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   Company Hudson Soft ESRB Rating E for Everyone Release Date US - September 17, 2007 Controllers Wii Remote Classic Controller Gamecube Controller Wii Points 600  Review by: Corbie Dillard ©2008 Virtual-Turbo |
I
could spend a week trying to cover and explain all of the many controls
in the game, but it might be easier to just cover some of the
highlights. For starters, you can rotate players in and out of your
roster much like baseball managers do in real life. You can also choose
from a number of different game options ranging from a quick game all
the way to an entire penant race. There's even an option that allows
you to watch as the computer takes itself on. This is a good way to get
a feel for how the game plays and the many options that are available
to you as there are a ton of them.
When you're batting, the control is fairly intuitive. You can move your player in and out of the batter's box, and how close to the plate you position your player can have a huge impact on how you're able to make contact with pitches, especially the tricky curve balls. You also control how your player will swing his bat by pressing a direction on the control pad as you hit the swing button. For instance, if you hold down on the control pad, your player will dig down and swing upward trying to hit a homerun. The downside of this is that you're more apt to hitting fly balls. Pressing up will make your player swing and hit a ground ball which increases your chances of getting RBIs. You can even hit a bunt, which is a good way to get a player on base in this game. It takes some time to familiarize yourself with the many variations of play control, but over time it will become second nature. When you're playing the field, you'll also have a wide variety of control options at your disposal. Normally, the player closest to the ball will be the one that you'll be automatically controlling. This generally works fairly well, but can confuse you at times when the player you're controlling suddenly changes, especially when you're chasing a deep ground ball or pop fly. Once you've caught the ball in your glove, you press a direction on the control pad to determine which base you're player throws the ball to. For example, if you want to throw the ball to first base you press right on the control pad while you're hitting the throw button. Each direction corresponds to a specific base. Much like batting, fielding takes a little getting used to but has a surprisingly realistic and natural feel to the controls. The control system might sound overly complicated for a baseball game, but it all works together so well that it's hard to complain. It gives you so much variety and gives you a much more realistic sense of control over the game and how it unfolds. The hardest part is when you first begin playing the game as it can feel a little overwhelming right at first, but as I said before, once you get a feel for the game's controls it's one smooth and enjoyable baseball gaming experience. Visually the game is fairly standard. Gamers who've grown used to the modern baseball titles will likely get a good laugh at the basic layout this game makes use of. Those of us who grew up playing Baseball on the Atari 2600, however, appreciate just how great this game looks. It's more a matter of taste than anything. It's obvious that game play took a front seat during the development of this game and it makes it easy to overlook the slight graphical shortcomings of the game. There's really not much to talk about as far as the sound effects and music go. It's pretty typical 8-bit stuff. There's a catchy tune that plays throughout the game, but after an hour or so you'll be turning down the volume just from the sheer repetitive nature of the song. The crowd noise is about what other sports games from this era typically made use of, so don't expect anything out of the ordinary or special in this one. Much like the visuals, this game chooses to focus on the game play. I keep saying that, don't I? This is a very enjoyable baseball game, and easily one of the better ones from this time period. There's tons of things for baseball fans to do in the game, yet it allows those who just want to get to the meat of the game to simply play and enjoy it. Some might miss the ultra-realistic look of modern day baseball video games, but old-school gamers will likely play World Class Baseball with a nice warm feeling of nostalgia for a time period where things were a lot less complicated but just as much fun. |
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