Base Wars

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Base Wars

Developer(s)	Konami Corporation
Publisher(s)	Ultra Games
Release date(s)	1991
Genre(s)	Sports game
Mode(s)	Single player, multiplayer
Platform(s)	Famicom/NES

Base Wars is a NES baseball video game that is set in the 24th century where traditional baseball has been replaced with robot players in a futuristic orbital stadium. There are four different types of robots in the game including the cyborg, tank, flybot and motorcycle. All of these robots are identical from the waist up, these classification differences refer to the area below the waist and consequently, their primary mode of transportation. The game is essentially just baseball with robots with a few significant differences. First when there is an argument about whether a batter is safe or out, the two athletes in question have a duel for that base. If the batter wins, he is safe, however if the fielder wins, the batter is out. The duels were the core appeal of Base Wars and featured a sophisticated fighting system. In a duel, the offensive player was always at a disadvantage as his hit points were directly proportional to how far he had run down the line to the next base. The defensive player however always started with his maximum hit points. Hence close plays would be relatively even fights whereas runners caught out by a long distance would rarely win. During gameplay as the player's team becomes more successful they have the option of buying their robots various upgrades including weapons. These weapons range from swords to guns and would aid robots in duels. Robots that lost too many duels in one game would lose all their hit points and die by exploding. Robots could also lose hit points when they were hit by pitches. The death of a robot would be permanent for the rest of the baseball game; so the player would have to make due with one less robot in the field and at bat. The loss of three robots would constitute a forfeit for your team.

There are four kinds of robotic chassis available for a team's players: Flybots, Motorcycles, Tanks, and Cyborgs. In the default league settings all of the teams have a mix of body chassis types except for Boston, which fields only Cyborgs. Each have advantages and disadvantages, making the human player's initial team selection important. Flybots are agile fielders with an effective special combat move, making them good fighters. They make good pitchers and fielders, and can also serve as catchers. Motorcycles are very fast but have poor maneuverability, limiting their fielding effectiveness. However, they have an excellent special attack, making them lethal in combat, despite often having low hit points. They serve well as first and third basemen, and perhaps in right field, where their poor fielding is less of a liability. Tanks generally have many hit points and a very strong special attack, making them powerful fighters. They are accurate fielders, but are slow. Also, they are short in stature, and so it takes a while to get used to batting with them. They serve best as second basemen and catchers, where there combat skills are often put to good use. Cyborgs are all-around average hitters and fielders, but with less effective special moves in combat than those offered by the other body types. A human player can almost always defeat a cyborg in combat with any other robot chassis type, as their jump attack is slow and leaves them vulnerable. Cyborgs serve capably as left and center fielders, and they can make good shortstops.