Conference hydra::amiga_v1

3856.0. "HardBall II" by HPSCAD::DMCARR (Asleep at the mouse) Mon Jun 18 1990 14:26

    As a previous owner of Accolade's C=64 version of HardBall, I decided to 
    give HardBall II a try on the Amiga. It features the same essential 
    controls that made the original easy to use - you simply view the joystick 
    as the diamond and push in the base direction which you want to throw, run, 
    steal, pick-off, etc.

    HB-II has more teams (none real), more managerial options, instant replays,
    various (real) stadiums, league play, team editor - essentially all the 
    things that were lacking in the original. You can choose 1 or 2 player 
    mode, using either the keyboard or joystick(s) for control (joystick 
    recommended). Unfortunately, it does not use the mouse for anything; all 
    the menu choices have to be made via the cursor keys, return key and 
    escape key. Takes some getting used to, but since in a 2 player game, both 
    can use joysticks, I can see why they decided to disallow the mouse. 
    Of course, it would be nice if they had allowed the mouse in a 1 player 
    game for access to the menus.

    There are plenty of options - you can select whether the tic-tac-toe
    display that shows where the ball is being pitched is on/off, what type
    of pitch to be thrown is on/off, whether a player's stats affects his
    performance, etc. There are 3 different views - full field (tough to
    use when batting), pitcher view and batter view. There's also a pitcher/
    batter view which toggles in a 1 player game depending on whether you're
    at the plate or in the field. One minor nit is that if you're in the field,
    the automatic switch to full field view on a batted ball doesn't occur 
    quickly enough to determine which direction to move the fielder. Maybe I
    just need more practice.

    The manager can shift the infield/outfield, protect the lines, set up for
    a double play, play deep or shallow, etc. To bring in a reliever, it's
    recommended that he warmup in the bullpen first. There are player's stats
    which affect running ability, fielding ability, how long a pitcher can go
    before he tires and starts throwing erratically, etc., etc.

    The instant replay option is interesting, but buggy. You can review the
    previous play at normal speed, slo-mo, frame by frame or at fast forward.
    The bug is that on the replay, a ball that was caught simply rolls past
    the fielder to the outfield or to the wall. The next frame shows the
    play continuing as it happened.

    The disk is code-wheel copy protected, and can be booted stand alone
    or with your own WorkBench (best to shut down all extra tasks like VirusX,
    QMouse, etc.). If there's insufficient memory available (says to 
    disconnect 2nd floppy if only 512K), it cleanly aborts. I noticed one 
    quirk in that when I booted stand-alone, there was no sound (I knew
    that I heard the national anthem the first time I'd played). Obviously,
    it makes use of the sound device on your WorkBench. (Plays either the
    American or Canadian national anthem depending on which flag you raise).
    The ump shouts a convincing "steeerike!" and a "You're outta there" when
    you strike out. There's also some background crowd noise and the familiar
    "Charge" played on the organ when the bases are loaded. Thankfully, the
    music that accompanied the original HardBall has been laid to rest. Music
    and sound can be toggled off independently.

    I've only played a few games and still haven't beat it, but I have knocked
    a homer or two, and did manage an inside-the-parker. I also got the 
    computer caught in an interesting rundown after a pick off attempt. It
    played just like real baseball where you need to run the player back
    towards the base.

    All in all, I'm pleased with this game. I'd rate it an 8/10.

							    -Dom