PETE ROSE PENNANT FEVER

 When PETE ROSE PENNANT FEVER (the MS-DOS version) arrived in the mail, I was
particularly skeptical. Baseball is just about the most abused theme for
computer games. Nearly every game publisher has a baseball program, and most of
them have been dismally flawed. Yet, along came Electronic Arts' EARL WEAVER
BASEBALL (EWB), and despite all the hype, EWB -- with its powerful stat-handling
capability -- was truly excellent. EWB also broke new ground in baseball
graphics: It offered a plethora of new features, such as slow motion and instant
replay. However, EWB's graphics, despite their sophistication, didn't always
match the calls. Thus, the instant replays and slo-mo were merely nice little
extras that you rarely wanted to use. The stadium dynamics seemed to have little
or no effect. EWB's strong point was really its stat-compiling.

 PETE ROSE PENNANT FEVER (PRPF) from Gamestar presents the opposite side of the
coin and, personally, I prefer it. The graphics of PRPF are, for the first time
in any baseball program, truly exciting to watch. The players are large and
well-defined, and the stadium is awesome, with a real sense of distance and
size. The camera angles switch instantly and provide an amazing variety of
views. The digitized sounds, clear and cool even on my single-voice machine, add
significantly to the feeling of realism. For once, I delighted in watching a
computer baseball game, and I can't tell you how good it felt!

 Naturally, there are tradeoffs, and for many computer baseball fans, the
tradeoffs will not be acceptable. PRPF will not: allow you to create your own
players from scratch, edit their stats, or use any historical or current teams.
There are no "real" teams represented in PRPF, so you can't stage mock games
between your two favorite ballclubs. In this sense, PRPF resembles Accolade's
HARDBALL, but the picture isn't quite as dreary as that. PRPF has a complete
General Manager scenario, challenging you to run an expansion franchise through
10 seasons.

 You start out in either Eugene or Menlo Park, and can change locations and
divisions to join the 22 other teams in the league. There are provisions for two
players to run franchises at once, for a total of 24 teams. The computer
controls all the games between teams other than the one you (and possibly your
human compatriot) play; you must play the games that involve the team you're
managing. And you'll need to pay close attention to your players' conditions
through the years: short-term injuries, retirement, and so on.

 You can, fortunately, always play a non-league (exhibition) game, against the
computer or against another human opponent. You'll still have to make many
managerial decisions during the game.

 PRPF has a roster of draftees and free agents for you to buy during the course
of the decade. Some of them -- again, as in HARDBALL -- sound vaguely familiar.
For example, B. Yogi (a free agent) costs you $1,011,000. Also worth millions
are B. Johnny, W. Maury, and M. Willie. Rather a transparent ruse, but
occasionally amusing. The only authentic player you're liable to run across is
Pete Rose himself, whose stats are (for some reason) the best I found in the
game. Moreover, when he comes up to bat, the crowd cheers...something they don't
do for any other player!

 The stats are presented in a slightly unusual manner, and take some getting
used to. When a batter comes up to the plate, his "batting rating" and "running
rating" are displayed as, for example, 4c and 9. (There isn't a standard-format
batting average to be found anywhere in the game.) In 4c, the higher the number
(8, 9, or 10), the more likely the batter is to hit a fly; a low number (1, 2,
or 3) indicates a tendency to hit the ball on the ground. Numbers between 3 and
8 indicate a player who's likely to hit a line drive. Then the letter rating
(from A to F) indicates hitting power: An A player has a most powerful swing.
The running rating is a number from 10 (fastest) to 1 (slowest). Thus our 4c/9
example is likely to hit a line drive of average power, and is an extremely fast
runner.

 The rationale for this rating is that the standard .250 doesn't tell you enough
about the player's abilities, at least not from a managerial standpoint. For
example, they say, what if you have a .250 hitter and a .300 hitter? What you
wouldn't necessarily know is that the .250 hitter slammed in 25 homers of 100 at
bats, while the .300 hitter had 30 singles. Therefore, they feel their stat
system gives you more information, useful in a greater variety of specific
situations, about the player's abilities. That may be true, but it still feels
like you have to relearn to read stats in order to play the game.

 There are other stats that I found tough to decipher, including the rather
bizarre pitching and fielding stat formats. Although their system is different,
it does make sense and provides more information than the usual lineup cards. My
advice is to keep the manual open in front of you (pp. 14-15) until you memorize
the format. (That's what I had to do.)

 The arcade aspects are similarly difficult to learn, but provide an extensive
degree of control once you get used to them (an arduous but rewarding process).
I used the keyboard, although a joystick or 2-joystick setup can be used. The
major problem in fielding (traditionally the toughest part of any computer
baseball game) is that once the ball leaves the infield, the ball's shadow
vanishes. Thus, you can't accurately judge distance from the ground. This is a
pretty egregious oversight, but can be overcome with practice. It definitely
gives the computer an advantage in early games, though.

 There are certainly more options than I can list here, but I will mention the
complex pitching arrangement. Every pitcher has the capability to pitch straight
slowballs, straight fastballs, pitchouts...and then two additional specialty
pitches, each at three different speeds. The specialty pitches available are
heaters (which are dynamite fastballs that tend to tire the pitcher quickly),
change-ups, curves, screwballs, sinker, knuckleballs, and a different sort of
fastball that tails away from the pitcher's throwing side. Once you've selected
the type and speed of pitch, you also select the area of the strike zone that
you want the pitch to go to.

 The computer will, if you choose, provide you with automatic fielding,
automatic batting, and other niceties that make games go faster and smoother.
But you can't use them all: Turn one on, another goes off. There's a sliding bar
graph, called a Power Bar, that you use to control the strength of your
fielders' throws. You're shooting for a 100% throw every time (even if you're
only throwing a short distance, because you first select the base you're
throwing to), and this takes practice. As a player, I was torn between watching
the outstanding graphics and paying attention to the jumble of keystrokes I had
to make quickly.

 The program, in its MS-DOS incarnation, includes both disk formats. There is no
on-disk copy protection; instead, a season ticket is included with 500 4-digit
numbers corresponding to rows and seat numbers. You enter the correct number
when prompted, and the game lets you in. This is handy for putting the game on
hard disk or making backup disks if you're playing on floppy drives. The MS-DOS
version requires 512K, a PC, XT, AT/PS2, Tandy 1000 EX, SX, TX, HX or 3000.
You'll need CGA, EGA, or Tandy 16-color graphics.

 There are a lot of digitized sounds, including an opening theme song. Most of
the sound effects and umpire calls are clear, but the opening music falls short;
an "A" for effort and a "D" for execution. The MS-DOS sound capabilities are
just not up to simulating multiple instruments, and the rock score, though
ambitious, produces an unbearable static background. There's no way to bypass
that sound, either, but thankfully, it's a short theme. The Star Spangled Banner
is more listenable and can also be cut short. Chances are, the music in the
versions for more sound-oriented computer systems will not be as raucous.

 The graphics are superb. I'd say EGA is mandatory, but the fact is that even
with CGA, you'll experience stunning computer baseball graphics on your MS-DOS
system.

 My only wish is that PRPF could combine its graphics with a stat system like
EARL WEAVER's. But that would probably mean a slowdown in the graphics while the
computer calculates the wind resistance, stadium dynamics, and whether or not
the batter kept the label up. If you're playing computer baseball to recreate a
favorite team's most glorious moments, or to put your favorite baseball great
into a 1988 team to see what it does to your end-of-season stats, then stick
with EARL WEAVER. If you'd like to explore the financial and managerial aspects
of creating your own dynasty (and playing and watching some great baseball in
the bargain), PETE ROSE PENNANT FEVER is a superb choice.

 PETE ROSE PENNANT FEVER is published by Gamestar and distributed by Mediagenic.

*****DOWNLOADED FROM P-80 SYSTEMS (304) 744-2253