Home Run Derby         
Copyright (c) 1995, Joe DeRouen
All rights reserved



Home Run Derby            
by Joe DeRouen


The scene:  A little league baseball game in Iowa, in a world where
there was no strike and the public still cares about Baseball.  During
the little league game, several of baseball's all-time greats suddenly
begin wandering out of the surrounding cornfields, into left field.  The
diamond magically transforms into a replica of the old Detroit stadium,
and the old-timers, dead for years, begin playing ball for the
bewildered kids and their parents. 

Thus begins HOME RUN DERBY, the newest offering from MVP Software.  All
of this unfolds on your computer screen, courtesy of two cartoon sports
casters broadcasting on "BSPN" sports network.  Skip Smiley and Bob
Yukon explain to us (through word balloons above them) what's just
happened, and proceeds to tell us that one of the baseball greats, Ruth
Babes, has just made a challenge to today's players. 

"The only reason modern players hit a lot of home runs is that the ball
is juiced!" claims The Ruth, who then challenges the players to an
all-time home run hitting contest. 

The premise,  an obvious takeoff on the Kevin Costner film Field of
Dreams, is a clever one and gives an otherwise run-of-the-mill baseball
hitting game another dimension.

Today's players are to assemble in Chicago for a qualifying run to see
who gets to face the now-alive greats.  Up to four human players can
play in this tournament, which involves three rounds against such
formidable foes as Don Matinee, Jose Con Carne, Max Millions, and many
others.  

Before you begin, you're presented with a screen of options ranging from
taking a practice run to setup to visiting the hall of fame list.  Setup
consists of how many outs a player gets in his turn, (anywhere from 5 to
15, with 10 being the default) the speed of the baseball, and whether
you want music, sound effects, both, or neither.  I left the speed on
the default of 80, changed the outs to 10, and opted for both music and
effects.

You control your batter with the keypad using all the numbers to vary
your swing depending upon the pitcher's throw.  The 5-key is the swing
to choose if your ball is straight and down the middle, while you should
whack the 3 if it's low and to the outside.  The hitting controls are
pretty easy to pick up on, though it takes a while to get the timing
down and know when to swing.  That's what the practice area is for. 

Practice consists of you against the pitcher, swinging and trying to hit
a few homers out of the ballpark.  When you've made your alloted amount
of outs, you exit back to the main menu.  You can practice as much as
you want, trying different swings and waiting for different pitches.

Finally, you're ready to go to the derby.  You get to choose is you want
to compete in the Chicago stadium in the eighties, the Detroit ballpark
in the fifties, or the Boston ballpark at the start of the century.  In
the shareware version your only option is Chicago, so that's what I
choose. 

Next you're asked to choose a name.  After you've done that, you're
forced to pick a nickname.  You can't make up your own and are forced to
pick from such options as The Crusher, The Swatter, and Mr. Longball.  I
choose Mr. Deep (sounds dirty to me, but I was in a risque mood) and
worked my way down the menu. 

You now have to choose if your avatar bats right-handed or left-handed.
I chose right-handed since that's how I'd practiced and there didn't
seem to be an option for practicing as a left-handed hitter.  After
that, you choose what division to compete in: Big League, AAA, AA, or
Rookie.  I naturally choose Rookie, which turned out to be a little too
easy.  AA is probably the best division to start out in, at least until
you've played through a few tournaments. 

Last but not least, you're asked to choose your colors.  You can change
the skin color from caucasian to african-american and back again as well
as cycle through several different uniform colors.  Once you've selected
these (or just chose the default colors) you're asked if another player
wants to play.

Up to four players can play Home Run Derby, though it seems more
designed for a single player.  I told the machine "No" and expected to
immediately move onto the playing field. 

Instead the BSPN sportcasters popped up again.  They sat at their little
desk, never moving, as word balloons appeared up above them, conversing
about all the players involved in the tournament and in particular my
own chances of winning.  The cartoon sportscasters tended to get more
and more annoying, so I pressed my space bar through all their words. 
There should be a way to turn this part off, but unfortunately there
isn't. 

The tournament list was drawn up and I was pitted against Don Matinee in
the second match of the first round.  The computer informed me that Jose
Con Carne was to play against Max Millions in the match before me.  I
dutifully pressed the space key.  The computer then told me that Jose
had won, edging Max out by three homers to one. 

Finally, I got to play.  Well, almost.  I sat there watching as the
automated pitcher threw fastballs over the plate towards Don Matinee.
Don swung and missed.  Then Don swung and hit.  It went on like this for
several minutes with Don finally getting his fifteen outs and ending up
with five home runs.

My turn, finally.  The pitcher threw the ball and, of course, I swung
and missed.  It was low and to the outside while my swing was high and
to the inside.  By my seventh out I was finally getting the hang of it. 
I smacked a straight-down-the-middle pitch over the left field and into
the Ditz sign, scoring my first homer!  By the time I was done, I'd hit
seven homeruns and and beat Don Matinee to move into the second round. 

After that, I was forced to space through two more sets of results
telling me what computer-controlled players had won and lost.  I lost in
the second round, when Mow Lawn mowed me over fifteen runs to ten.  I
never did make it to face the risen oldtimers.  But I'll keep 
trying . . . 

The playing field is well drawn and takes full advantage of the VGA
graphics it requires.  You can see houses beyond the ballpark and
billboards and a water tower behind the bleachers. The game is a parody
and thankfully seems to realize that.  Aside from the obvious caricatures
of current players names, a Goodee blimp circles the field, a Ditz
Crackers billboard lies just over right field, and a huge "Hit It" sign
reminiscent of Nike's "Do It" logo rests upon the scoreboard. 

The batter and pitcher move realistically and there's no jerkiness or
catches when the batter swings or when the pitcher pitches.  The
movement is very realistic and fun to watch. 

The music and sound effects added to the baseball feel of the game.  The
cheer of the crowd, the crack of the bat, the music.  I got tired of the
sound after a while, though, and opted to switch it off. 

Stripped down to it's essentials, this game is simply a batting game. 
It'd be a lot more interesting if you could control the pitcher against
your opponent, but you can't.  When all is said and done, you can only
bat and then bat some more.  But you can control your skill levels, the
speed, your handedness, what ballpark you play in, and a few other
options, and there's something to be said for that. 

Is it worth the $19.95 asking price?  If you're into baseball, certainly.
If you're not . . .  well, give it a try anyway.  It's simple but
addictive.  If you ignore the annoying sportscasters, it's even fun. 

Home Run Derby requires an IBM compatible computer with 1 Meg of RAM
and VGA graphics.  It optionally supports a SoundBlaster compatible
sound card. 

The shareware version (1DERBY.ZIP) can be downloaded from your better
BBS's around the country.  To purchase the registered version ($19.95
plus $4.00 shipping and handling) call 800-968-9684 or write to: MVP
Software, 1035 Dallas S.E., Grand Rapids, MI.  49507-1407.  Specify 3.5"
or 5.25" high density floppy when ordering. 

(c) 1995 Joe DeRouen.  All rights reserved.

