A conversion of the coin-up game of the same name by Leland Corp., Orel Hershiser's Strike Zone is a great action-oriented baseball game starring the eponymous hero player. Nicknamed "The Bulldog" by fans, Orel Hershisers led the Los Angeles Dodgers to claim World Championship in 1988, winning MVP awards for both NLCS and the World Series in that year. The game, true to its name and coin-op history, is arcadey, offering only two modes of play: Strike Zone, and Home Run Derby. In each, your objective is either to score as many strikes or home runs as possible. The goal is simply to amass the best statistics to get your name on the Top Sluggers / Batters / Pitchers tables. This very limited gameplay is made up for by excellent animations of baseball players, and a great user interface that allows you to adjust both the speed and direction of your bat with on-screen gauges. Orel isn't a full-fledged baseball simulation by any means, but for anyone looking to hit a quick homer, this is as good as it gets. Digitized voices from PC speaker and fluid player animations round off this fun breather. Recommended! Reviewed by: Underdogs |