All-Star Baseball 2005 XBOX

O.K. so this Isn't really a "retro" game ,but All Star Baesball 2005  has been around now for nearly 20 years!Over 20 years If you count It's inception on the N64 back In 1999.The franchise came a long way and quickly became a worthy opponent ,going head to head with games like MVP 2005 and the  MLB 2k series.This Is a quality baseball game with great graphics and some cool bonus modes for the baseball historian .The one gripe against the game lies In the player animation.Players make  catches or plays In the field and oddly get back into a baseball  ready position.It looks really awkward and unnatural.Also ,the batter animations look a little stiff.The sound Is fantastic .The crack of the bat when you make contact is pretty satisfying.Tom Brenneman and Steve "Psycho" Lyons   do a great job of calling the game. 

The game ,at It's core ,Is enjoyable.You get all the normal bells and whistles of  a 200X gen baseball title like season and franchise modes and you can even create your very own expansion team!Cool,right? But wait,there's more ;)Bonus play offers a nice selection of extra game modes.The other day ,I decided to kill some time before dropping the kids off at school by playing the TWIB challenge.It was surprisingly fun.Tom Brenneman and Steve Lyons start off by giving you a quick synopsis of what the challenges entail.There are many different in game scenarios of  noteworthy plays from the 2004 season to choose from but only a few are available at the onset.The first challenge involves the infamous interference call,or should I say non call that took place at Wrigley.All Star Baseball 05 is a great baseball game that still holds up today.It's super inexpensive and with all the extra modes of play,totally worth checking out!

               

                                     IS IT PLAYABLE TODAY RATING 

7

Triple Play '97 PS1

Triple Play baseball dates back to the Sega Genesis.It was one of the more realistic baseball games on the market ,along with Sega Sports World Series Baseball.I remember liking World Series better but after  having problems with the save function , Triple Play became my go to baseball game.Triple Play 97  was EA's  first crack at a baseball game  on Sony's revolutionary 32 bit system.I never got to play It back when It released ,sticking mainly to Sony's SCEA  MLB series  of games.I played tons of Triple Play baseball on the Genesis so I decided to pick this title up to see If  EA made any monumental improvements with an extra 16 bits to mess around with.Prior to making this post ,I played a quick 9 inning,rookie mode  exhibition game as a refresher.

                                                                 The game Is leaps and bounds better than it's  16 bit predecessor,but that was expected.The opening FMV sequence of generic ballplayers turning a triple play Is pretty cool.One thing that stood out as being a little funky to me were the generic player models.While the stadiums are all In 3D ,the players seem to be 2D. Maybe I'm describing this  wrong but that's just how It comes across to me on the screen.It works,I guess ,but still looks a little odd.Especially when fielding.Graphics are  a little grainy by today's standards  but must have wowed gamers back then.Add to that a new to the franchise , live ,albeit repetitive play by play announcer.The sound Is decent.Even today ,I play this on a 24 inch TV with a blue-tooth speaker connected to it and It sounds pretty crisp.If you turn up the sound effects In the in-game options you can really hear the pop of the mits when the players catch the ball.I love how the player stats roll out under the batter when he comes up to bat but hate the fact that there are no complimenting player pictures.In fact the only time you'll get to see an actual player pic In this game will be when you look at the cover . Gameplay Is simple.Throw the ball and direct It with the directional pad,ala R.BI. baseball.In "rookie" mode anyways.I tried playing a season on "Pro" and It was way to difficult.Opposing hitters went deep way too frequently,making games longer and more drawn out.In "rookie" mode the game flows better,quicker and keeps things close for the player.


Overall your getting a decent baseball game here,but Is It playable today?You won't get sucked into it and want to play It over and over again,obsessively.There's very little micro managing involved ,just bare bones baseball.Stat tracking keeps It interesting but Its definitely just a game that you play for a week or so ,and then stash for a rainy day.Speaking for myself ,of course.

           Is It Playable Today Rating 

 6