Innovative but dated baseball sim
Standing alongside other early examples of the baseball genre like Hardball and Micro League Baseball, this is a game which while it may once have been revolutionary, unfortunately looks distinctly second rate now. Earl Weaver Baseball eschews the management aspects of other sims like Pro League Baseball and instead focuses on a traditional action-oriented approach similar to pretty much every other game in the genre out there. However, there are several innovations which were unique for the time and which have are now standard in similar games, including the ability to play full seasons, the choice of arcade- or coach-style controls (where the player issues commands instead of directly controlling the players and licensed players that accurately represented their real-life counterparts. While these innovations are undoubtedly important in historical terms, the game today lacks the sophistication and playability that modern gamers demand. Baseball games are rarely going to the most spectacular in terms of visuals, and while Earl Weaver does depict various real stadiums, there is little difference between them and overall the game does lack graphical impact. Moreover, the controls are less than intuitive or responsive and give the game a steeper learning curve than it should have, making early matches overly frustrating when they should be enjoyable. The lack of control over fielders is a minor annoyance but when coupled with other similar niggles, they all add up to a less than enthralling sports sim, that is only likely to be enjoyed by die-hard fans of the sport.
