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IGN Review of Major League Baseball 2K8 Fantasy All-Stars
DS is a perfect platform for baseball, but for some reason we haven't seen too many come down the pipe yet for Nintendo's handheld. Whether it's something experimental like Major League Baseball 2K8 Fantasy All-Stars, or a more traditional take on the game instead doesn't matter, as long as the experience is fun. DS has been without for so long, that this baseball season could really use a heavy hitter on the portable front.
After putting in some serious time with MLB Fantasy All-Stars though, we're convinced that for the majority of fans out there, this isn't exactly going to be the experience that proves baseball dominance on the system. Since creating a game of simulation baseball would be pretty difficult on DS, 2K opted to go for an uber-casual approach to the sport, bringing in super pitches, a crazy style reminiscent of Ken Griffey Jr. on Super NES, some multiplayer and mini-games, and wrapping it all up with full touch control. We give the game credit for pushing forward on a platform that isn't really tested thus far in the baseball world, but the final product is simply "too out there" for us to see anyone getting serious with it, as the touch controls are strangely detached, and the world feels a bit thrown together.
It isn't a bad route to go casual when it comes to Wii and DS, but MLB 2K8 Fantasy All-Stars feels like it's gone a bit too far down that road, as it actually sacrifices gameplay and fun just to embrace the quirky design. As the main offender of this, the game's touch-only controls seriously hurt the experience at times, and while it doesn't make the game unplayable, we found them to be a bit much. It's as if the design for the game was written for a system that isn't out yet, and rather than look at other titles out there for comparison, this all-stylus gameplay ends up having the same flaws as titles like the first Tiger Woods DS, which released over three years ago.
Since the experience is meant to be all touch, that means players will be batting, pitching, base running, and fielding all with the stylus primarily. In the case of batting, you'll need to drag a stylus across a "swing meter" on the touch screen, and based on the speed and accuracy of the swing you'll hit the ball, even pulling it left or right depending on the final position. What we found, however, is that while touch batting allows for a 1:1 feeling in swinging, it still feels very disconnected, as we'd prep a swing, draw our line, and simply pray that it read as we thought we swung. Since the meter is curved - and needs to be swung faster than the Tiger Woods bar, for example – it loses all precision in the process. Even a quick switch from a curved touch surface to a straight vertical one would have helped, but even then it feels more like guesswork, and less like total control baseball, and that's a shame. Sometimes we'd swing extremely hard, and get only a half power hit. Even when it does work though, it still doesn't feel as good as classic button-controlled hitting would have.
Pitching is the same way, with the main mechanic centered around grabbing a stylus-controlled ball icon, drawing a design, and then sliding it down the screen to throw. Again, this is something that sounds good on paper, but given the pitch designs and gimmicky feel of the whole process it just doesn't translate. You need to tap on the ball, slide it to a start point, hold it into position for it to lock, draw the design, and end by sliding it to the bottom of the screen. In the end we could throw the pitch we wanted, and the control worked, but it was far from intuitive, and we found that both MLB 2K8 for Wii and Backyard Baseball 09 for DS did it better, using IR and touch respectively to place where you wanted to pitch, and leaving the throw to a quick button tap. The name of the game on DS is to use and not abuse, adding touch where it feels right, rather than everywhere. Fantasy All-Stars tries to add it everywhere, and runs into the same problem others have before it. Even fielding and base-running are done with flicks across the touch screen, and while it works, it really adds nothing to the experience, and ends up being "touch for the sake of touch."
It's a shame too, as the rest of the game does have a bit of a charm to it. We're not crazy about the top-heavy models, but at least it's a style, and it's one used throughout the experience. The game is slick and keeps a frame rate, and it's obvious that 2K put an effort into trying to take over the portable baseball world, but it just doesn't come together as planned. The audio design, for example, is a pretty annoying mix of quick VO cuts and soulless music, but the effort to at least include VO was made, so it's obvious the series could be something more with a bit of refinement next year. The stadiums – though pretty numerous – all feature some interactive elements to them, but the effects are really sub-par, and many of them are pretty low-poly, considering the whole world (and characters) all share the somewhat limited 3D power of the DS. As far as modes go, players get a taste of everything, but there's nothing that really drives the experience home, as single player is limited to exhibition play, a fantasy tournament, a couple mini-games, and two player local wireless support. Even the power-ups on both the hitting and pitching side of the ball are neat, but could be so much more than they are, and in the end just feel like another thrown in gimmick. If next year returns with more gameplay options, a true franchise experience, and some online support, it could be a force to be reckoned with.
©2008-04-23, IGN Entertainment, Inc. All Rights Reserved
After putting in some serious time with MLB Fantasy All-Stars though, we're convinced that for the majority of fans out there, this isn't exactly going to be the experience that proves baseball dominance on the system. Since creating a game of simulation baseball would be pretty difficult on DS, 2K opted to go for an uber-casual approach to the sport, bringing in super pitches, a crazy style reminiscent of Ken Griffey Jr. on Super NES, some multiplayer and mini-games, and wrapping it all up with full touch control. We give the game credit for pushing forward on a platform that isn't really tested thus far in the baseball world, but the final product is simply "too out there" for us to see anyone getting serious with it, as the touch controls are strangely detached, and the world feels a bit thrown together.
It isn't a bad route to go casual when it comes to Wii and DS, but MLB 2K8 Fantasy All-Stars feels like it's gone a bit too far down that road, as it actually sacrifices gameplay and fun just to embrace the quirky design. As the main offender of this, the game's touch-only controls seriously hurt the experience at times, and while it doesn't make the game unplayable, we found them to be a bit much. It's as if the design for the game was written for a system that isn't out yet, and rather than look at other titles out there for comparison, this all-stylus gameplay ends up having the same flaws as titles like the first Tiger Woods DS, which released over three years ago.
Since the experience is meant to be all touch, that means players will be batting, pitching, base running, and fielding all with the stylus primarily. In the case of batting, you'll need to drag a stylus across a "swing meter" on the touch screen, and based on the speed and accuracy of the swing you'll hit the ball, even pulling it left or right depending on the final position. What we found, however, is that while touch batting allows for a 1:1 feeling in swinging, it still feels very disconnected, as we'd prep a swing, draw our line, and simply pray that it read as we thought we swung. Since the meter is curved - and needs to be swung faster than the Tiger Woods bar, for example – it loses all precision in the process. Even a quick switch from a curved touch surface to a straight vertical one would have helped, but even then it feels more like guesswork, and less like total control baseball, and that's a shame. Sometimes we'd swing extremely hard, and get only a half power hit. Even when it does work though, it still doesn't feel as good as classic button-controlled hitting would have.
Pitching is the same way, with the main mechanic centered around grabbing a stylus-controlled ball icon, drawing a design, and then sliding it down the screen to throw. Again, this is something that sounds good on paper, but given the pitch designs and gimmicky feel of the whole process it just doesn't translate. You need to tap on the ball, slide it to a start point, hold it into position for it to lock, draw the design, and end by sliding it to the bottom of the screen. In the end we could throw the pitch we wanted, and the control worked, but it was far from intuitive, and we found that both MLB 2K8 for Wii and Backyard Baseball 09 for DS did it better, using IR and touch respectively to place where you wanted to pitch, and leaving the throw to a quick button tap. The name of the game on DS is to use and not abuse, adding touch where it feels right, rather than everywhere. Fantasy All-Stars tries to add it everywhere, and runs into the same problem others have before it. Even fielding and base-running are done with flicks across the touch screen, and while it works, it really adds nothing to the experience, and ends up being "touch for the sake of touch."
It's a shame too, as the rest of the game does have a bit of a charm to it. We're not crazy about the top-heavy models, but at least it's a style, and it's one used throughout the experience. The game is slick and keeps a frame rate, and it's obvious that 2K put an effort into trying to take over the portable baseball world, but it just doesn't come together as planned. The audio design, for example, is a pretty annoying mix of quick VO cuts and soulless music, but the effort to at least include VO was made, so it's obvious the series could be something more with a bit of refinement next year. The stadiums – though pretty numerous – all feature some interactive elements to them, but the effects are really sub-par, and many of them are pretty low-poly, considering the whole world (and characters) all share the somewhat limited 3D power of the DS. As far as modes go, players get a taste of everything, but there's nothing that really drives the experience home, as single player is limited to exhibition play, a fantasy tournament, a couple mini-games, and two player local wireless support. Even the power-ups on both the hitting and pitching side of the ball are neat, but could be so much more than they are, and in the end just feel like another thrown in gimmick. If next year returns with more gameplay options, a true franchise experience, and some online support, it could be a force to be reckoned with.
©2008-04-23, IGN Entertainment, Inc. All Rights Reserved