly impossible. And don't forget about how you're always getting that huge head caught in a fan. Contrary to what NBA Jam tells you, there's no practical reason to have a big head.