Game Description

HardBall! provides two teams, All-Stars and Champs, made up of generic players to play one game matches with. Options allow players to set which team is the home team, if a team will be computer controlled, and whether the DH(designated hitter) position will be used.

Before each game players can change the starting line-ups and choose the batting order. During a game a team's defense can be changed for both the infield and outfield. Substitutions and position exchanges can also be made at any time.

For pitching/batting sequences HardBall! provides a view from behind the pitcher. Pitchers have a four pitch selection which varies between each pitcher. Pitches include: Fastball!(faster than the standard fastball), Fastball, Offspeed, Change-up, Curve ball, Screwball, Sinker, and Slider. ~ Jonathan Sutyak, All Game Guide

Review: Enjoyment

Fielding and generic players detracts from the overall experience. ~ Jonathan Sutyak, All Game Guide

Production Credits

Designed by: Bob Whitehead

Graphic Artist: Mimi Doggett

Music: Ed Bogas ~ Jonathan Sutyak, All Game Guide

Review: Overall

HardBall! is probably the best looking baseball game on the C64. However, fielding is a major drawback for this game.

Players in the field have limited movements. More often than not you have to wait for the ball to come to you. A simple infield hit that should be an out is not because the fielder may have to wait a while for the ball to roll all the way to him. Another fielding problem are the arms of the outfielders. When a ball is thrown into the infield it moves at a super slow pace. Runners don't run too fast so they will not get any extra bases but it is still difficult to wait for the ball to reach the infield. One other problem is that if an outfielder backs up to the wall he can only be seen from the waist down. It is impossible to tell if the ball will be caught or if it will be a home run.

At least the pitching and hitting sequences are very good with a perspective from behind the pitcher. There is a good variety of pitches and pitchers are easy to control. Simply choose your pitch and location. Hitting takes a little getting used to and striking out is something that will probably occur often. Telling a runner to steal and bunting are easy to select with the menus that are always on-screen.

If you love stats then you will be disappointed because no player stats at all are kept track of. After a game it would be nice to see who homered or how many strikeouts a pitcher had. Unfortunately all you get to see is the score.

Graphically HardBall! looks terrific. Pitchers and batters are fairly large and drawn nicely, though they have no faces. All of the screens are bright and colorful. Music is quite good as well. Standard baseball music can be heard throughout the course of a game. The sound effect of the ball hitting the ground is really the only poor one in the game.

While HardBall! is graphically ahead of the pack and features a good pitching interface, it is not terribly fun. Batting and pitching are great but fielding is slow which slows down the pace of an already slow sport. Still, this is the best baseball game you can find on the Commodore 64 through 1985. ~ Jonathan Sutyak, All Game Guide

Review: Graphics

Bright and detailed. ~ Jonathan Sutyak, All Game Guide

Review: Sound

The music is great. ~ Jonathan Sutyak, All Game Guide

Review: Replay Value

Not very many options may lead to repetitive play. ~ Jonathan Sutyak, All Game Guide

Review: Documentation

Covers all of the basics. ~ Jonathan Sutyak, All Game Guide