Bases Loaded
Reviewed by Brian Mulholland
Bases Loaded was a relatively realistic action-based baseball sim. It
offered season and player vs player play. It was a reasonably decent
game with good playability.
Graphics 6 out of 10
For an 8 bit game the graphics are reasonable. Don't expect to be blown
away or anything, but the graphics are functional even if they're a bit
boxy at times. The cut scenes are pretty lame though. Even for the time
period they could have done a better job.
Music and Sound 7 out of 10
The music is inoffensive and stays out of the way. The sound effects
though are pretty decent. I was a little put off that the bat sounds like
aluminum bats (MLB uses wood bats only), but you get over it. Otherwise
the sounds are pretty good considering we're talking about a relatively
old 8 bit game. I continue to wonder if the umpire's occasionally shouting
of 'You BUM!' when you strike out was intentional or what.
Game Challenge 8 out of 10
The art of hitting is pretty easy. Between the ball's movement, the
shadows, and the movement of the catcher's mitt there are more than
enough cues to allow you to put bat to ball on nearly every pitch (even the
ones out of the zone as long as they're not to far out). You'll foul a lot
of ball off, but you will end up putting so many balls in play that you
should score well. Pitching takes a little longer to become REALLY good
at, and no matter how skilled you get the computer will cheat at will.
The cheating reflects the score. When you start to pull away, the game
will use the other team's batters to put together an offensive drive of
their own. If you've got the art of pitching down well and are changing
tactics frequently you should be able to weather the storm, but the game
will often ring up cheap home runs off even your best pitchers. I've seen
computer players reach out to the opposite side of the plate and PULL home
runs not just into the bleachers but over them. The challenge of the game
depends a lot on how heavily you substitute your pitchers. If you use only
your 3 or 4 best pitchers all the time the game will not present much
challenge. It becomes challenging when you try to get by substituting
liberally or using weak pitchers for long stretches. In such situations it
becomes a very entertaining score-feast. Low scoring pitcher's duels are
rarer simply because the computer isn't that good at pitching, but sometimes
the computer will cause you to line every hit right at a fielder, so they
do happen from time to time. Out of every ten games I'd usually play 6 or 7
complete blowouts, a couple shootouts maybe one pitcher's duel, and maybe
once every 20 games or so the computer will stage a bunch of cheat home
runs in the 9th inning to beat you.
Game Play-Fun 6 out of 10
Vs the computer you have to be pretty obsessive to have much fun. I was
recording stats to compare with the numbers the game gives (those
numbers are way to low...I had two or three .700 average batters on my
team with my cleanup man averaging just over a home run per game and
about 5 RBI per game...most players batter between .400 and .600). I can't
say much for the fun of inter-person play because everyone I've ever
played it with would never play long enough to become any good at
fielding. Without understanding the nuances of Bases Loaded fielding
they literally could not get me out. I had to let them get me out, and
when they came up it was usually strikeouts and easy ground balls. So
unless you've got a foe willing to play enough to get as good as you 2
player mode lacks punch.
Frustration
Sometimes you get angered by the computer's blatant cheating, but as
long as you remind yourself that it's the only way it can keep up and
make the game interesting you should survive. The other frustration is
that if you play a full season and win the pennant (as soon as you hit
80-odd wins you win the pennant). The ending is...well, it's pretty lame
and unrewarding. A world-series game would have been nice.
Replayability 7 out of 10
I played a whole season out so I think you can replay it, but I'm probably
a bit obsessive about things like this. Most people will probably bog down
about 20 games into the season.
Game Value 5 out of 10
It's playable, and given all the better and more modern games out there
it shouldn't cost much. There are worse ways to spend your money, but
there are probably better ways as well.
Overall 7.5 out of 10