World Series Baseball

Copyright : Imagine | Reviewed by : Malc Jennings

Just about every sport in the late 80?s and early 90?s got converted to the home computer platforms, even the drinking mans game of Darts was converted to many platforms. Imagine decided to release a Baseball game on all major 8-bit platforms and this is the result, playing in the world series the only thing to do is win the game - easier said than done we know but not as easy to do.

Graphics

World Series Baseball is without doubt a very nice looking game indeed, colours are spot on with not just shades of green on offer but also the stereo-typed team colours and various shades of red and orange which represent the crowd. Although the team players look basic I think that the view used in this game is pretty special, it allows you to see the entire field without the need for fancy fake camera work or taking the off putting top-down approach and it really does look spectacular. Other nice features in this great baseball game include a computerised representation of the in-game action on the "big-screen" directly in front of your view, a very nice touch as it helps make those almost matchstick like characters more authentic.

Sound

Sound is absolutely marvelous, although by todays standards it?s a little basic in terms of actual audio quality and output but it really does kick ass for the time of release. As your players run out onto the pitch the crowd roar with excitement (white noise but still great) which is then followed by some great wack noises and in-game music, an example would be the very well presented "Home Run" theme tune that plays, well when you get a home run. Imagine have once again done a very good job on this title and it should help set standards for future titles.

Gameplay

Gameplay is once again something you will have to play to believe it. I for one never thought that I would play many great sports games back in the Amstrads reign of the 8-bit home computers but Imagine proved me wrong with this highly playable and very addictive little Baseball game for more casual sports fans. While the game may not be correct and doesn?t have all the extra features todays game would have (bat ranks, player management etc) it makes a very nice change to get back to basics once and a while.
Providing you have a good sense of timing you can pretty much hit the ball with every shot (even we managed the odd home run) but we strongly recommend that you watch the bigger view on the screen in front of the 3D like grounds. We can?t hype this game enough and to be honest this is something we never expected, a league of it?s own is the best way to describe this title and we have only ever seen it beat with the release of Hardball.
Grab this game now - even if you don?t like baseball!