Games

Sports Illustrated: Championship Football & Baseball (known in Europe as All-American Championship Football) is a multiplatform sports video game that is licensed by the leading sports magazine, Sports Illustrated, which features both American football and baseball games. In the American football mode, players can play a complete season of 16 games plus playoffs with 90 different players for both teams. Sometimes, the camera zooms in on the action in American football mode when a play is significant enough to affect the overall game. Baseball mode gives the players 28 unlicensed teams in addition to various offensive and defensive plays. Both season modes come with complete league standings, a complete team/league schedule, and team comparisons to each other prior to each game.

All-Pro style B-ball features several different play options. Go head-to-head with a friend in a one-game contest. Or, watch two computer teams battle it out on court. If you choose league competition your task is to lead your team to the league championship. In Two Player league play you and a buddy team up to battle the computer teams. Choose your squad from eight professional rosters - ranging from the New York Slicks to the San Francisco Bayriders. Each team has their own strengths and weaknesses.

All-Pro Football 2K8 features a fictional league called the "All-Pro League", or 'APL'. The APL consists of 24 teams that are grouped into six divisions of four teams each. The league runs a sixteen-game schedule and holds a championship game at the end of the playoffs, similar to the NFL. Since the exclusivity deal the NFL has with EA only covers active players, 2K contracted the individual rights to over 240 retired NFL players to appear in the game. Even though there are no NFL teams in the game, the player can still create teams that resemble their NFL counterparts. A Create-a-Player feature allows the player to add in players that were not included in the roster, such as Hall of Fame linebacker Lawrence Taylor. While the game includes teams representing Los Angeles and Las Vegas, neither of which have an NFL team, there are no teams representing Buffalo, Kansas City, Baltimore, Jacksonville, Tennessee, Indianapolis, San Diego, or New Orleans—all cities with real NFL teams. Cleveland and Cincinnati are both represented by a team representing Ohio, and only one team represents the San Francisco Bay Area instead of two. Green Bay is not represented, but a city nearby, Milwaukee, is instead.

All-Star Baseball 97 brings to the plate several features that build upon 1996's Frank Thomas "Big Hurt" Baseball. The most notable additions are both Major League Baseball and MLBPA licenses, offering 30 official teams and stadiums as well as over 700 real players with ratings based on the 1996 season. Six different modes of play include Exhibition, Season, Playoffs, All-Star Game, Batting Practice, and Home Run Derby. Also included are trades allowing would-be General Managers to help their teams make a run at the World Series. Play-by-play announcing is provided by award winning Jon Miller of ESPN's Sunday Night Baseball, and "dynamic stadium sounds" have vendors hawking peanuts and Cracker Jack. Frank Thomas also assisted with motion-capturing player animations for realistic swings and throws.

All-Star Baseball 99 is the first handheld entry in the All-Star Baseball series and differs from its N64 counterpart. The game features six different modes: exhibition games, a full season (either all 162 games of the 1998 season or various shortened runs), the '97 playoffs, the '97 All-Star game as well as the Home Run Derby, and a batting practice mode. In season and playoff mode, progress is saved via passwords. On the field, players will control pitching, fielding and batting (bunts and swings are possible). The game also allows players to set team lineups and positions. The game includes all 30 MLB teams of the 1998 season, including the '98 expansion teams Arizona and Tampa Bay.

All-Star Baseball 2000 is the second release in the series and includes a range of improvements and new features compared to the '99 version. Motion captured technology allows a realistic representation of player movements, swings, throws and catches. Apart from the improved roster management, which includes the ability to sign players from the minor league and create new players with new stats, you are able to play a 162 game inter-league season or complete the 1999 MLB scheduled season. Once more there are 30 teams available in the game, as well as home stadiums and home or away jerseys. Additionally players' face sizes and play styles coincide with the real ones, since the game is licensed.

The last All-Star Baseball release on the N64 once again includes some new features as well as improvements in relation to previous play modes & options. For 2001, a new team is included, The Coopertown Legends, featuring a selection of some of the finest players to ever grace the MLB, including Yogi Berra, Willie Stargell and Reggie Jackson. Along with the legends team, you can choose from every player, team and stadium from the real 2000 MLB season. Each player includes facial expressions and looks inspired to realism, plus motion-captured player movements, batting stances and reactions to key events during play.

All-Star Baseball 2002 has the complete 2001-2002 MLBPA rosters. You may choose to play as one of the current teams, or you can go back to the past and play as people like Nolan Ryan or Reggie Jackson. You can also create your own player and/or team. The featured game modes are Quick Play, Exhibition, All-Star Game, Season, Series, Home Run Derby and Batting Practice. Batting is cursor based, and you can choose between a power or a contact swing - for the latter there are even more options available, e.g. trying to hit the opposite field. Batting is similar in as you choose your itching style (every athlete can have up to six in his repertoire) and then choose the location.