 
|
|
ESRB: 
Platform: XBox 360
Category: Sports
|
Graphics 9 |
Sound 7 |
Gameplay 8 |
Tilt 8 ||
Overall 8
Author: Trevor H
|
Review: The BIGS (Xbox 360)
Developer – Blue Castle Games
Publisher – 2K Sports
Features:
Players: 1-4
340 KB to Save Game
HDTV 720p/1080i/1080p
Online Multiplayer 4
Content Download
Leaderboards
Game Rating: E (Everyone)
Right around the halfway point of the 2007 Major League Baseball season, 2K Sports delivers The BIGS to the Xbox 360. Taking MLB to a whole new level, The BIGS is an arcade style baseball game where everything is exaggerated, super-sized and over-the-top. The BIGS is the first arcade based baseball game on the Xbox 360 which gives it an EA Sports NFL or NBA Street feel to it. Does The BIGS offer up a grand slam on the same level as EA Sports’ best selling arcade tittles? I would argue that The BIGS is not only comparable but in many ways exceeds those aforementioned games that are already available on the market.
Graphics:
The visuals in The BIGS for the Xbox 360 are superb and there is plenty of eye-candy to behold. It certainly rivals any baseball game already available on the market and it’s arguably the best we have seen in a console Baseball game thus far. The following visuals really stood out for me:
1. The players faces look amazingly similar to their real-life counterpart;
2. The big league stadiums are designed to perfection with some of the famous features and landmarks of the stadiums super-sized in jaw-dropping fashion;
3. The special effects which include the ‘Big Blast’ homeruns and ‘Matrix-like’ double plays add to the intensity and dramatic effects of the gameplay; and
4. The custom player designs in the Rookie Challenge mode are very sharp and add an element of style we often see in today’s MLB game.
Arguably the best graphical features in the game are the players themselves. The BIGS features oversized steroid induced players who look like WWE Wrestlers in ball uniforms as opposed to MLB ball players. This is not necessarily a bad thing; in fact they look great and the concept blends in perfectly with the style of the game. The first thing that jumped out at me was the fact that the player’s facial features are strikingly similar to their real-life counterpart. Ichiro and Vladdy both have the same bit of facial hair which is a trademark of their appearance. Even the tier two players like Ian Kinsler of the Texas Rangers and Jose Guillen of the Seattle Mariners look identical to their real life counterparts.
On a not-so-positive note, the only concern I have with the player animations are the generic batting stances the players appear to have in the game. While the facial features are detailed, the players swings and batting stances do not appear to be a duplicate of their real-life counterparts. That being said there are a few exceptions. For instance, Ichiro does his trademark point the bat towards the outfield prior to getting into his stance and Soriano is waving his bat in a circular motion while in his stance. For the most part, however the stances do seem too generic. This may seem like I am nit-picking however it’s a small detail which could have been implemented given MLB 2K7 features signature style batting stances.
As far as the stadiums are concerned, The BIGS is phenomenal. The stadiums all look great and exactly like the big league stadiums themselves but with a twist. Some of the famous features and landmarks of the game have been 'biggie sized' themselves to go along with the theme of the game. For instance, Fenway’s Green Monster is larger than life and appears a heck of a lot bigger in the game. It’s a great little touch and adds to The BIGS larger than life arcade feel.
The BIGS features over-the-top special effects such as power pitches and home run blasts never seen before. The effects are spectacular and there is truly nothing more satisfying than bashing a home run into the home team’s outfield scoreboard. What is even better is the fact, that the damaged caused to the board actually stays in tact for the duration of the game. Again, a nice little detail adding to The BIGS experience.
Another great aspect of the game which is worth mentioning, are the customizable features available in the Rookie Challenge mode. You can dress up your rookie any way you please. From the shin guard, to the elbow pad, and to wearing a sleeve on one arm; the customizable features are something I quite enjoyed. You can dress up your player any way you like and have him looking like a big league ball player in no time with this feature. Seeing is I am Canadian, it was also nice to see a Canadian bat. The colours are vibrant and nothing is visually compromised during the game.
Sound:
As far as the sound is concerned, The BIGS is satisfactory however there are some concerns which left me a little disappointed. After having been thoroughly impressed with MLB 2K7’s audio, The BIGS doesn’t deliver on the same level. The commentary for one is simply boring and un-entertaining. Granted, it’s pretty hard to live up to the work of Jon Miller and Joe Morgan on MLB 2K7. Nevertheless, the commentary in The BIGS gets old and repetitive in a hurry.
The soundtrack on the other hand is very good as I am big fan of having recognizable recording artists featured in sports games. There is lots of variety and I think the soundtrack is perfect for the target audience. The following are just some of the songs & artists featured in the game:
• Screaming Trees - Nearly Lost You
• Jane’s Addiction - Ocean Size
• Killing Joke - Millennium
• Rollins Band - Tearing
• White Zombie - More Human than Human
• Midnight Oil - Dreamworld
• Fu Manchu - Hung out to Dry
• Motorhead - Ace of Spades
• The Stooges - Down On The Street
• Primus - Jerry Was A Racecar Driver
• Blue October - Somebody
• Satellite Party - Insanity Rains
• Highbench – Satisfied
• Stone Temple Pilots - Plush
In addition to the pretty good soundtrack, the sounds of the stunning special effects and overall sounds of the game is remarkably good. The sound of bashing a ball and firing a heater over the plate sounds great in 5.1 Surround. The fans also sound realistic albeit generic and the umpire's voices when calling a foul ball for instance is very clear.
Gameplay:
Overall, the gameplay in the The BIGS for the Xbox 360 is fun, action packed and entertaining. Does it provide enough depth for hardcore baseball fans? That is a difficult question to answer and will ultimately be based on individual preferences. However, you need to take The BIGS for what it is. It is not meant to be a baseball sim and it doesn't try to be one either. The BIGS is an arcade ball game in every sense. Many will be disappointed there is no franchise or season mode. So do not expect to take your team through a 160+ game season, make trades, sign free agents and so forth. In fact the only semblance of a season mode is the Rookie Challenge mode which I will discuss below. Bottom line, I found The BIGS quite enjoyable and certainly puts an interesting twist to one of America's favorite past times.
The first area I will examine is the single player/campaign mode which The BIGS calls the Rookie Challenge mode. In Rookie Challenge mode you create a rookie baseball player, put him on an MLB team of your choice and play out his career right from his first spring training game. Overall, I found this mode very entertaining and delightful. On a side note, it was nice to get to the halfway point of a baseball career mode in less than 5 hours. During this mode you play abbreviated 5 and sometimes, depending on the challenge, 3 inning games. There are a few 9 inning games, but on the most part the majority of games are abbreviated version of a full night of baseball. I found the short innings were perfect and moved the game along very quickly. There are no long drawn-out replays or cut-scenes and the commentators keep the chit chat to a minimum. During this mode you unlock various drills such as batting practise, fielding practise and running drills. You'll also play in games against other big league teams. After each game, you earn points based on your performance. The points are used to upgrade your rookie's attributes. It doesn't take long to build up your player to the point where he is swatting home runs, stealing bases and making great plays on the diamond in no time.
While there are many great aspects of the Rookie Challenge mode, there are some negatives. For instance, I did not like the steal player games. I understand what the developers are trying to do by giving you something different and maintaining that arcade feel, nevertheless it just seemed wrong to have Tejada and Carl Crawford in an Angels Uniform (The Angels was the team I choose to use in the single player mode). Once I had my team stacked, I flew through the Rookie Challenge mode and the game seemingly became less of a challenge. Unfortunately, after a certain point the steal player games become mandatory in order to progress through the Rookie mode.
In addition to the Rookie Challenge mode, there is also the Home Run Pinball mode. Essentially, you a batter located on a street in Times Square and you hit balls into the city. There are rows of cabs located on the streets and neon signs located everywhere. Right away you probably get the idea. A pitcher standing in the middle of the street serves you up some pitches and bang; watch the carnage. This mode is very addictive and nice little break from the career mode. Your scores go on Xbox Live and you can compete with your friends to see who can get the highest pinball totals.
There is also a Home Run Derby mode, where you go head to head against another MLB slugger and see who can swat the most home runs. Again, this mode is enjoyable however the game is set up in slit screen. Unfortunately, I found myself often distracted with how well the player was doing beside me. Nonetheless, it is enjoyable and a great way to get the timing of your swing down pat.
As far as the gameplay itself is concerned, I also have a number of concerns. Similar to MLB 2K7, the defensive AI is ridiculously good and it actually becomes quite discouraging at times. After about the fourth home run robbing wall climb in one game, one cannot help but get a little frustrated. The AI's amazing catches and wall climbs are a little excessive even for an arcade ball game. Another area of concern is the controls which are bit of a mixed bag. On one hand the pitching and hitting is simple and easy to pick up. Base running, playing defence and trying to make great catches is another story. While on defence, I often found myself unable to gage the distance of ball being hit and I was often unable to make plays which were no problems for the AI defence. I don't think I managed to pull off one successful home run robbing wall climb meanwhile the AI pulls off 5 per game. Often I would try to make my player sprint to the ball but accidentally hit the turbo button and so forth. At the end of the day I found some of controls confusing and would prefer if The BIGS followed the controls of MLB 2K7.
In addition to your basic controls indicated above, The BIGS introduces us to the turbo meters which are a huge part of the game. Surprisingly, after playing a few games you start to realize there is actually quite a bit of strategy with these turbo buttons. As the game progresses, you earn bursts of turbo in a number of ways. Throwing strikes, hitting doubles and making great plays all contribute to your turbo meters. These turbo meters really add to that arcade feel. For instance, if your pitcher is struggling a bit and the opposing team has some runners on the pads just hit your turbo button (provided you have enough turbo) and add a little more zip to that fastball. More often than not, the AI hitter won't be able to connect off that pitch. Similarly for hitters, hit the turbo button and watch your playing smack a nice hit. Fill up the red turbo bar all the way to the top, and you player becomes super human. Pitchers throw super pitches and players swat monster sized home runs which burst into the score boards. The effects are nothing short of spectacular and a sight to behold.
In regards to the multiplayer game, as with other 2K sports tittles, The BIGS is a smooth lag free experience. For some this will be the biggest attraction and brings to the game a tremendous amount of lasting appeal. Once you start playing the game against a buddy you start to realize how much strategy there really is to this game. It's a great experience and lots of fun.
Conclusion:
For fans of the MLB and Xbox 360 owners alike, The BIGS is a must buy game. With sharp visuals, great gameplay and some decent replay value how can you go wrong? Overall The BIGS is an enjoyable arcade style game which is a nice break from your traditional sim orientated baseball games that many have come to know.
|
|
»
||
|
|
|
|
|
Subscribe to our RSS feed of Reviews
