You've all seen the repeats of Grange Hill on a Sunday morning, yeah? Well, whereas fat Roland is constantly taunted about his cake addiction and general lardiness, in America a fat kid like Ro-Land (as that girl Janet pronounces it) can make up for such social inadequacies simply by slugging a leather-wrapped piece of cork into the stratosphere with a slim bat.

Imagine the scene: Roland, slick with sweat and a melted Twix staining his shirt pocket stands before Rodney Bennett's arch pitcher. Grange Hill are losing 43-40 to their greatest rivals, the bases are loaded with the likes of Zammo, that bloke off Press Gang and Faye. However, Roland has missed two pitches and must hit the next pitch for a Home Run.

Doing so will ensure he is a hero until... ooh, at least the next episode, whilst missing will condemn him to a kicking from his team-mates and from Mr. Baxter that bearded P.E. teacher who's always in The Bill. If only all decisions were this easy.

To say that Greatest Nine has a couple of options is like Matthew Kelly is a bit of a berk - a huge understatement. Not content with offering every Japanese team in the league, complete with little digitised pics, batting averages and the likes, every aspect of the game can be tailored to your liking.

Four stadiums are on offer, a choice of night or day matches, and the order the players step up can also be fiddled with. By far the best option in our book though is the one which lets the player select from one of a dozen commentators. As the game progresses, it is supported by views from a pair of Japanese observers, but if the default pair aren't to your liking, they can be swapped for a more subdued pair, or a completely mental duo who scream throughout the game. They're our favourites, they are.

The Saturn pad's C button is the most important of playing Greatest Nine. Yes, the directional pad is indeed used to add curve and speed to pitches, moves the batter in all directions, and sets the fielders in motion - but without the C button, very little would happen. The programmers have made Greatest Nine as easy to play as possible by making the C button control everything from throwing, batting and all the most important aspects of the sport.

This way, there's no way mates who are crap at the game can claim they "don't understand the buttons". Other functions like bunting and lobbing the ball from base to base are effected using B. But why bother when all you want to do is slog it one?

I really like this - apart from one glaring fault. Whilst batting and pitching are easier to effect yet every bit as controllable as in past baseball sims, the fielding in Greatest Nine is awful!

The fielders are far too sluggish, have problems running diagonally, and it's finicky switching to the player nearest the ball. Such a fundamental fault really spoils an otherwise stunning game.

The Saturn's sound and graphics are used brilliantly to create a game which captures the stadium effect of a real game using commentary and TV-style cutaways to full effect. Similarly, the playability is there and, before long, you'll be slugging home runs and pulling off incredible catches which would make Babe Ruth green with envy. If only the fielding had been sorted out, this would have rated as a must-have. Instead, it just misses the major league...

A tarted up version of Rounders. With blokes in hats throwing balls at up to 143mph.

Smack a ball with a thin bat more times than your opponents. Get the runs. It's better than it sounds.

Graphics 91%
Big, burly sprites, loads of cutaways, and the ability to view the action from one of a number of views. Cool.

Animation 84%
P. The larger sprites are beautifully animated with the pitchers gobbling and pulling their caps, and batters fidgeting around.

Music 81%
P. Jingles and anthems galore. Really adds to the stadium atmosphere.

Effects 84%
P. The commentary is brilliant - two people genuinely talking over each other! The batting and catching effects are spot-on!

Playability 89%
P. Easy to play as everything is performed using the C button.
N. The fielding is sluggish and frustrating.

Lastability 84%
P. Plenty of teams, but more lasting appeal is guaranteed thanks to the excellent two-player mode.

Overall 86%
What could have been a stunning game is reduced to a very good one due to the crap fielding mode. Still well worth a look though.