Baseball Advance

"2 thumbs up"

Baseball Advance is a great, simple, portable baseball game. It's perfect for playing baseball on those long car rides or just when you're bored. This game should be considered one of the best baseball games in a long, long, time.

Gameplay: 9/10

Perfect in almost everything. There's a good system for batting involving a small circle inside of a larger circle. The larger circle is the range the batter can swing in and still make contact. The smaller circle is for a much more powerful hit. The season mode is great and simple, with no complex system of position switching or getting replacement players. You have 4 fields to chose from. The only problems are even when this game was released, the rosters were slightly outdated. Also, I really wish a multiplayer link-up mode was included. Playing a friend in this game could only make it better. Other than those two things, this game is perfect in every aspect.

Controls: 10/10

Perfect. A to swing and throw to a base. B to bunt. L and R to control the runner's movement. Could one ask for anything easier to understand than that? Seriously, you can pick up this game and be cracking home runs in no time thanks to this superb control scheme.

Graphics: 9/10

Beautiful. There's a crisp green field. There's a nice, tan, path for your runners to run on. The ball is white and vibrant, making it really ****ing hard to lose track of. The pitcher will even nod his head in agreement or shake his head in disgust depending on your pitch of choice.

Sound: 9/10

Clean and crisp. There's a thundering crack when you connect with a hit; a ''whoosh'' sound when you throw the ball for the batter or to another fielder. There's even an instrumental USA national anthem followed by someone bellowing ''PLAY BALL!''. It's some picture perfect sound, and can even be matched up to some SNES or PSX games by sound quality.

Buy or Rent?: Buy Buy Buy

Get this game by any means necessary. It's one of the best baseball games I've played. You really should buy, or at least try this game. You won't regret it.

Final Thoughts

Baseball Advance is one of my favorite games, including non-portable games. The sound, graphics, and them sweet and simple gameplay work well together to make one baseball game that any sports game fan will enjoy. If you had to buy one sports game for a GBA, this one would be my suggestion.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 10/16/03