Major League Baseball Featuring Ken Griffey Jr.
Reviewed by Geoff McCulloch
When most people see this game, they think All-Star Baseball 99 is better then
Major League Baseball Featuring Ken Griffey Jr. But personally, it isn't. The
graphics look better, but that is it. (I mean the graphics look better in All-Star
Baseball 99) There are also many glitches in All-Star Baseball 99, for example,
it won't keep your create-a-player stats, and so on and so forth. So I will give
this advice now, Major League Baseball Featuring Ken Griffey Jr. is better.
Graphics 10 out of 10
The graphics are awesome. They never fade or get invisible when the ball gets
close up, and how they made the characters were outstanding. It is easy to find
where the ball is going unless it already bounced. They also made the stadiums
close to the original. In other words, there is the ivy bushes near the outfield
wall in Wrigley Field, and the left field wall will not be 10 feet tall, but 50 feet
tall, from the Green Monster. So far, I haven't found any troubles with the graphics.
I rate the graphics as an A+.
Music and Sound 9.5 out of 10
The sound is great, including some cool functions. But I'll get back to that later.
The music is a bit choppy, and gets boring after a while. But overall, it's okay,
and you should probably get used to it. Now, the sound is opposite. The sound of
the crack of the bat, the sound of the ball in the glove, an error, the Griffey
commentary. it's all outstanding. The Griffey commentary is great. For example
I was once St. Louis against Arizona in the Bank One Ballpark in Arizona, and the
place was packed. There was basically no seat empty. We were winning 12 to 1,
and Griffey said, "The fans are going home!" When I looked back, it seemed that
there was no seat full! There was many 25 people in the whole ballpark! When it is
obvious that you hit a home run, Griffey says, "That ball is going, going, gone!"
Whenever Griffey himself hits a home run, and he comes back at bat later in the
game, he says, "I'm back!" When you make a diving catch, he will say a variety of
things, one of which is, " Look at that one-handed grab!" Also, you can here the
crowd. A couple of the things they say, "Popcorn, one dollar!""Hey, can I have a
beer over here?" Overall, the music is okay and the sound is excellent.
Game Challenge 8 out of 10
The game is easy, but only if you chose an easy team to beat. If it is a team like
the Seattle Mariners and you haven't traded to get Ken Griffey Jr., it's probably
hard. Another challenge is trading. The CPU makes the decision, whether the trade
is smart or not. For example, you cannot trade Mark Bellhorn, Phil Plantier, and Raul
Ibanez for Barry Bonds or Frank Thomas. Overall, it's a great challenge, unless you
know how to conquer it.
Game Play-Fun 10 out of 10
The game play is great. It's not too easy, but not too hard. There are many pitchers
that you can choose from, each with a change-up, fastball, standard pitch, (slider,
screwball, or curveball) and a specialty pitch. (cut fastball, super fastball,
split-finger fastball, super change-up, and a knuckleball) You can change the
alignments of the infield and outfield, and curve the ball without a curveball
pitch. For batting, there is also a variety of things other than just swinging and
bunting. You can lead off, steal, retreat, advance and pinch hit.
Replayability 10 out of 10
I think this game has a high replayability rate because there are numerous trades
that you can make, and numerous teams to choose from. The only thing that you don't
need is create-a-player. One challenge for replayability would to go through a full
season with every team.
Camera Angles 10 out of 10
I feel that the camera angles are another great thing. When an outfielder lines up
with the ball, you're right on top of it. When someone throws the ball, you're right
on top of it. Overall, camera angles are an important part of the game, otherwise,
we'd still be playing the type where it is always overhead.
Overall 10 out of 10
Overall, this game is excellent. Superior graphics, great sound, outstanding
challenge and fun, high replayability, and awesome camera angles. For all you
gamers out there who long for a good baseball game, get Major League Baseball
Featuring Ken Griffey Jr. It's worth your money.