Bottom Of The 9th '99

PlayStation · 1998 · US

Also known as: Bottom of the 9th '99 (US) · Jikkyou American Baseball 2 (JP)

Konami Konami Computer Entertainment Chicago

Publisher: Konami · Developer: Konami Computer Entertainment Chicago

Konami's third installment of their PlayStation baseball series adds several new features to distinguish itself from previous titles. The game now offers 30 different stadiums, new motion-captured animations, a Scenario mode with 20 different game situations to complete, and both the Opening Day rosters and Interleague schedule for 1998. While Bottom of the 9th '99 does not feature a Major League Baseball license for authentic team names and logos, you do get over 700 MLBPA players with signature styles and ratings based on the 1997 season. A play-by-play announcer will call the action as soon as the first pitch is thrown. The six game modes include Exhibition, Season (adjustable from 15 to a full 162 games), Scenario, Training, Playoffs and World Championship. Other notable features are one-for-one trades, four difficulty levels, defensive shifts, errors, substitutions, wind, day or night games, and custom starting rosters. Batting still relies on a cursor system to hit, although players can set it to a "locked" position to make tracking the ball easier.