This is one of my most favorite baseball games long before the ESPN games and MLB 2000s games ever existed. This game has amazing gameplay, graphics, and also features a voice acting by former center fielder of the Major League Baseball, Ken Griffey Jr. The game is officially licensed by the MLBPA and it features over 700 players.
Plot. No plot outlines for this game, since it's sports related of course.
Every pitcher in the game has four types of pitching. First pitch when pressing the A Button is a fastball. When pressing the B button, players can make curveballs, screwballs, and sliders. The fourth and final pitch is a special pitch, which players must press the Z and B buttons at the same time. These super pitches are: super fastball, super changeup, splitter, cut fastball, and knuckleball. Batters use the analog stick to move a batting circle to where the pitch is shown before the ball reaches the plate. The batter presses A to swing. The C Yellow buttons are used for baserunning and for throwing to either first, second, third, or home bases.
Concept. Players can play as any of their favorite teams including the American League or the National League. Two special teams can also be chosen; the American All-Stars or the National All-Stars. They can choose various difficulties to play from Rookie to Veteran. Veteran is the hardest difficulty setting, and is for players who are looking for a serious challenge. They can choose to hone their skills in Exhibition or Home Run Derby, or compete for the World Series Championship on Season. The game is played for two players, in which players can play with either family or friends from school or the neighborhood.
Design. The game's graphics are rendered in 3D, and characters have semi-polygonal looks which is extremely cool. The design of the game was very well made, and having Ken Griffey Jr do the voice acting made this game even more interesting.
Rantings. In Veteran Mode, the game can be very nerve-wrecking at times and your teams pitchers can get tired easily in that difficulty. When the pitcher is either injured, tired or out of gas, you have to replace him with another one. And choose wisely, because any mistake you make is your own fault. Also, in terms of the players, I do not like how they grab the bats sometimes.
Good Aspects. The game is highly fun to play for a baseball game, and if you have your Nintendo 64 and this game as well, then enjoy playing it like in the old days of gaming. But I really wish that this game was also on the Wii Virtual Console.
Memories. I remember playing this game when I was 11, besides playing GoldenEye we would take a break from it and play this game. Those sleepovers at my cousins and playing it in summer vacations in New York were amazing in those days. Long before the days of the PS3, Xbox 360, and Wii, games were a lot more fun to play back then. On those days, it was about fun and excitement, but now, it's all about graphics to many of these noobs out there who only play war games and MMORPG games like Runescape and World of Warcraft.
Overall. This is one of my favorite games in terms of sports genre. This game gets a 7 out of 10.