MLB Power Pros Wii and PS2 Review

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feilong801
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Joined: December 31st, 1969, 7:00 pm

MLB Power Pros Wii and PS2 Review

Postby feilong801 » October 11th, 2007, 4:27 pm

Huge heads. Balls for hands. Feet that don’t necessarily connect to the body. Simplistic controls. Who knew that this was the formula for videogame baseball greatness? When MLB Power Pros was announced for late 2007 (just barely making the real baseball playoffs, but otherwise coming well after the usual suspects from Sony and 2K Sports), I raised my eyebrow a bit: wasn’t this the “Pawapuro” series, the extremely popular Japanese baseball franchise? It was, and I decided to put this on my radar screen. I was curious to see the Japanese approach to a sports simulation, to see if there were any differences from the Western approach.

There is indeed many manifest differences, and I hope sales for Power Pros is brisk, so that 2K Sports (who distributed this game in America for Konami, because 2K holds the exlusive MLB license in America), EA, and every other developer of sports games can learn from what Power Pros does well. Bluntly stated: Power Pros is the best baseball video game of the year, and should be heaven for gamers tired of the complexity of serious sports games yet feel turned off by over the top “NBA Jam” interpretations that don’t allow for a realistic game to be played.

First, let’s talk about the basic gameplay mechanics. The game uses a “cursor” approach to batting and pitching: a ball bat cursor appears in the strike zone, which you move around in order to get the “sweet spot” to hit the ball. You can select a normal swing or power swing, the latter of which yields a smaller cursor. The same mechanic is at play for pitching as well. Simply move the ball cursor to the desired spot (after selecting your pitch), and hit the A button. Mashing on the A button will give you a bit more speed on the fastball, otherwise that is all you need to do.

To me, this is an ideal gameplay mechanic. Though I mastered 2K Sport’s complicated analog stick based swing in 2K7, I would be lying if I said it wasn’t counterintuitive. The cursor based control of Power Pros provides simplicity yet does not sacrifice any realism, in my opinion.

The same could be said for the graphics. Done in what is called “super deformed” anime style, you might at first glance think Power Pros is a kid’s game. It isn’t. It is just an aesthetic choice, one that quickly dissapears once you get into the game. Of course, I think the cartoon like players look terrific and often have hilarious facial expressions. Gary Sheffield’s menacing scowl is very funny when placed on a cute lil’ anime person.

Don’t let the cuteness fool you, though. Sheffield’s peculiar bat waggle is replicated perfectly, as is Ichiro Suzuki’s stance and Johan Santana’s delivery from the mound. The graphics might be cartoon, but the animations are real. Stadiums are replicated with great detail. In short, Konami doesn’t skimp just because they weren’t going for graphical realism.

Do not let 2K’s marketing campaign, consisting of pitching this as a kiddie game, fool you either. This is one very deep baseball sim, with enormous amounts of stat tracking and information. It also has features that I really hope get considered in other sports titles. For instance, when you simulate games in season mode, you can set it so that the simulation stops when certain things happen: like if you get runners in scoring position, for instance. Then you can jump in and play just that part of the game. In this way, you can still have a hand in simulated games. That’s a great idea that helps you move through a 162 game season while still being able to play most games. It’s also a lot of fun because sometimes you find yourself in dire situations, like being down 5 or more runs late in the game, and you get to try to make a dramatic comeback.

The season mode also has an interested “practice” feature. You assign your players to different kinds of practice, which in turn levels them up as the season progresses. That’s not all, however: by grouping players together, a ballplayer can learn special abilities that the other player has. For instance, grouping a light hitting shortstop with a power hitter might help that player get more power.

Another stand out game mode is “Success.” This mode takes what EA sort of hints at with its superstar mode and actually accomplishes it. That is, a story based, RPG like game that chronicles the trials and tribulations of a young budding pro athlete. Featuring a whimsical but entertaining plot, you take control of a college freshman trying to impress pro scouts. You work part time jobs, date girls, study for classes, and of course practice, which boosts your stats (and your chances of making the college team’s roster). Yet even the non-baseball activities influence your abilities: dating, for example, increases your confidence, making you a better team leader.

Once you make the team, you begin by playing certain situations in games, usually pressure spots like having men on base (both if you are a position player or pitcher). Yet if you fail, the scout will declare you not worthy for the big leagues and the game will end! The game will also end if you don’t study enough for tests, since you can get expelled from school!

Power Pros is available for both Wii and PS2, and this review will now focus on the Wii version. Instead of incorporating Wii controls throughout the game, Konami elected to create a “Wii Remote Mode.” This mode allows you to play up to 9 inning games using mechanics that are essentially the same as Wii Sports Baseball (automatic fielding). You do, however, get to throw more types of pitches and use major league players.

You can also use Miis in this mode, and Konami deserves credit for using them in a manner more substantial than just putting them on a leaderboard. Any of your Miis can be imported into a Wii Remote game, and you can even create a game that is entirely made up of Miis, with random avatars generated if you don’t have enough on your system to fill both rosters (abilities are randomly generated). Friends can also bring their Miis over by storing them in their Wii remotes.

Mii usage and Wii Remote controls are also used in the homerun derby, but it is a little dissapointing that I can’t use motion controls in addition to the conventional methods in the other game modes (the Wii version supports Wii remote and nunchuck, classic controller, and Gamecube controllers). It would have been cool to be able to include Miis in season and success mode as well.

Yet that is the only flaw I can think of for this tremendous baseball title. Simple, fun, yet also deep, MLB Power Pros defies criticism and is a breath of fresh air for American sports gamers. And at budget price points ($40 for Wii, $30 for PS2 versions), there is no reason why any baseball fan shouldn’t immediately go out and buy a copy. I give this game a hearty recommendation and I would certainly nominate it for sports game of the year.

Grade: A.


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MLB Power Pros Wii and PS2 Review

Postby VideoGameCritic » October 16th, 2007, 5:13 pm

I have the PS2 version, and I like it a lot.  The only big flaw is how certain batter's wave their bats over the plate, blocking your view of the pitcher (see Miguel Tejada of the Orioles). 

I'm a bit disappointed by your description of the Wii version.  Would it be too much to incorporate fielding?  Even if you have to use the "normal" controls for that, it would be preferable over the automatic stuff.


feilong801
Posts: 2173
Joined: December 31st, 1969, 7:00 pm

MLB Power Pros Wii and PS2 Review

Postby feilong801 » October 16th, 2007, 9:27 pm

[QUOTE=The Video Game Critic]I have the PS2 version, and I like it a lot.  The only big flaw is how certain batter's wave their bats over the plate, blocking your view of the pitcher (see Miguel Tejada of the Orioles). 

I'm a bit disappointed by your description of the Wii version.  Would it be too much to incorporate fielding?  Even if you have to use the "normal" controls for that, it would be preferable over the automatic stuff.

[/QUOTE]

Yeah, it would have been nice for a more across the board motion control implementation, instead of the "slapped on" deal (while still giving us the choice of conventional control). I still give them a lot of credit for having good Mii integration though, something lacking in most 3rd party Wii titles.

Hopefully the game will sell OK in America, prompting sequels that can exploit the system a little better. It sure blows MLB 2k7 out of the water, and I actually like that game a lot also.

-Rob


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