Crushed Baseball 2004 announced

Bam Entertainment has today announced that it will publish Crushed Baseball 2004 for the PS2, GameCube, and GBA in time for the 2003 baseball season in March. The game is being developed by Seattle-based Amaze Studios and will feature, among other things, over-the-top characters with superhuman abilities.

"Bam is committed to creating a unique game that offers consumers something that isn't available anywhere else--something between a little kid's game and an absolute simulation of the game, with the main focus being on fun," said Bernard Stolar, president and COO of Bam Entertainment. "We've identified an untapped market of gamers, and Crushed Baseball 2004 delivers the type of gameplay this market demands. We are capitalizing on the opportunity to make a game that's never been done before--a game just for them."

Crushed Baseball 2004 will feature a comic-book-inspired art style, in keeping with the types of moves that players in the game will be able to perform. Special powers, known as mojo abilities in the game, will include pitches that slice through the hitter's bat like a buzz saw, batters hitting the ball so that it lodges itself in the ground and can't be picked up, and fielders using suction gloves to ensure that they don't miss a catch. Many of the mojo abilities in the game will have to be earned during matches played in one of the game's fully interactive ballparks. For example, at the Karate Dojo stadium, players who hit a gong with the ball will be rewarded with a new ability, as will players who manage to smash a stained-glass window in the centerfield wall of one of the other stadiums.

Options to set the time of day, weather effects, and playing surface will all be included in the game, as will five female players and around 10 original team mascots, including a ram, an eagle, and a bear. Bam Entertainment has also said that the console versions of the game will feature commentary from a top entertainment personality and a soundtrack by some of today's top artists, although no names were available at the time of writing.

Crushed Baseball 2004 is scheduled for release in March 2003. We'll bring you more information on the game as it becomes available, but in the meantime, you might like to check out the first screenshots of the 562421PS2 and 562423GBA versions.