Hey batter, batter, batter! Swing into nonstop baseball action with SNK's Baseball Stars for the NEOGEO Pocket Color system. After choosing a team, scroll through your roster of talented ball players to select a pitcher and a batting order. Although all the players and 12 teams are fictional, each slugger comes complete with his own baseball card (featuring a photograph and player statistics). Once a game begins, you can control batting, running, pitching, and base-stealing by using a combination of two buttons and an eight-way directional pad. Want a quick baseball fix? You can play as little as one inning and, if time is on your side, you can tear through nine plus innings. With a connecting cable, you can challenge a friend to your own pocket-sized World Series.
The team members are illustrated with Japanese anime graphics, which are particularly pronounced when a character strikes out or gets smacked by the ball. We got a kick out of the silly team names such as Real Runners, Grooves, and El Condors. And when a home run is hit, a full-on graphic assault kicks in with freeze-frame shots, flashing words, and music. --Carrie Bell
Pros:
- Creative character response to game events such as a home run or strikeout
- Cool statistics sheets on each player, and the option to decide your own lineups
Cons: - No recognizable pro players or teams
