Bad News Baseball

"Good News! Bad News Baseball is not Bad!"

There are few baseball games out there that are good. Bas News Baseball is one of those few. Not only is it great graphics for a NES game, it also has addictive gameplay, great response to controls, and more things!

Once you press the power button, and watch the introduction, you will know you are in for a great experience. You have a few options to play with. You have one player, two player, one player all star game, two player all star game. There is even a spectator mode. It is like watching a real baseball game!

There will be thirteen major league teams to choose from, including Toronto, Chicago, Atlanta, etc. Each team has fourteen fielders and six pitchers. There are no real major league players here, they all go by first names, just like Ichiro. After showing the lineup, it will go right into the game.

The first thing you will notice are the umpires. They are bunnies! Since when did bunnies become umpires? Oh well, they HAVE to be better than the current umpires in the MLB.

The graphics while you are batting look incredibly real. Even though you don't see any umpire bunnies during the at bat, you will find the batter, pitcher, and catcher incredibly detailed. Home plate is small then I remember though!

But while the ball is in play is where you see the umpire bunnies! Hooray! Anyway, the players get less detailed in this area. There is only three frames for animation. Two for running and one for catching. This could have been done a lot better. This since this IS a NES game, I really can not complain.

But I can complain about a few things. When you are fielding, you will not run fast at all. This is really frustrating, because it can turn a single into a triple, and it has happened to me. It is also pretty tough to control where the fielder throws the ball. But other then these minor quirks, everything is done great.

But they did a lot more in sounds. There are many you will hear, including the cheering crowd, the ball whizzing by you, the crack of the bat as you see the ball flying over the fence, and even all of the teams have a theme song, in which plays every time they go at bat. Not incredibly classic, but its still fun to listen to. There are also a few tunes for when you hit home runs and things like that.

There is also a pretty good challenge here, mainly because of the fielding. The opponents will almost always swing at the first pitch you throw at them, and will usually hit it into the outfield, then your fielding comes into play, and they get a double. Repeat.

Since there is a lack of career mode, replayability is not very high. But this is very fun to play for a couple of days. More if you got a friend. This game should be legendary for when it comes to baseball games. But instead, it is another sleeper hit. Don't you hate those?

Overall, this is one of the best baseball games ever released. But nobody has ever heard of this game! This is a definite buy, since it will probably be for $3-4 dollars. If you need an excellent baseball game, then you need to buy Bad News Baseball.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 08/11/03