HardBall 5

• Release Date: 1995
• Genre: Sports
• Style: Baseball
• Similar Games: Bases Loaded (Nintendo Entertainment System), HardBall! (Sega Genesis), Triple Play 97 (PlayStation), HardBall! (Commodore 64/128), Frank Thomas Big Hurt Baseball (Game Boy), Frank Thomas Big Hurt Baseball (Super Nintendo Entertainment System), Bases Loaded for Game Boy (Game Boy), Frank Thomas Big Hurt Baseball (Sega Genesis), Frank Thomas Big Hurt Baseball (PlayStation), Frank Thomas Big Hurt Baseball (Sega Saturn), Frank Thomas Big Hurt Baseball (IBM PC Compatible), Triple Play 97 (IBM PC Compatible), HardBall! (Atari ST), Frank Thomas Big Hurt Baseball (Sega Game Gear)

Game Description

Accolade's HardBall 5 comes to the PlayStation with a full MLBPA license. Based on the 1994 baseball season, the license gives players over 800 actual players, all of the major league teams (in addition to twelve of the all time greatest dynasties), and 40 different stadiums modeled after their real-life counterparts.

Gameplay options include League Play, Batting Practice, Exhibition Game, Pitching Practice, and the Home Run Derby. Exhibition matches are single-player games in which two teams compete for fun and/or practice. Batting and Pitching Practices are essential to any new HardBall 5 players. They'll get you used to controlling the action, judging ball trajectories, and selecting pitches.

In League Play, players are given the option to play a shortened or full-length season (162 games) using their favorite team. As the team's manager you'll set player lineups, judge which hitters would be better against a right-handed pitcher, make substitutions, and send the runner home after a deep fly ball to right field!

In Home Run Derby players compete against a variety of computer-controlled opponents or another human opponent. The idea is to hit more home runs than your competitors.

HardBall 5 features 10 different skill levels and play-by-play commentary courtesy of Al Michaels. Season progress and various statistics can be saved via Memory Card.

Roots & Influences

The HardBall series has been a PC gaming staple starting in the late 1980s and stretching throughout much of the 1990s. HardBall 5 is Accolade's first attempt at a PlayStation baseball game. The statistics are based on the 1994 season and features commentary from the renowned Al Michaels.

Review: Overall

Ever since its conception in the late 1980s, the HardBall series has been a sporting game staple featuring both the Arcade and simulation aspect of professional baseball with realistic statistic tracking. Now the renowned series hits the PlayStation with a bang; HardBall 5 takes the series to a new level of depth and detail.

With a full Major League Baseball Players Association license, HardBall 5 features every professional team from the 1994 season complete with jersey colors and realistically designed stadiums. While all the players have been represented, Accolade could not score the MLB license. Though each team is represented by the correct city, their jerseys lack official team logos and team surnames. But with 800 actual major league players and team rosters included, this is forgivable as you can edit team names.

While the Home Run Derby and Exhibition games are fun in their own right, the real meat and potatoes of HardBall 5 comes in the League Play. Players are given the opportunity to manage their favorite team and lead the franchise to World Series glory! Throughout the season, you'll be able to initiate trades and keep track of your team's essential statistics; it is very important to keep an eye on which players are performing badly.

Controlling the action ranges from easy to difficult; using the directional buttons in conjunction with the four action buttons on any given PlayStation controller, you can field, pitch, and hit the ball. Though batting and pitching are fairly simplistic, fielding and catching the ball is often frustrating. Its difficult to tell where your player is in relation to a fly ball and your players won't always throw to the correct base.

Graphically, HardBall 5 is lacking in some key areas. The sprite-based player models are often grainy with little to no detail; even the players' numbers are missing from the jerseys. Additionally, character animation is poor with little fluidity. Though the stadiums are modeled after the real structures, they, like the characters, are pixilated and blandly detailed.

Though lacking in visuals, the audio department is very adequate. Renowned commentator Al Michaels lends his announcing talents for the play-by-play commentary. Though his commentary is usually on the money, some of his calls are slow or incorrect. On the down side of things, the crowd effects aren't very clear; it often sounds like static or white noise. But you just have to love that organ music!

Despite the shortcomings, HardBall 5 is a good first generation PlayStation baseball game that features all the makings (with the exception of team names and logos) of professional baseball. If this title is any indication of things to come for the 32-bit gaming world, then the future will be an exciting time for sports fans!

Review: Enjoyment

With good controls and impressive statistical tracking, HardBall 5 is an enjoyable baseball title. The Home Run Derby is also a blast!

Review: Graphics

The sprite based characters are a tad on the grainy side and lack many details like jersey numbers. Animation is also choppy.

Review: Sound

Al Michaels' play-by-plays are for the most part accurate and the music is great! The sound effects could use some work, however.

Review: Replay Value

If you're not a true baseball enthusiast, the League Play may be a tad on the boring side. After a while, the single matches grow stale even with two-players.

Review: Documentation

The manual thoroughly explains controls, the different modes of play, and how to get around the menu systems.

Production Credits

---

Copyright © 2012 All Media Guide, LLC. Content provided by All Game Guide ®, a trademark of All Media Guide, LLC. All rights reserved.

---