World Class Baseball by Hudson Soft for the TurboGrafx-16 back in 1988. Does this game hit enough homeruns for a worthy download or does it rot to death in the bullpen.

If anyone has paid attention to the recent World Series in North America, the Boston Red Sox obliterated the Colorado Rockies through four straight games, making the New England team #1 in the nation. What relevance this has to World Class Baseball is the simple note of compare & contrast. This shallow and quite dreadful sports title can be described as the performance of the Rockies in the World Series: terrible.

World Class Baseball features a couple main modes and 12 competing teams. None of these are licensed nor do they appear to differentiate from one another. If players manage to best all teams (which is a grueling process), you’ll face the Turbo Tigers which is a non-player selected all star. There are other options such as two-player exhibition or computer vs computer in which you’ll sit back and see two bots control both teams. The layout is pretty basic and the modes don’t justify any lasting appeal in anyways since the gameplay itself is absurd compared to the actually sport.

Perhaps absurd is bit too far-fetched for World Class Baseball. As far as the official rule book goes, the laws of baseball apply here as well. There are nine innings of playtime with two turns within each inning. The main goal is to hit baseballs and score more points than the opposing team by the end of the game. I won’t go deep into the complexity of the sport because most of it is featured in World Class Baseball, with the exception of the visual appeal.

While the game manages to integrate the important elements of baseball, the game doesn’t necessarily accomplish within the gameplay aspects. World Class Baseball is outrageously biased towards the opposing team as they manage to actually pitch curve balls, catch perfect ground balls and pop flies without breaking a sweat. On the other hand, I find it troubling that my players cannot align themselves to catch balls, coordinate throws (I thrust the diagonal-pad to second base and he throws it back to the center field) or run…at all. It’s a complete mess of balance issues between you and the NPCs…since home runs come more often than not in their favor. Awkward.

World Class Baseball is the Colorado Rockies’ performance in the World Series and the enjoyment can end after you consume a box of cracker peanuts. While it retains the main aspects of baseball, it performs terribly on the field. Use the money to buy a glove and join an actual team because this game just hits fouls.

Overall Score: 4.5/10