baseball
After releasing Out of the Park Baseball 8 a little over half a year after the previous version and with minimal improvements, OOTP9 comes out at the right time, and with much improved features. OOTP9 is another grand slam for OOTP Developments, and it’s a version that was worth the wait.
I’ve not reviewed a baseball game here since MLB 2k6 on the PlayStation 2, although I’ve put time in with MVP Baseball 2k5 and MLB 2k7. I put this preface out there so you don’t think I’m coming into this cold. Yes, I’ve been to the ‘pen and I’m warmed up and ready to take the mound. Unfortunately, MLB 2k8 cannot say the same. It’s come out a little rusty and gets banged around some, but does manage to stay in the game. Ok, enough sports analogies; let’s get down to business. Continue reading
Out of the Park 2007 was a hit with me and many baseball enthusiasts. The ability to run your own league, however you wanted, online or off, was absolutely dazzling. Now, however, just about 7 months after OOTP 2007’s release, Out of the Park Developments has released a new version, Out of the Park 8. Is it worth your money? That depends on how you look at it. Continue reading
The Bigs is like baseball-gone-NBA Jam. Big hits, big collisions, big plays, big everything. It actually kind of resembles the old Triple Play games of the late ’90s and early 2000s in a way, in that they were basically comic book-level baseball games with cartoony sound effects and over-the-top action like that found here, although not quite to this extent. The game is actually fun for a time, but would be better suited to the arcade to be played in short bursts. Continue reading
Last year’s best baseball management/owner sim has – unbelievably – gotten better. I was eagerly awaiting it’s release with all of the hype it’s developers were pumping out about it’s ease of use, new features, and ‘face-gen’ technology. What I got was definitely more intuitive, and possibly more fun, but still just as rock-solid as last year. Continue reading
Baseball management sims go way, way back. You could say that they have their roots somewhat in Earl Weaver Baseball (although that was arguably more of an ‘action’ game), but regardless there have been countless titles vying to get this genre right. One of the most well known is Baseball Mogul, but the most thorough is the Out of the Park series. OOTP has always been a very deep game, seeking to represent all aspects of running a league. This makes for excellent fantasy leagues, but have always daunting to casual players. This has mostly been due to their complex layout and complicated procedures. However, OOTP 2006 attempts to remedy that with a more streamlined interface, a more user-friendly layout, and a more familiar menu system. All in all, does it work? I’d say yes. Continue reading
It’s spring. The boys of summer have taken the field. Now that 2k Sports has the MLB license, we’re reliant on them to bring the sport to our TVs. Do they succeed? Like an ugly 1-0 scraper, sort of. Continue reading
Mario and the gang are at it again, only this time they’ve taken to the diamond instead of the clay courts. With baseball as your game and Mario as your guide, you just know you’re in for a riot of a time. Does it deliver? The answer is clearly Thwomp-grey. Continue reading