GRAPHICS SOUND CONTROL FRUSTRATION FUN FACTOR OVERALL

NES Sports 1-4 Players, 2 Simultaneously Battery Backup Most gamers know SNK for their fighting games, and even the RPG Crystalis on the NES. A few of us remember them for Baseball Stars, a great baseball simulation with ample amounts of customization options. Yes, this game is comparable to Baseball Simulator 1.000. There are a few differences, however: the main one being the fact that a realistic game is emphasized rather than arcade-style play. Games can seem to drag on and on sometimes, and there's no 10-run rule, so if you're getting pummeled you still have to wait it out to the finish. There are some pre-programmed teams, such as the American Dreams (American heroes such as Abe Lincoln), Ninja Blacksox (all oriental names with black uniforms and high agility), and the SNK Crushers (who are, humorously, the weakest team in the game). There's even an all-women's team, the Lovely Ladies, and they're quite formidable opponents. Where the game really shines, however, is in the ability to make your own teams. While there isn't quite as much depth as in Baseball Simulator 1.000, there are unique features that set it apart. You can name your players, and power them up by way of money. Each player has a maximum amount of points alotted to them, which varies from player to player. The only way to win money is by winning games, which can be difficult to do in the beginning of the game. Once you get on a roll, however, you won't want to stop. Unfortunately, the depth of the game ends there. The season mode is very uninspired; there's no set schedule, so you can play as many games against whatever team you wish within the season game limit. It's fun if you have enough people for each team in the league, but if you don't, you could get cheap and just play the SNK Crushers every game to boost your record. Another huge disappointment is lack of stat tracking, especially in a game where stats seem to be so integral to gameplay. As far as control goes, it takes a long while to get used to. Rather than just using stats to compute how hard a fielder throws the ball, your timing with the control pad dictates it. If you throw to first base from shortstop, for example, and press right and 'A' at the exact same moment, the ball will get there quickly with no problems. If your timing is off, however, the ball will probably bounce once or twice on its way there, and may even let the opposition get an extra base. I like this idea, but it's hard to time things right in critical situations (namely double plays). Fielding itself is awkward, as your field of view is very tiny. You don't actually see your fielder until a split second before the ball gets to him, since the camera stays in a very small area around the shadow of the ball. It's pure luck as to whether or not your fielder will wander to the right spot while you're blindly pressing the control pad every which way. With practice it becomes second nature, but it can be hard to get used to. Graphics: The graphics are honestly not very good. The field is a minty green color, and everything else seems like it was made too bright to compensate for it. The swinging animation is a bit choppy, and the end of your bat seems to be porous. The ball also seems to jump from the pitcher's hand, which makes batting tougher as well. Also, the players seem large, but from their ankles up, they lack the ability to pick up the ball (i.e. you must actually STEP on the ball to pick it up... it's hard to explain, but it can be annoying). Sound & Music: I enjoy the theme that plays during the games, though it can get to be repetitive at times. The homerun music is uninspired, as are the other tunes in the game. Sound effects are standard NES fare: clanging bats, woo-ing balls, and crappy umpire voices. Not very impressive as a whole. Gameplay: Control is a bit awkward, especially fielding, due to the camera and slow-moving fielders (who can only pick up ground balls with their ankles!). Season play is uninspired, and there's no stat tracking. Like I said above, team creation can only go so far, and this game doesn't have the depth that even some other NES titles bring. No sir, I don't like it! Replay Value: There's really not much of a reason to replay this game once you've created a team and built them up to a considerable level. It's not able to be picked up and played right away, which turns most people off from it in the first place. That, and the team-building is a long and arduous process. Nostalgia Value: I have great memories of playing this game with my cousins (who named their team the Serial Killers every time... *laughs*), but I never really got into it as much as they did. I'm one more for quick games, but they liked the long drawn out resource building/management. This didn't appeal to me much then, and doesn't now. Realism: This is actually a point where the game shines. Besides the god-awful fielding and batting controls, the game is realistic. A player with 8 homeruns on his stats probably won't hit a homerun within a span of 8-10 games. One with 30-40 homeruns will hit one every 3-5 or so. There's none of this "I'm a power hitter so every hit will be a homerun" garbage that plagues most baseball games. I like that, but it's also a chore to play through an entire game... which is realistic, but it doesn't add to the overall enjoyment. ......BOTTOM LINE: All in all, Baseball Stars offers a unique approach to stat building, but lacks in just about every other area. It's fun if you need a change of pace from other baseball games on the NES, but not much else otherwise. Team creation can only go so far, and since it takes funds to beef up your team, you must have a lot of patience. If you don't, you won't want to play this one. -FlowingMindspin