''HardBall!'' is a

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...

video game published by

Accolade The accolade (also known as dubbing, adoubement, or knighting) () was the central act in the rite of passage Ceremony, ceremonies conferring knighthood in the Middle Ages. Etymology The term ''accolade'' entered English by 1591, when Thomas ...

. Initially released for the

Commodore 64 The Commodore 64, also known as the C64, is an 8-bit computing, 8-bit home computer introduced in January 1982 by Commodore International (first shown at the Consumer Electronics Show, January 7–10, 1982, in Las Vegas). It has been listed in ...

in 1985, it was ported to other computers over the next several years. A

Sega Genesis The Sega Genesis, known as the outside North America, is a 16-bit Fourth generation of video game consoles, fourth generation home video game console developed and sold by Sega. It was Sega's third console and the successor to the Master Sys ...

cartridge was published in 1991. ''HardBall!'' was followed by '' HardBall II'', '' HardBall III'', ''

HardBall IV ''HardBall IV'' is a video game developed by MindSpan and published by Accolade, Inc., Accolade for the Sega Genesis as ''HardBall '94'' and later for DOS. Gameplay ''HardBall IV'' is a baseball game featuring Super VGA computer graphics. Rele ...

'', '' HardBall 5'', and '' HardBall 6''.

Gameplay

Play is controlled with a

joystick A joystick, sometimes called a flight stick, is an input device consisting of a stick that pivots on a base and reports its angle or direction to the device it is controlling. Also known as the control column, it is the principal control devic ...

arrow keys Arrow keys or cursor movement keys are keys on a computer keyboard that are either programmed or designated to move the cursor (computers), cursor in a specified direction. The term "cursor movement key" is distinct from "arrow key" in that th ...

and an action button. One of the four cardinal directions is used to choose the pitch, and again to aim it towards low, high, inside (towards batter), or outside (away from batter). The same directions are used to aim the swing when batting. When fielding after a hit, the defensive player closest to the ball will flash to show it is the one currently under control. The four directions are then used to throw to one of the four bases. ''HardBall!'' was one of the first baseball video games to incorporate the perspective from the pitcher's mound, similar to MLB broadcasts. There are also managerial options available. The player has a selection of pitchers to choose from. Each team member has his own statistics that affect his performance, and can be rearranged as desired. Prior to ''HardBall!s release, there were managerial baseball games available, such as '' MicroLeague Baseball'' but ''HardBall!'' was the first to integrate that aspect with the arcade control of the game action itself.

Reception

''HardBall!'' was a commercial blockbuster. The

version topped the UK sales chart in early 1986. It went on to become Accolade's best-selling Commodore game as of late 1987, and by 1989 had surpassed 500,000 units sold. ''

Info Info is shorthand for "information Information is an Abstraction, abstract concept that refers to something which has the power Communication, to inform. At the most fundamental level, it pertains to the Interpretation (philosophy), interpr ...

'' rated ''HardBall!'' four-plus stars out of five, stating that it "is easily the best baseball simulation we have seen to date for the 64/128" and praising its graphics. "Graphics is HardBall's strength. Realism isn't", ''

Antic Alphanumeric Television Interface Controller (ANTIC) is an LSI ASIC dedicated to generating 2D computer graphics to be shown on a television screen or computer display. Under the direction of Jay Miner, the chip was designed in 1977–1978 b ...

'' said of the Atari 8-bit version. Citing unrealistic computer play, and a bug allowing for more than three

out Out or OUT may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Films *Out (1957 film), ''Out'' (1957 film), a documentary short about the Hungarian Revolution of 1956 *Out (1982 film), ''Out'' (1982 film), an American film directed by Eli Hollander *O ...

s, as examples of "questionable at best" gameplay, the magazine concluded "HardBall comes across as more like an ambitious arcade game than a full-fledged computer simulation". ''

ANALOG Computing ''ANALOG Computing'' was an American computer magazine devoted to Atari 8-bit computers. It was published from 1981 until 1989. In addition to reviews and tutorials, ''ANALOG'' printed multiple programs in each issue for users to type in. Almo ...

'' praised the Atari 8-bit version's gameplay, graphic, and animation, only criticizing the computer opponent's low difficulty level. The magazine concluded that the game "is in a league of its own, above all other Atari sports games—simulations included". In an overview of statistics-oriented baseball games, ''

Computer Gaming World ''Computer Gaming World'' (CGW) was an American Video game journalism, computer game magazine that was published between 1981 and 2006. One of the few magazines of the era to survive the video game crash of 1983, it was sold to Ziff Davis in 199 ...

'' stated that ''HardBall!'' "would probably be disappointing to anyone other than an avid arcade fan". ''Compute!'s Apple Applications'' stated that the Apple II and Macintosh versions had "almost everything you could want from a baseball simulation", with good support for playing as manager, player, or statistician and "exceptionally clear and precise graphics". The magazine concluded that "''HardBall!''s realism is outstanding—at a level unmatched by other baseball software to date". The game was reviewed in 1988 in ''

Dragon A dragon is a Magic (supernatural), magical legendary creature that appears in the folklore of multiple cultures worldwide. Beliefs about dragons vary considerably through regions, but European dragon, dragons in Western cultures since the Hi ...

'' #132 by Hartley, Patricia, and Kirk Lesser in "The Role of Computers" column. The reviewers gave the game 5 out of 5 stars. ''

MegaTech ''MegaTech'' (sometimes styled with the katakana メガテケ) was a publication from EMAP aimed specifically at the Sega Mega Drive gaming market. The magazine was started in 1991. The launch editorial consisted of a small team including Pa ...

'' gave the Genesis version a score of 75% writing: "A decent baseball game which doesn’t have enough novel or interesting features to make it appeal to anyone other than real fans of the sport." ''

Entertainment Weekly ''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American online magazine, digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, ...

'' picked the game as the #11 greatest game available in 1991, saying: "With its oversaturated colors, ultrarealistic sound effects (when the umpire shouts 'Play ball!' it sounds as if he’s in the room), and detailed managerial options, ''HardBall!'' is the closest you may ever get to playing in a real major-league ballpark."

References

External links

* * * * * (Apple IIGS) {{DEFAULTSORT:HardBall 01 HardBall! 1985 video games Accolade, Inc. games Amiga games Apple II games Apple IIGS games Atari 8-bit computer games Atari ST games Commodore 64 games DOS games MSX2 games Multiplayer and single-player video games Sega Genesis games U.S. Gold games Video games developed in the United States Video games scored by Ed Bogas ZX Spectrum games