Games for Lunch: MLB Power Pros 2008
In a nutshell: Super cute happy fun baseball game time!
9/3/2008 7:49 PM | 0 Comments | Page 1 of 3
Developer: 2K Sports
Publisher: Konami
Release Date: July 29, 2008
Systems: Wii (reviewed), PS2, DS
ESRB Rating: E
Official Web site
0:00 I haven't really read anything concrete, but I'm already a fan of the super-deformed characters and the simplistic, arcade-style baseball they seem to imply. I'm encouraged by the 2K and Konami names on the box, too.
0:01 After a few seconds of loading and logos, a ball sits on an oddly detailed field. Guitar-heavy rock comes in as heat haze obscures views of a lone pitcher and batter, both with small bodies and huge heads. Similarly deformed versions of a bunch of real-life players flash by alongside action photos of their real-life counterparts. "MLB Power Pros" yells the announcer, repeating the name again when I push the + button to start. We get it, it's the name of the game!
0:03 Bad sign: The game supports four different controllers! Usually I prefer they focus on one good control scheme. I go with just the Wii remote for now because I'm too lazy to go get the Nunchuk.
0:04 Good lord! The menu screen is crowded with 12 different gameplay options, including "baseball cards," "shop," and "MLB Life." Only one of these modes ("Wii Remote") seems to support my current Nunchuk-free control scheme. I try the "Home Run" derby as a simple intro.
0:05 Good lord x 2! It looks like I can pick any active player on any team in the league. I was not expecting this level of realism, though I guess including a lot of players is easy when they all pretty much look like the same big-headed template. I go with Detroit's Miguel Cabrera, who is rated an "A" for Power. Oriole Park, please!
0:09 The pitcher sends 10 fat ones over the plate and I send six of them out of the park (four go foul). Doesn't seem to matter how hard or in what form I swing -- timing is all that matters. Reminds me of
Wii Sports. I like the way the remote speaker plays a whooshing sound as the ball approaches the plate, and offers up a realistic crack when I make contact. I got 291 "Pro Points" for my efforts.
0:11 Enough of this over-simplistic remote stuff. I grab a Nunchuk and go to Practice to "polish up those skills a little." Batting practice is first. Brian Roberts of the Orioles is my pick -- a nice solid batter.
0:14 So the analog stick moves a little translucent image of the bat over the strike zone, complete with a highlighted "sweet spot" for good shots. The pitcher's planned shot appears briefly during the windup, then disappears. The final pitch seems to differ from the shown position a little bit sometimes, depending on pitch type. Swinging at the right time is the hardest part so far.
0:16 Hitting the B button changes to a more powerful swing with a much smaller sweet spot. Nice touch. I'm really liking the interface. A good mix of simplicity and skill.
0:20 After 50 pitches or so, I'm getting good at making consistent contact with the ball. I much prefer this batting to that in other baseball games, where I never have any idea what I'm doing. This feels more like a game than a simulation.
