NES Challenge - Bases Loaded II Games 1-20 [196/714]
0I'm still undecided about this one, but feeling this is going to be one of the bottom of the baseball titles against popular opinion. There are some really good points to the game, but some of it could have really used a bit more play testing in my book.
So, the graphics and music are pretty decent, no faults there. The perspective of defense on the other hand really sucks in my book; definitely not a fan 20 games deep. There are issues controlling some characters on defense and the AI has a tendency to suck - my second baseman likes to run away from the ball to cover second, and I have no idea what my shortstop is doing when they should be covering second on the hit. As for the outfield, the best I can say is it is wonky. While it has been awhile since I played what I feel are the good classic baseball games, like RBI, the fielders don't appear on the screen fast enough for a reasonable attempt. You really need to have experience to get the feel of where the AI is going to place them. Personally, there are many times I feel the ball is going to go shallow, but goes overhead so my strategy has been to fall back a bit more. Even then, the players are tiny so flyballs never seem routine to the player but easy for the CPU.
After that, the damn perspective change of looking over the first and third base line during infield play. I do like the attempt. Gamers always complain that games get samey, so I applaud that, but damn does it throw you off. When overlooking 3rd base and have someone in a pickle between second and third, you will inadvertently throw straight down from second to homeplate by pressing down as its the direction you are pointing, not the configuration of bases of the controller. This is why the classic diamond view works better - you always point to the base you are throwing to.
I also don't quite care for the batting view.... say feedback. I have no real way to see why I am missing the ball. I like the idea of a 9 square hit zone, that's fantastic. The issue lies in that the ball seems to at times fly in between zones and I believe become unhittable. I say this as there is no feedback as to how you screwed up. Did you swing early, late, wrong zone? No way to tell as the ball goes over the tiny plate to quick, and even then the ball speed doesn't alway seem to match what is reported. A 78 mph ball may come in slowly while a 68 has the feel of an 80 mph ball. Add to that there are times when the ball seems to pass the outside corner and called a ball, but a far outside ball can slide in over the opposing batter box and be a strike. Again, overall I like the idea of 9 hittable zones, but I feel the ball should land there clearly and not be some middle of the road strike. I wish it would have been programmed to have 25 total pitch zones. 9 over the plate making the classic tic tac toe configuration, and an additional 16 around that which would all be balls. This also brings up another point - have a damn sound when the ball will drop like a slider and hit the ground/plate. It's fine that some pitchers have a ton of movement, but for cripes sakes, this is a video game not a simulator. Baseball Stars and RBI nailed this part in the fun department, and Bases Loaded II dropped the ball for an error in my book.
Also wanted to throw this in somewhere. The original Bases Loaded had kind of a glitch pitch where you could throw one corner to the other. This game doesn't seem to have that, however it seems a pitch down the middle is doing the most damage. Many times when I try to pitch in or out, if feels the CPU has a better chance of hitting it. I mitigate those pitches when I have 2 strikes and there are fouls occurring.
One more issue is the biorhythms. The do seem to effect your players, but I'm not sure how the coding works with them yet. I figured if your player had many positive scores, they would field, run, and throw faster, but also maybe the hitbox of the bat would become larger and you would get better hits - instead of fouls, those nice hits in the gap. It doesn't seem to be this way, but it may be due to the pitchers I've faced. Hopefully it becomes obvious the more I play.
All said and done, after 20 games I am still having fun with it, but it is the tedious kind. Maybe by the World Series I will have figured out the wonkiness, but now still learning. I'm really loving the different style of gameplay vs other baseball games, however it really is missing the polish of solid play testing. I don't want the game easy, but more of a sense of fair. The opponents missing straight pitches so frequently isn't overall fun, and vice versa, not knowing how I'm missing seemingly straight pitches sucks. I'd really like that 25 zone pitching square and if the ball lands in the designated square hitbox and I swing at the appropriate time with correct input, I should hit the ball. This mid zone strikes tomfoolery sucks.