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I received an e-mail from an Acclaim rep the other day stating that Acclaim was thinking about discontinuing their contribution of Sega Saturn titles. After playing All-Star '97, I couldn't agree more! If you disliked Big Hurt Baseball last year, you will despise All-Star '97! Okay maybe it's not that awful. If you can overlook the atrocious graphics and animation and forgive the lack of reasonable gameplay, then I can see this game having a certain charm. Come with me and let's examine this farce of a baseball game in a little more detail...

GRAPHICS: 6/10

If you look at the screen shots on the back of the box and think "Hey, they did pretty good this year.", you're half right. They did make the shots on the box pretty nice. When you put the disk into your system and turn it on, however, you may have a hard time finding the connection between the box art and what is on your TV screen. The still pictures of the batter...nice. The rest of the players are reminiscent of the characters in Bases Loaded (the first one) for the 8-bit Nintendo. Actually the Nintendo players were better because they were mildly amusing looking. When I saw the All-Star characters, all I could do is sob. If you enjoy scenic drives through the countryside, you might enjoy the still shot of the stadiums and ballparks they provide on the selection screen. Other than that, not much good comes from this 2nd Generation flop of a ball game.

ANIMATION 7/10

The animation of the batter swinging around to hit the ball...Lovely! The rest of it...Did I already mention Bases Loaded? Nintendo? 8-bit? Yeah, I thought so. No point in repeating myself then. On to Gameplay, then.

GAMEPLAY 6/10

This is the best playing game I've ever come across!!! Nah, just kidding. Wanted to see if you were paying attention. The controls as usual are awkward and difficult to master. Pitching is not so difficult as fielding. Let's see, how's this supposed to work...the ball is hit, it heads back in a straight line, the fielder goes toward it to make the play, the fielder slows down due to a pulled groin or something, the whole view shifts around and you find your player heading in a different direction even though you never shifted your thumb on the d-pad...um...what just happened? The league calls it an error. I call it (in a dramatic Hollywood echo) BAD GAMEPLAY!!! What's next a herd of buffalo running though the outfield? Perhaps a flock of pterodactyls picking up spectators and dropping them about the field at random? Well, that would be cool, but it's not realistic! That's what this game is supposedly revered as, isn't it? Realistic?

SOUND 9/10

This part they didn't do too bad on. The sound of the crowd mixed in with the voice of the hot dog vendor is a nice touch. The crack of the bat, the thud of the ball bouncing back off the Green Monster, the announcing of the players and the color commentary...all wonderful. Now, if they could build a game around this peach of a soundtrack, they might have something!

EXTRAS 9.5/10

The bonus features of this game are great. Player trades are a nice touch (and long overdue for Saturn users!) I also like the bountiful load of stats they provide. Head shots, special pitches, expansion teams, updated season w/ interleague play...very good. It's a shame that the extras don't make up for the lack of important stuff!

OVERALL 7.5/10

If you are starved for a new baseball game and you can't wait till July for WSB'98, then RENT this game (that way there won't be a problem returning it when the novelty wears off). Otherwise, I would hold out for the true baseball masters, a.k.a. Sega Sports.