A simple but fun baseball game for anyone to pick up and play.
THE GOOD
-Makes playing baseball fun and simple
-Great music
-Fun cut scenes
THE BAD
-Terrible fielding controls
OVERVIEW
Bad News Baseball is a simple yet fun baseball game. There are 12 male and 12 female teams from different cities all over North America like Atlanta, Toronto, and New York. All the player names, teams and logos are fictitious. The game is played with normal baseball rules except that all the umpires are rabbits!
GAMEPLAY
Bad News Baseball can be played with one or two people. If the single player option is selected, from the beginning, that player will have a chance to play all the other remaining teams. Each game gets progressively more difficult but after every match a password is presented for easy saving and loading. The multiplayer or 2 player mode is designed for two people to go head to head in a regular nine inning baseball game. The multiplayer mode provides plenty of fun and exciting baseball action. There is an option to play an all-star game with one or two people. The all-star game is played just like a regular game with the only difference being that all the best players from each team is on the roster.
Now, whether you play single or multiplayer that same things happen. First, you pick your team. Next, you have the option to change up your batting and pitching roster. Finally, have fun and play ball. The pitching and batting controls are pretty good. For pitchers you have the option to throw the ball at different speeds and directions to try and strike out the batter. Also, just like in a regular baseball game, pitchers get tired and need to be replaced after a few innings. In Bad News Baseball every pitcher has an endurance stat that decreases as they throw pitches so you'll most likely end up using a starter, relief and closing pitchers in a single game. The advantage to changing out pitchers is that the lower the endurance the easier the batter has to hit home runs. Picking out pitchers is easy to do because all you have to do is look at there ERA and the lower the score the better the pitcher.
Batting, in Bad News Baseball, is all based on position and timing. You have to be able to position your batter in the correct spot, based on the pitcher's pitch, and time your swing just right in order to have a successful hit. There are basically two key stats to a good batter: Batting average and total home runs and obviously, the larger the number the better the player. Now the controls for pitching and batting are great but the fielding controls are really awful. The players move very slowly compared to the ball movement which can turn routine singles into doubles and triples. Another thing that's frustrating is that sometimes your player will throw the ball to a base that was not selected by the player. Also, if another fielder is within the "line of throw" to the destination they'll catch the ball instead of letting it go.
There are some fun extra features to the game like its short cut scenes. The cut scenes occur when ever there is a close base out or a homerun. For a close base out the scene zooms in to see the base runner sliding and the fielder trying to tag them out in time. All the calls, for some reason, are made by bunny rabbits which is actually kind of funny.
GRAPHICS & SOUND
The graphics are really good in this game. The detail of the stadium, players, and cut scenes really enhance the gameplay.
The music is another great part about Bad News Baseball. The music fits the baseball feel and changes per team so it doesn't feel too repetitive. Plus, the sound effects of the throwing, batting and sliding are great too.
CONCLUSION
Bad News Baseball really isn't bad at all. This game brings a simplified feel to baseball that's fun for everyone to pick up and play. This is a game for anyone who likes baseball or someone looking for a less complex baseball game.