MLB: Power Pros 2008
Cute characters aren’t enough to support old fashioned gameplay.
Tags: MLB Power Pros 2008 Categories: Reviews, Wii Reviews
Posted by Mike "Two Tone" McConnell on Oct 7th, 2008
| Title | Players | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| MLB Power Pros 2008 (title page) | 2 | ||
| Developer | Publisher | Genre | Online |
| Sports | No | ||
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One of biggest issues I have with Wii games is when no effort is made to give the console an experience that is actually designed for it. This year’s installment of MLB Power Pros is just such a game. If you picked up last year’s baseball cum chibi animation, you know what to expect. Newer players will likely be drawn in by what seems to be a perfect marriage of Nintendo’s overly cute world, and licensed sports games. Of course once you figure out that this is just the usual baseball action, there isn’t really any reason to hang around. The Bigs showed off the power of the Wii for baseball games, and then there is N’s own Mario Sluggers. MLB Power Pros 2008 could have bridged the gap between the two and made something of itself, instead it’s an off and cute game that tried to meld that into charm.
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One of the main draws of this title is the art style, rendering the entire MLB into cute little anime characters is bound to raise a few eyebrows. I don’t know how much the two demographics overlap, but I can’t imagine Red Sox fans ready to see their favorite players rendered in this manner. This game is meant for the Japanese market, including a life-sim RPG about a player who is trying to break into the majors. The frustrating thing about the RPG is about how little actual baseball there is in it. You spend more time navigating menus and stat rigging than actually playing games. It makes for a boring game that misses it’s mark, and yet another missed opportunity.
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The regular game modes are instantly familiar. They are every other baseball game you’ve played. Your controls are the simple button stick combo. Call me motion control spoiled but this being the second iteration of the title on the Wii, shouldn’t there be a more robust support of the Wii’s native controls. In the end this just isn’t enough to bother with. Sports fans will find this same material with a focus on simulation in the 2K sports titles, and the lovers of Wii’s quirky little sports titles will be disappointed by this titles lack of meaningful support for the Wii’s easy controls.
| What Works | Score |
|---|---|
|
+ Unique art style |
3.0 |
| What Doesn't | |
|
- RPG game doesn't really involve any baseball - Old fashioned controls |
|
| Under the Shrink-wrap | |
| Old fashioned game with a face lift. | |
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Tags: MLB Power Pros 2008
Posted by Mike "Two Tone" McConnell on Oct 7th, 2008 and is filed under Reviews, Wii Reviews. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can post a comment, or trackback from your own site.
