GENRE
	Sports
	DEVELOPER
	Exile Interactive
	PUBLISHER
	Nintendo
	WI-FI ENHANCED
	no
	WII EXCLUSIVE
	gcn
	EXPECTED RELEASE DATE
	TBA
	BUY NOW AT

The days of Nintendo Sports are back with the company’s first licensed sports title in a few years. Nintendo has contracted a development team at Exile Interactive i order to produce Nintendo Pennant Chase Baseball exclusively for the GameCube. Originally scheduled for an April release, the game was delayed to June, and has most recently received the cryptic description of “TBA.” Some game retailers are speculating that the game will release some time in July, but for now, take a minute to preview Nintendo’s latest sport offering.

media

Coming soon.

impressions

Pennant Chase Baseball appears to be shaping up as a solid gameplay experience for most baseball fans. Nintendo has done it all it can to give the game an authentic baseball look by securing rights from the MLB and by including classic basbeball audio. With several modes including speed play, Rookie of the Year mode, homefield evolution, 2-player head to head, and 2-16 player tournament mode.

Pennant Chase Baseball is the second of Nintendo’s baseball offerings for this year (the other, of course, being Mario Baseball), and it is designed to please the baseball purists. Nintendo has secured licensed teams, player likenesses, stadiums, and all the other goodies straight from the MLB Player’s Association. As most would expect, the graphics offer all the realistic design of the baseball diamond including the bleachers, cheering and jeering fans, home plate, and the pitcher’s mound. All the traditional goods aside, the game doesn’t intend to hit the player in the face with a 90-mile-per-hour fastball of dazzling graphics.

Nintendo isn’t revered for securing the most pleasing of musicians in its sports titles and other licensed franchises as evidenced by the recent outcry from fans regarding Good Charlotte music in Donkey Konga 2 and the lackluster soundtrack of 1080 Avalanche. Pennant Chase Baseball is clearly not attempting to remedy this fact as the developer has opted to include some tracks from the little known band Bowling for Soup. However, they have not been featured prominently as their music only appears in a few segments of gameplay. The remaining sound effects and classic baseball tunes and songs will be present. If fans are lucky, they will only be listening to cracks, smacks, and shuffling feet more so than the sounds of Bowling for Soup.

In speed play mode, the game speeds up the sometimes slow baseball experience in order to make the game more appealing to the casual gamer looking for a fun sports title. To do this, the developers have eliminated the fielding and base running, which limits the experience to pitching and batting only. If you want to sit down and go through the game quickly, this mode will work, but it tends to offer little in the way of variety.

Rookie of the Year mode is the way to play for purists. Players take on the team of their choice and play through an entire season of baseball with all the standard elements: batting, pitching, base-running, and fielding. However, one huge feature Exile has included is RPG style gameplay. Players can create their own rookie and assign him to the team of their choice. As they play through the season, the team will earn experience points, which lets the player "level up" their rookie or the other members of the team. "Level up" points can go to improving batting, speed, pitching, fielding, and more. Create the ultimate baseball team in order to crush your opponents.

Homefield evolution allows the player to use 25 different elements of customization in order to create their own stadium from the ground up. Starting with a blank slate, players can add bleachers, lights, the diamond and décor to create a brand new stadium for use in the actual gameplay.

Multiplayer comes in the form of 2-player head to head where players simply pick a team and go at it in a nine inning match. Tournament mode allows up to 16 players to play by simply choosing their team and going head to head.

So far, the game looks to be offering everything a baseball fan will need to stay busy. However, some glitches with the AI have been the glaring issue of Pennant Chase Baseball thus far. This is likely the reason why Nintendo and Exile have opted to give the game a couple more months of tweak time. Some of the fielding maneuvers and responses were glaringly off in the build shown at E3. If the game hopes to shine in the eyes of the purists, the team will surely need to fix these glitches.

word on the street

The fact that the game is currently being given a “TBA” release date indicates that Nintendo and Exile may have decided to go back and tweak the game quite a bit to remedy some of the glaring AI issues. However, the game should be out before the end of the summer and certainly before the end of this year’s baseball season. If the issues with the gameplay are fixed by the time the game hits retailers, this will be a must buy for a baseball fan with a GameCube.

press release notes


Baseball has evolved with new game-play modes appealing to both baseball and Nintendo fans.

• Home Field Evolution is a new approach to baseball game rewards. Upgrade four unique baseball fields (Sand Lot, High School, AAA, Major League™) by playing any mode in the game. Players earn points that allow them to upgrade field amenities (fences, scoreboards, field detail, etc.) and earn the ability to play in these unique fields as you upgrade them.
  
  
• Rookie of the Year Mode is a new way to play through a Major League Baseball® season. This is RPG baseball. Start out creating a rookie and adding him to your favorite Major League Baseball® team. With each game, you earn points that you can use to increase specific characteristics (batting, throwing, fielding, new pitches, etc.) of players on your team. Buy team upgrades like batting clinics and pitching seminars from Hall of Fame players to get added points for team players. Earn the Rookie of the Year award and use your upgraded player anywhere in the game.
  
  
• Speed Play: Have just 10 minutes to play a game? Speed Play is for you. Play lightning-fast games with the full ability to pitch and hit, while the fielding outcome is quickly determined. This can be used in any mode in the game. For hard-core gamers, it is the perfect quick play between simulating a game and playing the full experience.
  
  
• Licenses: Includes licenses from Major League Baseball Properties, Major League Baseball Player's Association, The National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum®, and STATS, Inc. David Ortiz, fan-favorite power hitter for the 2004 World Series® Champions, the Boston Red Sox®, is featured on the cover of the box.

overall

Pennant Chase Baseball is looking to be exactly what baseball fans will desire: a full-fledged MLB experience with customizable stadiums, multiplayer, and loads of replay value. The speed play may open the doors to some casual fans, but its limited gameplay may be a turnoff. The biggest feature is certainly RPG baseball in Rookie of the Year mode. This will catch the interest of some gamers with an interest baseball and the RPG genre. With these added features and customizability, the game seems to be more appealing to a wider audience than most sports titles, and it should give die-hards exactly what they're looking for and a bit more. Look for Nintendo Pennant Chase Baseball on store shelves possibly as early as this July.