Major League Baseball Featuring Ken Griffey, Jr.

"But are they the masters of their domain? They're the king of the county. The queen of the castle"

OPENING STATEMENT
Nintendo's Ken Griffey Jr. Baseball series sold awfully well on the Super Nintendo, so it was only logical that they would bring the series to the Nintendo 64. Of course, Metroid games sold well in the United States and there was not a Metroid game for the Nintendo 64, but that is another rant entirely. Ken Griffey Jr.'s Major League Baseball manages to be the best baseball game on the Nintendo 64 despite fierce competition from All-Star Baseball. Nintendo has once again shown that they are the masters of their domain and we should give them kudos for always being able to show us that, day in and day out.

GAMEPLAY--9
Realism was not the intent of Nintendo when they created Ken Griffey Jr.'s Major League Baseball. Instead, Nintendo told Angel Studios to develop an arcade baseball game. While it is not nearly as unrealistic as a game like NBA Showtime or NFL Blitz, it does not pride itself on accurately representing America's pastime. Instead, it prides itself on giving a fun representation of America's pastime. And even though it may not be as deep as the All-Star Baseballs of the world, gameplay wise, I feel as it is just as good as Acclaim's more popular series. You see, they are trying to do different things, and they each succeed in their own ways.

The most important aspect of the gameplay in Ken Griffey Jr.'s Major League Baseball is the hitting. And what a hitting interface did Angel Studios create. The interface is very easy to use, and just about anyone can figure out what they are doing quite easily. The pitch is shown with a white box. The area in which the hitter will strike the ball is shown in varying sizes of dotted, yellow circles, depending on the hitter's attributes. Get the yellow circle around the white box, and there is a very good chance that you will get a hit. Luckily, for the pitchers, you can aim your pitches wherever you want to, within reason of course. So it does require a deal of skill, and effort, to get a hit. It is by no means an automatic thing. (Oh, and I forgot to mention that you actually have to time your swing, just like in actual baseball.)

Luckily, NOT like in World Series Baseball 2K, you are controlling the fielding. So if you want to stall on a simple outfield pop-fly, and wait until the last minute to make a dramatic diving catch, or miss, then you are certainly welcome to do so. It is also fun to jump on pop-flies at the last possible second, and listen to Ken Griffey Jr.'s commentary call it a great play, even though you just jumped to make a routine catch. Also, you can set up the base running for auto-control, but then the computer barely ever steals bases, and you should always do that. There are some really simple base stealing strategies too, that you should always follow. So, never put the game on auto-base stealing if you ever want to get anything done in the running game. Semi-Auto is the best option, because then, if you choose to have your runners lead-off, the computer automatically brings them back to their base when the pitcher throws to first, second, or third. I have never been tagged out when I had Semi-Auto Baserunning on in that regard. I have been caught stealing, but I was controlling the baserunner, so it was simply my own fault.

GRAPHICS--6
Graphically, Ken Griffey Jr.'s Major League Baseball pales in comparison to All-Star Baseball '99, which was it's competition at release. The batting stances are certainly amusing to see. Some players, such as Juan Gonzalez, have the bat positioned so it looks like they are going to be taking a hack at a golf ball. Roberto Alomar's stance is so small, he looks as if he is kneeling at a confessional. Very few players actually have a normal stance. And surprise, surprise, Ken Griffey Jr. is one of them. The also screwed up on how some of the players look, including mixing up some of the player's nationalities, such as Derek Jeter. Not to mention, some of the players do not look like human beings, do to the odd face mapping that Angel Studios did. If there were one thing I would want them to improve in this game, it would be the face mapping.

The stadiums are by far the best aspect of Ken Griffey Jr.'s Major League Baseball. They all look (nearly) one-hundred percent akin to their real-life counterparts. The Metrodome still has that horrible teflon bubble roof. Fenway Park's Big Green Monster is still there, set against the deep Boston night sky. The ivy always grows on the outfield wall of Wrigley Field, even if you are only playing a video game on the Nintendo 64. Yes, the stadiums look great. The crowds sure could have used some work though. They crowds could have been graphically carried out by the Atari 5200.

MUSIC--6
SOUND--6
Music is never really a make or break point in a sports video game, so it hardly surprised me that the music in Ken Griffey Jr.'s Major League Baseball is far from perfect. There are really only two songs. Ken Griffey Jr.'s singing solo as the game loads, and the song from the menus, that is a little, repetitive ditty with no real direction. There are also the classic baseball organ tunes that sometimes, although not all that often, are played in the actual baseball games. You know, sthe charge song? That one makes a rare appearance, as does 'Take Me out to the Ballgame.' Really not a spectacular job by any means, but it is above average.

The sound effects are better, but I really wanted to hear running commentary. When every football game under the sun has full commentary, you would think a company as big and important as Nintendo could include more than a few redundant comments from the title player. Other than this giant lacking in the commentary department, the rest of the sound effects in Ken Griffey Jr.'s Major League Baseball are surprisingly solid. The crack of the bat varies with how hard you hit the ball, which is a nice touch that I had never really noticed with other baseball games before this one's release. The roar of the crowd is not so much of a roar, though, as a loud whine of varying intensity. There is a little bit of on the field chatter between the infielders, which is a nice touch, considering some of the time there is no noise at all, and I find that really creepy. In my opinion, there should always be some noise going in a video game, unless you choose to mute your own television set.

CONTROL--10
Ken Griffey Jr.'s Major League Baseball is a very easy to control game. The Nintendo 64's C-Buttons are set up in that handy diamond formation, which makes throwing to the different bases so very easy. It is really almost as though Nintendo designed the Nintendo 64 controller with their baseball series in mind, because the series is a lot easier to pick up and play than it was on the Super Nintendo. The hitting interface is very easy to control, which makes the game, in turn, more fun, but that is another section, so I will get back to that. Baserunning is also simply due to the C-Button interface, so, defense and the glory-less offense is where the control really shines. Pitching is easy to aim, and it is also simple to choose which of your arsenal of four pitches that you want to use. Ken Griffey Jr.'s Major League Baseball is just the pinnacle of control in a baseball game.

FUN--9
Ken Griffey Jr.'s Major League Baseball may also be the most fun baseball game ever. The game is especially fun if you really get into a season. Nintendo was thinking clearly when they told Angel Studios to have the computer think and not accept every trade. This means that you need to give the computer what they think is a fair deal. Over my three years of owning this game, though, I have mastered ripping the computer off. When you get into a season, and you have a sufficient line-up, you can begin the destroying of the computer. This is far more fun than it sounds. You can get caught up in the home run races, and winning the statistical battles in each and every category (except for losses of course) becomes very important. So, you learn to love being on the giving end of those thirty-five to nothing games, because you will raise those hitting statistics a lot. I have had people with a batting average of .965 throughout the season, and I have hit 174 home runs in a season with one player. Of course, this makes saves difficult to come by, but I think it is an even trade off. And when you break all of those famous records, the sense of accomplishment will be great.

CHALLENGE--LOW
Well, if you could not figure out from my fun section, Ken Griffey Jr.'s Major League Baseball is hardly a difficult game. Even the first time that you play it, you should have no problem defeating the computer. I went through an entire season, twice, undefeated! (I'm not bragging. You would have no problem doing the same.) In fact, the only real moments of competition come when you actually play another human opponent, be it in an actual game, or in a Home Run Derby. In fact, those Home Run Derbies against other human-controlled players proved to be the most difficult things in all of Ken Griffey Jr.'s Major League Baseball, that is, if you are playing against decent opponents, in the art if hitting five hundred foot home runs.

REPLAY VALUE--HIGH
To be perfectly honest, I still play Ken Griffey Jr.'s Major League Baseball more than any of my other Nintendo 64 games, even though it is a three or four year old sports game. That's how fun it is, to plow through season after season, trying to beat out an old season's, and real Major League Baseball's, elusive records. (Although, when you are in the middle of your third season, most of Major League Baseball's records have already fallen.) Plus, when you are with friends, it is fun, if you only have a little while, to play each other in a Home Run Derby or two, and if you have a long while, to play versus each other in the World Series.

PROS
*The greatest hitting interface ever created.
*Very high replay value if you want a lot for your money.
*Computer actually rejects trades, which makes the general manager's duties much more fun.

CONS
*Graphically unimpressive.
*Audio could have used some work.
*Perhaps the difficulty should have been beefed up?

CLOSING STATEMENT
There are many additions that I would like to see in a Game Cube sequel to Ken Griffey Jr.'s Major League Baseball. First of all, I want to see this interface, not the horrible one from Ken Griffey Jr.'s Slugfest. Also, a farm system and other minor league stuff would be nice. But, most importantly, do not go for realism, and stick with the roots that made Ken Griffey Jr.'s Major League Baseball great. Let Acclaim go for the realism, and you can stick with the niche and succeed on the basis of the name of Nintendo alone.

OVERALL--8

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 07/03/01, Updated 07/18/01