But nothing could be further from the truth. Konami is still crankin' out the baseball excitement, and this year, for the first time in recorded history, Bottom of the 9th has landed on the Nintendo 64. This unexpected release features the MLBPA, but not the MLB. Meaning, you can say that Mark McGwire plays for St. Louis. But you cannot say Mark McGwire plays for the St. Louis Cardinals. The rosters are current for the moment and the gameplay is almost identical to the versions before it. The graphics are colorful and now, new camera angles have been added to spice up the play. On balls hit deep, the camera will float up above the players heads showing the ball soaring through the sky. On grounders hit to the outfield, the camera pans to the side showing the scoop, clutch, and release back to the infield. Without loading, this Bottom of the 9th delivers fast play. The batting/pitcher duel is based on ball placement and batting cursor movement.

A complete season, trades, stat tracking, and training are all part of the package. Bottom of the 9th has a nice arcade feel and decent animation. However, it does have one strike stacked against it. It doesn't feature a create player feature. Ouch! But the play is there, and if Nintendo messes up Griffey and Iguana drops the ball with All-Star, then this might be the game of choice. Keep your eyes peeled for it on the N64 in April.