GameSpy
Preview
of The Bigs 2
Whatever your opinion of MLB 2K9 or MLB 09: The Show, you probably realize they're not exactly games you throw in to liven up a party. That is, unless your party consists of two or fewer people or you have extremely patient friends. And it's for this same reason that most people don't have the patience to watch every single pitch of a baseball game. For baseball fans whose idea of "fun" slants more toward sprinting than running a marathon, The Bigs 2 brings fast-paced action and plenty of mini-games to the diamond. The combination may be enough to keep your party rolling between Rock Band 2 sets without totally bastardizing America's pastime.
While The Bigs 2 hits plenty of home runs with fire trails and absurdly fast pitches, true seam-heads should appreciate one key strategic addition to the game. For this second version of the arcade baseball franchise, 2K Sports introduces the "Wheelhouse" system. When pitches are in a hitter's favorite part of the strike zone, the hitter has more success swinging at those pitches. In The Bigs 2, that zone/wheelhouse can change throughout the game. For example, Alex Rodriguez's wheelhouse is in the outer half of the strike zone, and shaded red. If I'm feeling confident while playing as Roy Halladay, and decide to throw a pitch in that location and A-Rod whacks it, his wheelhouse gets bigger, and A-Rod becomes more powerful. If he whiffs at a pitch in his happy place, I gain more turbo on my pitches, and A-Rod's wheelhouse shrinks.
Instead of its predecessor's "Rookie Challenge" mode, The Bigs 2 has "Become a Legend," a continuation of the previous game's story. This time, the protagonist is an established Major Leaguer who suffers a career-threatening injury, and has to battle back to the Majors by playing in Mexico and completing assorted challenges. The goal? To ultimately get inducted into Cooperstown and play against other Hall of Famers like Jackie Robinson, Roberto Clemente, and the most storied player in baseball history, Babe Ruth (The Bigs 2 sports over 30 legends in total). I didn't get to see much of this mode, other than noticing one of the Mexican teams is named the Pollos (which, for some reason, made me start craving burritos). Still, the mode sounds like a cool idea, especially if one of the final mini-games consists of battling the Babe in a hot dog-eating contest.
Speaking of mini-games, The Bigs 2 proves that 2K definitely noted the popularity of Home Run Pinball in the first Bigs. It's back, this time with new locations which include Las Vegas, retro Times Square, and Tokyo. Even better, now you can battle against opponents either online or off. One-on-one competition, and neon signs destroyed by searing line drives... what's not to like? On the other hand, Home Run Derby mode is nowhere in sight, but that's no big loss. Either on TV or in videogames, home run contests often grow tedious; once the initial thrill of seeing a ball go over the wall a couple times is over, the action is usually more repetitive than enthralling.
Other mini-games include a contact challenge (where a barrage of multicolored baseballs are tossed up from the side to the batter, whose goal is to bash the white and green balls while steering clear of the red ones) and a pick-up game (where two players take turns selecting players for an exhibition -- think "schoolyard game during recess"). A power mini-game consists of aiming your homers at different areas in the stands, and a speed mini-game involves beating an opponent back to the field through an obstacle course located in the stands and concourse areas of your favorite baseball stadium.
And let's not forget the main attraction: full 162-game seasons. The action moves quickly here, and that's not just because of the five-innings-per-contest default setting. More often than not, batted balls travel at a rapid clip -- meaning position players have just a shred of time to field tough line drives. Those fielding opportunities are controlled by another mini-game -- a series of timed button presses to coincide with on-screen cues. The speed with which balls travel to the outfield wall lends The Bigs 2 to more of a station-to-station type of baseball, where most balls in play are singles, homers or outs.
A variety of power-ups and points-based fun adds depth to the game mode. Some specific ones we saw: Carlos Zambrano gives the Cubs more turbo when he's pitching, Josh Beckett "Can't lose his fastball" as the game progresses, and all of A-Rod's homers are "No-doubters." These are three of around 30 power-ups available to specific stars. Positive accomplishments also rack up thousands of points for the team: Once the point level reaches 250,000, it's "Big Slam" time on offense, where four straight hitters successively face one 115 mph pitch apiece. The first three batters automatically get singles if they make contact, while the fourth batter hits an instant homer if he puts wood on the ball.
With automatic homers, a rapid-fire pace, and explosions all over the yard, The Bigs 2 -- like its predecessor -- isn't a game designed for baseball purists. Even though one can play a full season with a baseball team, the power-ups and superhuman skills of the game's stars ensure that The Bigs 2 focuses much more on the individual. Still, in a sporting world where it's nearly impossible to simply enjoy athletic achievements without the underlying speculation about performance-enhancing drugs, the ability to enjoy a guilt-free arcade alternative to the buttoned-up realism of The Show or MLB 2K9 is much-appreciated. Those who obsess over sabermetrics and other statistical formulas might miss a level of detail when it comes to the actual baseball action. However, for casual or hardcore baseball fans looking for an escape from reality, The Bigs 2 is shaping up as a fun and colorful alternative.
©2009-05-26, IGN Entertainment, Inc. All Rights Reserved
