Review: The Bigs 2

Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the Boomtown Stadium. Tonight's match will see a merciless fight between 2KSports' arcade-oriented baseball game and Boomtown's baseball-loving new writer, as each side aims to become the ultimate baseball champion. Who will make it BIGS? Let's find out right here, right now.

The BIGS' game

If the previous episode sent you through a Rookie Challenge, The BIGS 2 will promisingly turn yourself into a baseball god in the Become a Legend mode. But first you have to create and customize your very own player with numerous options available from physical features to attitude and nickname. Then, you will be heading to South America as your path to glory starts in Mexico. You're a former MLB player who had to put his career on hold because of an injury and is now trying to make a comeback. Your new team is the San Guerrero Pollos and your only aim is to get back to the Big Leagues stronger than ever. In order to achieve this goal you'll have to complete specific challenges, like making a Legendary Catch and so forth, and clear various mini-games. Those mini-games are the biggest addition to The BIGS 2 and a more than welcome breather in the midst of fierce matches.

In case you're not interested in becoming a baseball legend yourself but would like to take your favourite MLB team to the World Series and win the pennant, don't look any further, the Season mode is made for you. In this mode you'll be able to manage your players like in a real sport simulation game, trading and shuffling your roster all the way to the very final stage of the championship. And if you're looking for immediate fun, more mini-games are waiting for you in the Extra Game Modes and in the Home Run Pinball mode. The former ones will test your skills in terms of quick hitting, catching, power and speed while the later one takes you to Las Vegas, Times Square and Shibuya for a fun baseball-infused pinball competition. Original and addictive, you'll love sending all these balls crashing on big neon boards, skyscrapers, cars and even palm trees to get the highest score and draw louder cheers from the crowd.

The matches themselves follow the same pattern as regular baseball games. With a twist. The BIGS 2 give you the opportunity to use sheer arcade tools such as different types of boosts for speed, throws or hits and perform very special moves like wall jumps and extraordinary catches. Not to mention powerful homeruns hitting the scoring board in a shower of sparks. All of these give off a good feeling of pure fun enhanced by the great atmosphere in the stadium. Visually speaking, the game isn't bad either with solid graphics, bright lights and colours and the players all bear a striking resemblance to their real life counterparts. Even the ballparks keep their distinctive features like the famous Green Monster in Fenway Park. Audio-wise, the commentary is well done and often amusing and sound effects fit in perfectly.

Strike-out

Unfortunately, The BIGS 2 isn't all fun and games as numerous flaws are scattered all around. The very first one you will find on your way is the tutorial, confusing as it can be, before meeting with the infamous loading times. Naturally, no game can currently run entirely without loading times but please this is The BIGS we're talking about, not Lost Odyssey. How can loading times be so long and frequent?

Once the first match begins, a fundamental question appears: how easy is that to hit a home-run? Well, it has never been this easy for your opponents judging by how many of them they hit in a single game. Even a so-called "perfect throw" by your pitcher can turn into a home-run. Good thing the throw was perfect. Aiming can also become tricky sometimes for your hitter as the ball will not always follow the proper direction, even if you aimed correctly. This is especially true during the power mini-game where guessing how accurately the ball will go could be seen as a game in itself. Of course, your adversary being God Almighty he will hardly ever (if ever) miss his target. Speaking of which, don't be surprised that in the contact mini-game your opponent scores twice as much as you. Of course, these problems are toned down when you're playing with a friend but still it makes The BIGS 2 unbalanced and unfair.

But the biggest problem of this game is its lack of fun due to a strange mix of copious amount of (light) simulation and very little arcade. Of course the developer threw in some arcade features in The BIGS 2 but for true arcade-loving players it just won't do the trick. A small handful of special moves and boosts once in a while can't make up for the hassle of playing regular baseball 90 percent of the match.

Don't hate the player, hate the game

Of course there is nothing to hate, strictly speaking, about this game. Sadly, there is nothing to be crazy about either. Irregular, often frustrating, boring, not technical enough for simulation addicts, not fun or crazy enough for arcade lovers, despite a few positive aspects The BIGS 2 gives off a lukewarm feeling by taking a middle-of-the-road approach. And everybody knows that standing in the middle of the road is the best way to get run over. If you haven't tried the demo, don't let the sparkly trailer videos fool you. The BIGS 2 might be a decent game for players looking for light simulation sport software but it's a big disappointment for everyone else.