Baseball video games
Baseball has long been America’s pastime. Even though its ratings have been eclipsed in recent years by those of the NFL, many point out that major hardball events still draw outlandish national audiences. Compelling storylines, authentic heart and some of the most thrilling face-offs in professional sports keep baseball squarely planted in the national consciousness. No wonder so many people long to live out their own dreams of slugging away in the country’s finest ballparks.
It comes as no surprise, then, that baseball games have enjoyed a place on every console since the beginning of video games. From very basic Atari 2600 versions like Homerun (square ball, anyone?) to versions for Intellivision, NES, Genesis and Turbografix 16, each new console has offered its own popular title for would-be players in the home market. It was only a matter of time before the graphics, physics, details and complexity of this game were finally given the environment they deserve in the form of this industry’s latest technologies.
One of the most significant breakthroughs in recent years was the dazzling port of officially sanctioned Major League Baseball 2K6 to the PSP. This popular game franchise has dominated the industry for years, but concerns about how it would play on a small screen were growing louder as the coders prepared to launch. Game play quickly put everyone’s fears to rest – with speedy graphics, smooth transitions, quick cutaways, highlights and more, MLB 2K6 was widely hailed as a success from the jump. Today, its authentic sports action makes it one of the favorite titles of commuters looking for some hardball thrills.
Of course there is a significant difference between swinging a bit with your thumbs and, well, swinging a bat. The blockbuster Nintendo Wii comes packaged with its own sports title – aptly named Wii Sports – that includes a stripped-down baseball game many see as a watershed for digital athletics. Instead of passive play that keeps the action limited to your hands, the Wii console is gaining accolades for its get-up-and-play ethos. In the Baseball game, that means you can pitch and bat the same way the pros do it – with a little elbow grease and some real-world coordination. Watch out for flying hardware, however – more than a few committed players have ended up with broken windows for their trouble.
The culmination of several years of development and feedback, Major League Baseball 2K7 is the flagship title for cutting-edge consoles Xbox 360 and the Playstation 3. With HDTV output, stunning graphical firepower and a visceral, “stadium” feel, MLB 2K7captures more of this sport than any video game ever has. Choose real players, design complex plays, and taste the dirt in your eyes on that suicide squeeze – it’s all here. No significant differences exist between the console versions, but you may prefer the controls of one over the other, so sample the field if you have a choice. That Roy Hobbs moment may be closer than you think.