Previous Next

On first appearances, World Series Baseball appears to be an accurate, entertaining and very professional adaptation of the popular American sport. This may all sound very ordinary until you learn that the game has been produced by an English company with British programmers.

Odd as it may seem that the best baseball simulation I have seen to date should be from an English software house, the programmers have kept the game's American origins well and truly in the foreground of the game.

The US's national anthem plays at the beginning of the game, the stars and stripes flutters gently over the stadium and the cheerleaders, vitally important to every genuine American sporting occasion, frequently rush onto the pitch shouting and waving.

As in real baseball, your aim in World Series Baseball is to outscore your opponent in nine innings - extra innings are played if the game is drawn after nine.

The game begins by asking you to choose how many players are taking part and what colour strips you want the teams to wear. You usually begin the game as the fielding side, pitching the ball at the opposition's batters. The game enables you to throw the ball in several different ways, including fast and slow balls, curving slow and fast balls and low and high balls.

Actually hitting the ball, as you've probably guessed, isn't straightforward either. You can choose a fast, slow or ordinary swing, although most of my attempts ended up with me fouling three times in a row or being caught by one of the fielders without moving from the first base.

Overall, the game is enjoyable to play and a treat to watch. One piece of advice for would-be baseball champs is to play against a friend to practise your batting and fielding techniques because the computer opponent doesn't take any prisoners.