I was asked to give my hands on impression about the new MLB game from 2K Sports & Blue Castle in the Mario Party 8 thread, and thought it prudent to make a whole new thread for it. Since otherwise I wouldn't be able to help more than 1 chap.

http://wii.ign.com/objects/863/863791.html

First off let me say this game has a rather steep learning curve. And that for me is pretty welcome in a new game for the Wii. Most games I have sitting in my collection are Mario Party, SUper Paper, Metal Slug, Wario Ware.. and they all provide instant pickup and play. Which is fine, if you've got a lot of newbies to introduce the Wii too. Or if you're a casual gamer.

But I don't mind a challenge, and getting the mechanics of pitching and batting were satisfying to overcome.

Pitching is a lot like kicking a field goal in Madden and Wii Sports Baseball. You have too use certain buttons to select a pitch, than release your throw in between 2 separate green strips. If you land directly in between the two, BAM, a almost un-hittable pitch for a strike.

Batting is simple. Timing is everything. You can select (with A) to just make a contact hit or go for Power. And you can choose whether to pull the ball left or right, or hit a grounder or go for a deep shot.

Base running is interesting. If you can get the hang of it, you can learn to stretch hits into doubles by "turning early" like you would in a real game. I honestly and still having a little trouble knowing when to turn my Analog stick to 2nd before I get to 1st. But if you CPU player is running from 2nd to 3rd for you (you can switch control over runners with Z) they pretty much exercise good base running judgment.

The Power Meter (or Score Points) help you use Power Pitches or Home Run shots when you fill the bar up to 100,000 points the 1st time. After that its up to you in how to use it. Activate it while pitching, and you'll throw 100+ heat each time. Strike out the batter, and steal points from the other team. Use it at bat, and all you have to do is make contact. DING!

Now as for fielding. That is the worst part of the game. Most people bitch about throwing to a base. Shit, I use the D-pad now, and its flawless. Press the direction right before the catch and its an instant throw.
But moving around, diving and jumping is a pain. Its all about quick snap decisions using hold A move the Wii-mote, release A, in like .5 seconds. But this isn't a real SIM, so its okay to be a little crappy here from time to time.


As for visuals, I think for the Wii they are really good. All the stadiums are represented very well and true to life. The players are all almost what they look like in real life. The fans suffer tho. But who really cares about the fans?

The music, a little outdated, but okay.

Now I've heard about no replay value and it being a shallow game. I can slightly agree about the replay value once you've been through Rookie Challenge. But multi-player is always awesome. It does suck there's no online, but maybe version 2 will have it.

Rookie Challenge is fun. I'm only 7% thru it and I've played 3 5-game innings, a 3-inninger, and 4 character building mini-games. Its not a full MLB schedule, but a way to build yourself a real player. I had 1 game in Spring Training, and 3 in the BIGS. Its fun. Not realistic or that deep, but if I'm only 7% thru after playing every other day, I'm sold.

Thats about it. Out of 10 I'd give it 8.5. Almost a 9, but not quite. No online play.

And not to mention it, but my shoulder hurts from all the hard throwing and swinging. What can I say? I get carried away in sports games.

if you have any real questions, hit up a reply.

7/3/2007 1:57:54 PM

Hmm...sounds like it might be worth picking up.

I was a little concerned that it was too arcade-y from the reviews I'd read.

7/3/2007 2:02:32 PM

I might get it for the 360 down the road.

7/3/2007 2:06:53 PM

why does no one compare this to slugfest? It looks almost the same from the previews, is it not?

7/3/2007 2:17:57 PM

^I think the gameplay might be better than Slugfest.

7/3/2007 2:19:29 PM

interesting. my friend is checkin it out from the store he works out, so i'll give it a play shortly. i'm saddened to hear that it has some odd controls and no season mode, but it'll probably still be worth playin. a good baseball game will be cool on the wii, i'm just waitin for one to come out.

7/3/2007 2:22:07 PM

My friend has it, it's a blast. Takes a couple sessions to get it down but it's great fun after that. There's still a bunch to learn though.

7/3/2007 2:36:34 PM

i've played a few games since last night and i really enjoy it...one thing i cant get the hang of though is baserunning.

7/4/2007 10:31:59 PM

yeah base running is something left to be desired. i do love the drumming of the Wiimote to go faster tho. I mean it adds something to the game thats new.

if i ever get the hang of it, i'll let you know

7/5/2007 11:01:03 AM