triple play 2000 - n64

Slowly but surely, EA Sports has started to build up a presence on the Nintendo 64. Of course, with the exception of its Madden football titles, the sports games EA has released on the N64 have been ports of its PlayStation games. Triple Play 2000 is a bit of a hybrid. Developers Trey Arch seem to
have used the Triple Play 99 engine from the PlayStation while incorporating some elements from the year 2000 PSX version
     The resulting game is a bit of a hodgepodge. The clunky mechanics of TP 99 have made it into the game -- especially the bad camera angles in the field and the inaccurate pitching interface. However, the
designers have included some of the better elements from Triple Play 2000 such as the hitting interface and the great in-game sounds. Triple Play 2000 for the Nintendo 64 provides some entertaining arcade-style baseball, but compared to its PSX cousin or All-Star Baseball 2000, it flies out.

       Triple Play 2000 certainly does not test the graphic capabilities of the Nintendo 64. The game runs inmedium resolution mode and bears a little too much resemblance to TP 99 on the PSX. For starters, all of the text on the screen looks very squashed and hard to read. It's as if the designers didn't bother to
redo the stat and player text when they converted the game to the N64.
     The color palette really could use some work. The field, players, and stadiums look washed out and dull. Even the artificial turf does not look realistic. The stadiums do have some of the characteristicfeatures of the real-life ballparks, such as the swimming pool in right field at Arizona. Compared to the
stunning stadiums in All-Star Baseball 2000, however, these look quite bland.
     The players bear some resemblance to real major leaguers. Most have characteristic facial features. What they lack are a wide variety of body types. Every player seems to be around a medium build. Big guys look small and little players look bigger than they should be. The muscle tone looks pretty decent,
but players' joints appear a little angular.

One place where TP 2000 shines is the audio department. This game has great stadium sounds, from the very interactive crowd to the wide variety of rock/dance tunes that blare out of the virtual PA system. Hearing a grinding beat playing in the background as Sammy Sosa steps into the batter's box is quite cool. Jim Hughson handles the play by play calls without his PlayStation sidekick Buck Martinez. Considering that much of the sound in the PSX version hinges on these two announcers interacting, the developers have done an admirable job converting it to a single announcer. In addition to regular baseball sound effects, the game features some arcade-like explosions for home runs and funny sound effects for foul balls.
     Triple Play 2000 is definitely more of an arcade-style game than a sim. The focus here is on action -- lots of hits, lots of runs, collisions at the plate, and so on. If you're looking for a simulation of America's pastime, you should look elsewhere.

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