Vimm's Lair: NES Reviews - Baseball

Nintendo
Baseball

Graphics:
Sound:
Gameplay:
Overall:
6.00
6.24
7.12
6.65
Votes: 17
Reviews: 2


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Reviewer: Seth Koopa Date: Jan 6, 2006
There are sport games for the NES that are immersive and even demand skill of you. And this is not one of them. If you're bored and can't find anything better to do, you may think about playing this '84 game. Don't expect to get hooked, though.

Graphics: 5
The graphics are as average as they can get away with being without qualifying as actually 'bad'. But hey, this was 1984, and the graphics in NES games were going to change a lot. The field and the players are okay-ish (the audience look like diamonds) and the way the players run looks really funny. The game gets away with the graphics, but I'm not stealing any looks at them.

Sound: 5
Nothing special. The few tunes are nothing to shout about (including the pause tune, whic seems to be very common in games of this era). The sound effects, like in "Mario bros.", sound almost music-like (they make me laugh). Again, only so-so.

Gameplay: 5
Batting and pitching requires some thought of you; where to position the batter and how to pitch. You can bluff by 'balling' and such. So, the basics in baseball are preseent here.

Once the ball gets hit, however, the talk of skill and thought instantly flies out the window. The ball slips past your players very easily, and more often than not they seem to run away from it rather than toward it. The frustrating controls also make it hard to pitch the ball to the diamond square you're aiming for, often securing the opponent a base (and sometimes the computer steals bases when you're not expecting it).

I for one have never had the inclination to do all the innings. It all becomes very repetitive and pointless after a very short while.

Overall: 5
Frustrating controls and chaos and confusion when the ball gets hit make this early NES game one of those that rightly gain dust on your shelf.

The game "Tennis" (of the same series, I think) is a much better example of a NES sports game that demands something of you.

 

Reviewer: Chris Bowen Date: Jul 7, 2001
What do you expect? The game was made in 1984! A good first effort from Nintendo, but still can't hold a torch to most other baseball games on the system. Batting/pitching is pretty fun, though once the ball is hit, things get ugly quick. Fielders seem to move away from batted balls, and easy little pop-ups are usually misjudged. The computer will steal bases on you, and good luck stopping him. You can pick off, steal, and... that's pretty much it. Nostalgic baseball for those who don't want all the statistics.