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GAMES OF THE WEEK: BASEBALL FOR: PLAYSTATION, N64 By Chip and Jonathan Carter Tribune Media Services Take us out to the ballgame ... or better yet, let's stay home and play these video gems: ALL-STAR BASEBALL 2000, FOR N64 -- The only thing that keeps this one from being the best baseball game ever is ... OK, we can't think of anything -- guess it must be the best baseball game ever! Last year's version was terrific, but it had a few bugs that drove true gamers crazy. Those are gone in this year's model, and there are a ton of new features as well, like over-the-shoulder catches and swipe tags. Same as last year, you get all the real Major League teams and players. (To digress a moment -- and totally change the subject -- why is it that classic old teams are never included in video baseball games? Football games are loaded with "all-time great" teams, but not baseball. Wouldn't you love to see, say, the legendary Yankee squads of the '50s square off against the Braves of the '90s? Or against last year's record-setting Yankees?) Speaking of the Yanks, All-Everything shortstop Derek Jeter is the Major Leaguer who put his imprimatur on this one, even going so far as to provide scouting reports for all the big league teams included here. We all know that the squad every team takes to spring training is rarely the one that takes the field come opening day -- the folks who made this game know that, too. There's enough flexibility in player movement -- via trades and the like -- to keep rosters as current as you like. Or you can tweak teams to your heart's content. And if you make it through the hundreds of Major League players in All-Star 2000 and still can't find any you like, there's a create-a-player mode that'll let you stock a team with up to 25 players that you build from the ground up. Graphically, this one's so good it's surreal. A non-gamer we know entered the room while we were playing and actually thought for a moment we were watching a big league game! Which only made sense, since we felt like we were. Video baseball doesn't get any better than this. AGES 5 & UP. A+ . TRIPLE PLAY 2000, FOR PLAYSTATION, N64 AND PC -- There's nothing more exciting in baseball than a triple play. This game comes very close to capturing that excitement on each of its various platforms. For starters, everyone's favorite player and the most emotional guy in baseball, Sammy Sosa, is the Major League expert behind this one. "I don't believe how real it is," Sosa said recently. "I like trying to hit home runs off great pitchers like Roger Clemens and Randy Johnson!" No doubt. As much as we love seeing Sammy do the real thing, we really like the idea of him wielding a joystick against his video peers. All 30 Major League teams and 750 players are here, and there's plenty of leeway in those rosters -- you'll be able to keep your favorite teams current as the season's injuries, call-ups and big trades change rosters. In the PC and PlayStation versions, there's a career mode that lets you manage a team (real, or made by you) through multiple seasons and utilizes a draft and salary cap (too bad this mode's not available for the N64). The action here's a little more fast and furious than last year's model. You'll notice higher scores and a lot more hitting -- as well as a faster pace of play. Graphically, Triple Play's not quite as good as All-Star 2000, but it's still stellar. We especially like the way players' facial expressions match what's happening on the field -- a strikeout's met with a grimace, a dinger with a smile. It's a small thing, but baseball's made up of small things that come together in one great package. Which describes this game exactly. We still prefer All-Star 2000 for the N64 (by the slightest of margins), but for the PlayStation or PC, there's no way you'll beat Triple Play 2000. AGES 5 & UP. A+ . For more tips, tricks, reviews and news, check us out on-line at http://vgames.webpoint.com/vid/ecol/mainpage . Or e-mail us at [email protected] . Got a question? An inside tip you'd like to share? Write to Chip and Jonathan Carter in care of this newspaper. While they cannot respond individually, they will answer questions of general interest in their column. (C) 1999 TRIBUNE MEDIA SERVICES, INC. Techno file index Mail Tribune Copyright � The Mail Tribune 1999, Medford, Oregon USA