Review of Triple Play 97 [Electronic Arts]

review by: Barry C. Dowell  (bdowell@cais.com)

Having owned and played almost all of the baseball games that have been
available for the PSX so far (even Bases Loaded - Double Header folks!
), heres another in a line of reviews that I have done regarding
these games.  Since there's been enough games out now for a reasonable
comparision between them, please understand that this review will be more of
a compare and contrast between Triple Play 97 and the other currently
available baseball games for the PSX.

I hope you find this format useful, and welcome comments at the above
address regarding my reviews.

Please also note that the author makes this review freely available to
anyone that wishes to reproduce it, or any other reviews that this author
has written.  My only request is that you leave the review attributed to
myself, that you please note where the review was obtained from originally,
and lastly that you leave contact information for myself in the review,
incase someone has questions or differing opinions.


I get to again say that here is the next in a line of baseball games for the
PSX.  This one by the former sports game producing champs, Electronic Arts.
Until Sony came along, EA owned the sports games area with such great games
as Madden football and others, but Sony has kept the heat on ever since
Gameday football came out.  Thanks to this great rivalry, EA has been
exerting extra efforts in their sports games for the PSX, and this shows in
the final product in Triple Play 97.

Let me say up front that I have been waiting with baited breath for MLB
Pennant Race, and originally was expecting to get to take advantage of the
deposit that I had paid as a prepurchaser of that package.  Unfortunately
though Sony has delayed Pennant Race again, and in the interim off I went to
purchase Triple Play.

I also have to be up front with everyone and note that I am not the worlds
best game player, and that being the case, normally I'm looking for games
that are as easy to play as possible.  Personally I like Konami's Bottom of
the 9th Baseball just for that reason - it's easy to play, yet still fun,
and competitive for my skill level.

Being able to manage a team only, instead of having to bat and hit and field
is also an option I look for as I really like my baseball games to involve
all of the strategies of the games -- things like squeeze plays, defensive
positioning, statistics, injuries, errors, player attributes and fatigue
effects in the game, and the ability to trade or draft players are also
important to me.

To get higher marks from this normally pessimistic reviewer, the game also
needs to include realistic ballparks (after all different ballparks have
different characteristics, such as some being "hitter" parks, and some being
"pitcher" parks) and have graphics that don't distract from the game or
leave you thinking you are playing the game on an Atari 2600 (such as Bases
Loaded Double Header did).

Lastly, just for fun, I want my baseball game to include a Homerun Derby and
batting practice if possible, where I can slug the ball, practice my
slugging and hitting, and get use to playing the game, adding value for my
bucks.

Triple Play 97 doesn't disappoint in these areas (though it doesn't include
batting practice, only a nice Homerun Derby).

There are some areas of the game that I still long for a little more in,
especially in ease of game play, but overall I have to give this game high
marks.  Please see the specific areas below for details, and see the summary
at the end for a wrap up.

Graphics:

This game came out pretty quickly, so a lot of magazines didn't get many
pictures of the game published before hand.  Hopefully the site you are
reading this review on has obtained some screen shots of the game for your
viewing pleasure.  The graphics are very well done, especially in the areas
of stadiums, where Electronic Arts new "virtual stadium" technology doesn't
disappoint!

The players are well drawn, and the "motion design" technology that has been
used reproduces the player movements well.  Unlike Hardball 5 where the
characters looked grainy, and the graphics looked more like you'd expect
from a 16 bit game (or more like a Commodore 64 for that matter),  the
characters are crisp and clean, the colors realistic and as a major bonus
over all of the other currently available (not having seen and/or played Big
Hurt baseball, I guess I can't say all, but you get the idea) PSX baseball
games, the game even includes all of the real logos for all of the real
teams (an MLB license as well as MLBPA license are included in the game).

Unlike Hardball 5 (HB5), where perspectives never seemed quite right
(closest to correct when you don't use the large batter options, and include
the catcher and umpire outlines which add realism to the game), Triple Play
97 (TP97) looks right when you play it.

Also, unlike Bottom of the 9th (BOT9) or Bases Loaded Double Header (BLDH)
where the graphics are simply computer animations (or far less than even
that in BLDH), the graphics are as realistic as possible.  Actually, those
of you that have seen and/or played World Series Baseball on a Saturn would
be pleasantly surprised at how close this game comes to that game in terms
of realistic graphics.

A minor nit can be picked about the relative sizes of the players in TP97,
where this reviewer noticed that for instance the normally hulking Frank
Thomas looked realitively similar when standing at the plate to say Jeffrey
Hammonds, and that is a bit dissappointing considering the attention to
detail that was obviously given to the game.

On the plus side, the game includes several camera angles and points of view
for the game play, including a high medium and low camera angle and points
of view ranging from always batter, always pitcher, home team (whether
batting or hitting) or away team.  In all cases the game play is smoothly
followed, with the focus always on the track of ball when the ball is in
play.  This is definitely the best baseball game I've seen so far in this
area, and it makes the game that much more enjoyable to play and follow.


Extras:

MLB and MLBPA licenses have been included, so all team logos, uniforms and
colors are here and are accurate, which add to the graphic realism of the game.

All 28 major league stadiums are included,  though this is less than the 40
stadiums that are included in HB5. There are some minor differences between
the real thing and the virtual stadiums in TP97, but those differences are
minor, and overall the programmers and graphic artists at Electronic Arts
(EA) deserve high marks for their work on this game.

As mentioned earlier, having all of the real MLB stadiums reproduced in this
game is a big plus, where the intricacies of a ball park change the entire
strategy of the game.

One area that this reviewer could take a few points away from TP97 compared
to BOT9 is the extra "signature moves" of the players in BOT9.  Examples
include the "snap" of Carlos Perez following a strike call.  While you can't
expect everything from any one game, I find these extras in BOT9 add to the
fun that I have when playing it.

Over all grade for the graphics (including the players and stadiums):
solid A, slightly below A+


Sounds:

The sounds in this game are excellent.  The announcer and color commentary
are well done, with no noticeable drag or delays such as those found in HB5.
While the announcer may occassionally miscall the play (for instance saying
that its hit to the short stop when its more like a flyball to center
field), this still seems very realistic, and hey, even great play by play
guys make mistakes when calling a game (just ask people that get to listen
to Mel Proctor call a game and announce that it's high and deep, waaaaayy
back, oh, caught at the warning track!! ).

There are several choices of background music, and the sounds are all
separately controllable.

Over all grade for the sound effects:                           A+


Features and Options:

Like HB5 before it, virtually every option you could want is included in the
game, though I give an edge in controllability in some areas of ease of
control to HB5.  This needs better explanation though, since there are more
control options in TP97, and more pitches than can be thrown in the other
available games (again, not knowing anything about Big Hurt baseball on the
PSX).  Again, from the point of view of someone that is looking for a
realitively easy game to play, I find myself liking the simplicity of the
fewer pitching options in HB5 for instance.

The other area of the pitching controls that I liked better in both BOT9 and
HB5 was the ability to control the spot of the pitch within the strike zone.
Personally when I'm playing against the computer (as I usually am), I like
to see the frame displayed, with the target pitch location pin pointed
within the frame.   It's just easier for my limited cranial capacity to
follow and use I guess.  Again, the pitching in TP97 is nice, it's just I
like the other games a bit better in those areas.

I'm also frustrated by the baserunning options in TP97, though I guess if I
play several more games, I'll get used to those controls, and be able to
tear up the basepaths.  It's just that as a "rookie" in the game, I find
that players don't seem to advance bases automatically when I think they
should, and controlling the base runners seems more confusing than I'd like.
A thourough reading of the documentation helps in this area, but personally
I like it to be a bit more intuitive and automatic (hey, I'm an admitted
lazy person folks!).

On the higher marks sides, the game lets you manage a team, or play arcade
style, or mix various options, in the same ways you can in BOT9, and HB5, so
you only do the work you want.

You can choose from real MLBPA players, and even play with the all stars
from both the NL and AL.

Also on the plus side is the ability to completely vary your hitters stances
and positions within the batters box.  You can choose from a normal stance
(the default), an open stance or a closed stance.  By choosing between the
various stances you can try to pull the ball, or hit the ball to the
opposite field.  There are also choices of swing types including a normal
swing which allows you to check the swing if necessary, an aggressive power
swing (no chance to check the swing though!), and a bunt swing.  All of the
swings can be directionalized either left or right, and you have options of
trying to hit either fly balls or grounders.

Another nice plus to the game is the addition of "speed bursts" in both the
field or when running the bases.  While it takes a bit of getting used to
when and where these bursts can be used, they add an extra level of realism
to the game.

Trading, free agency, injuries, and player creation are also great features.
Player creation allows you to create a player, give him various mixes of
attributes (the attributes have to be divided between several areas, so you
can't create supermen, but can create super category players).  After
creating players, they can be drafted as free agents and used on your teams.

A Homerun Derby feature allows you to just swing for the fences, but unlike
HB5 or BOT9, there are no other practice facilities in the game.

Over all grade for the options and features:                    solid A


Playability:

Any game that goes to the extremes that this one does in the options and
features area wouldn't be complete without easy game play.  For the most
part this one has that base covered too.  Again, this reviewer longs for
some extra levels at the lower end of the scale (a Minors level for instance
might be nice).  Unlike HB5 which features 10 difficulty levels, selected
via sliding scale, the choices are more limited with the only choices being
"Rookie" and "Pro" unless manage only is considered.

Player controls are more than adequate, but will take a little getting used
to before you'll feel proficient at all of the options.

One possible missing feature is link play, but multiplayer tap play is
included which allows support for up to 8 simultaneous players per game.
This reviewer imagines that such multitap play could be fun, but might get a
little confusing with several players all trying to take control of the
fielders that would be trying to make the play.  EA has tried to make this
as easy to follow as possible, by color coding the various indicators of the
active players.  Still, this would seem to be something that has to be
experienced to be believed.

One other playability note - the Homerun Derby feature only works with one
controller, regardless of the number of players.  That can be somewhat
annoying since you have to pass the controller from person to person.  For
single game players that want to try their slugging with several different
batters, this is actually kind of nice, but its definitely a tradeoff with
multiplayer games.

Over all grade for playability:                                 solid A


Statistics information and Memory card usage:

Like most other EA games (such as NBA Live), this game keeps stats for
everything.  If you want to know about it, it's gonna be there.   Like HB5
though, the down side to this, and to the abundance of options and features
discussed above is that there is a price in the use of memory blocks.  While
not as bad as HB5, which can use anywhere from 2 - 15 blocks on it's own,
the 1 - 4 block memory requirement is still something to be considered.

One other downside of the use of the memory card is that it is required for
season play since there are no other season play facilities in the game
(unlike some other games which provide a password feature as an alternative
to requiring a memory card).

Over all grade for statistics information:                      solid A


Documentation/instructions:

The documentation for this game is thorough and complete.  Over 48 pages of
documentation that explain every option of the game are included.

Over all grade for documentation/instructions:                  A to A+



End results for Triple Play 97 (complete package):              solid A



End recommendation:

This game is well done, and deserves at least a good long look from a rental
store, or a purchase from your local dealer if Baseball is something you
want to play on your PSX. This game does include serious eye candy,
especially when compared with Base's Loaded: Double Header, Bottom of the
9th and Hardball 5 for that matter. While you may be like me, still
anxiously waiting for Pennant Race to comes out, this game is still a great
game in its own right.

Having spent my money for the game at Electronics Boutique, I rate it a
definite keeper (as a side note, though I had rated HB5 that way, it
eventually got traded in on BOT9), and far closer to that complete Baseball
game that I've been searching for.



Until I can afford to pick up another program for my favorite game system -


bcd