Baseball Round Up

[JustLikeHeaven1]

In light of all the recent baseball reviews I figured we could list some baseball games the Critic hasn't reviewed yet.  Maybe he reviews them...maybe he doesn't.

I'll start with some NES games he doesn't have reviews for.

Little League Baseball - This was easily the most played Baseball game in my household for about 10 years.  Its a classic and any NES loving, baseball fan needs it.  Great game.

Legends of the Diamond - This baseball is based on the fantasy of being able to make a team of hall of fame players.  Bob Gibson can face off against Honus Wagner and its great.  I remember having great fun with this title back in the day.  Not sure how well it aged though.  The novelty of it is worth a pick up though.

Bad News Baseball - This game is similar to RBI Baseball...except it doesn't have real people.  It has a funky zany vibe to it and I found it enjoyable back in the day.

[Adamant1]

I still say Pete Ross Baseball for the 2600 needs a rereview - this is no A- game. Sure, it's pretty, but it's broken as all hell. Seriously, while pitching, walk all the way to the left, then pitch while still holding left. The batter will never hit the ball. Ever.
In addition to this, homeruns are way too common, and the way the field is divided into zones can make it impossible to catch the ball at times. Feh. It may be the best baseball game for the system, but that's really not saying much. Giving it the same grade as Space Invaders, Stampede and Frostbite is way too kind.

[JustLikeHeaven1]

I still think he needs to review the High Heat Games for the Xbox and PS2.  Also the Triple Play series on the PS1 is probably worth playing (the 98 version was great).

On the NES I think Tecmo Baseball is one game that gets overlooked by gamers.  Its not perfect but its enjoyable.

[Alienblue]

The Alien Don't DO sports, but for nostalgias sake I'd like to see him review the old mattel handheld LED sports games- EVERY kid in my school had an NFL QUATERBACK, and there were BASEBALL and CAR RACING games too. Failing that, pick up some of the new LCD handhelds. The driving ones are not too bad-since baseball is slow and strategic, I assume those are decent too (LCD is best at simple, strategic games vs. fast action ones; LCD Battleship and Four in a row are decent..)

[Retro STrife]

Legends of the Diamond (NES) - I haven't played an NES baseball game in forever so I figured I'd try Legends of the Diamond today. (Or Legends of the "Daimond" as it's misspelled on the top label.) It wasn't worthy of a new topic, so I figured I'd revive this one for some 2000's VGC forum nostalgia. The only real draw to Legends of the Diamond is its own double dose of nostalgia - combining your nostalgia for 80s baseball video games with your grandpa's nostalgia for 1930's baseball. You have the likes of Cy Young and Whitey Ford throwing to guys like Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, Roberto Clemente, and Hank Aaron. I wonder if they had to pay families to put the players in the game or if Ban-Dai just hoped no one would care?

The gameplay isn't horrendous, but it's nothing to write home about either. Pitching and hitting having limited options, and fielding is overly difficult, especially in the outfield. The modes are also very limited - just single games or a tournament, with 1 or 2 players. While these are typical complaints of NES baseball games, Legends of the Diamond came out in 1992 and could do better. It'd really benefit from a battery backup and season mode. Stat-tracking a season with these players might make it possible to overlook the flaws. As it stands though, this is just a one-afternoon novelty. I won't give a score based on just a couple games, but this is probably C or D material at best.

[Tron]

I’d say that Bad News & Tecmo Baseball on the NES are both very mediocre. I would guess “C” grades from the Critic. I think the Critic would love Little League since it’s gameplay is similar to Baseball Stars. Plus assuming I understand the Critic’s sense of humor a bit I think he’d get a kick out of it. I’m guessing a solid “B” from the Critic on this one.

Now on to Legends of the Diamond. Overall I agree with Retro’s take on this game. It’s neat playing with legends like Babe Ruth, but the novelty wears off quickly. With such a limited number of legends to choose from and no season mode or anything to unlock I grew tired of it quickly. Just based off memory I think Retro was a bit harsh on the gameplay. As I remember it was pretty good and better than most games. Not better than Little League mind you, but still good. I’m guessing “C+ To B-“.

I just remembered that Legends had a neat portrait for each of the Legends and a mini bio for some extra awesome style points.