A Twist on America's PastimeGetting bored of my reviews yet? Well too bad! I am writing another one, and (surprise!) it is for another sports game. This is not your everyday baseball game, though. This is The Bigs 2.
I first played The Bigs (the first one, not the second one) at my friend's house on his Xbox 360. I fell in love with the game. I was 9 at the time, and I loved (and still love) baseball, so The Bigs was the perfect game for me. The Bigs is a baseball game, with actual players, actual teams, actual stadiums, etc. But there are some things that make The Bigs different, such as the cartoon aspect and the "Big Blast", which is an automatic homerun if you make contact with the ball. There are also huge collisions at the plate, another thing that appealed to me. However, I am not here to review The Bigs. I am here to review it's sequel, which much more fun and a lot less realistic than the first one.
Gameplay (10):
The Bigs 2 is the silliest and most fun sports game you will ever play. If you are looking for a serious baseball game, look elsewhere, The Bigs 2 is not for you. And I will explain why right now. The games are the same as regular baseball games in many ways, but the parts that are different is what makes this game unique. Every time you get a hit, steal a base, make a diving catch, etc., you get a certain number of big play points. Once you reach 100,000 big play points, you can use a big blast. A big blast is an instant homerun, if you make contact of course. If you wait until you get 25,000 more big play points, you can use a big slam. A big slam give you a chance to load the bases before you bring them all home. You can also use 100,000 big play points for a big heat, if you are the pitcher. This makes you fastballs faster and your off-speed pitches slower. There is also a little bar under the big play points bar. Every time a section of that lights up, you can use a turbo which makes you hit harder and pitch faster. You can earn turbos by throwing strikes with your pitcher and taking balls as a batter. Another thing that makes this different from a regular baseball game is a thing called a legendary catch. Each player has a rating from 1 star to 5 stars for each major attribute: contact, speed, power, throwing arm, and catching/fielding. A player can also have a legendary rating if they are really good at that attribute. Every player that has a legendary rating for catching/fielding can perform a legendary catch. This allows them to jump unrealistically high or dive unrealistically far to catch a ball. There are a lot of other cool things that you can do in this game, but I have wasted enough of your time in this category. If you want to find out more, play it yourself!
Graphics (9):
The graphics get a 9 not because they are lifelike, but because they are the opposite. They are cartoony and exaggerated, which fits this game so well. This is not a serious game, and the graphics reflect that. The players look a lot more muscular than they actually are. The ball always seems to be going faster (in the field) than it should be. When you use a big blast or a big slam, it is extremely exaggerated. Everything turns blue and freezes, and shows your player making contact with the ball. The ball then goes into the stands and breaks a scoreboard or something. The graphics are so unrealistic that they make the game a lot better.
Sound (9):
Often the sound and the graphics in a game have a similar feel. That is definitely the case in this game. Much like the graphics, the sound effects are exaggerated and over-emphasized. You can distinctly tell what each sound is supposed to be, but it doesn't sound the same in real life. Everything is very loud, as well. When you swing and miss, there is a very loud swooshing sound. In real life there may be a slight swooshing sound, but not loud enough to hear. When the pitcher throws the ball and it hits the catchers glove, it makes a very distinct smacking sound. Again, this sound may occur in real life, but it is not as pronounced. I like the music in this game. It is all rock music, from artists such as Korn, Daughtry, P.O.D., and Mr. Tunes. The music really fits the theme of the game.
Addictiveness (9):
When I first got this game, I played it all day for months. It does not appeal to me as much now that I am older, but it is still a lot of fun to play. It will definitely drag you in if you are between the ages of 7 and 12, and may or may not drag you in if you are 13 or older. I know for me, it is still an entertaining game that I play on occasion, but I am definitely not as hooked as I was before. I am pretty likely to play this game again. You know what? This review is making may want to play it! I think I may play as soon as I finish writing.
Story (N/A):
I was considering giving it a rating for story, but decided against it. The main game mode, Become a Legend, does kind of have a story behind it. You are a player with great potential, but you suffer an injury that ends up becoming a major setback in your career. You go back to the Mexican league to try to get back into baseball. You make it back into the majors, and, eventually, into the Hall of Fame. It is technically a story, but I decided not to give it a rating because that is just one of the game modes that you can play in this game.
Depth (8):
Depth was another category that was tricky to rate. This game does offer multiple game modes, such as Become a Legend, Season Mode, and Homerun Pinball, but it does not offer as many game modes as most sports games. I decided to go with a rating of 8 because the main game mode, Become a Legend, offers a lot. You travel through different cities playing games and practice drills so you can improve your players attributes. You can also steal players from other teams that you face. There are also a lot of other things you can do, such as Hall of Fame challenges. Every time you complete a Hall of Fame challenge, you get one step closer to making it in yourself.
Difficulty (6):
Yet another category that was hard to rate. Regular games are extremely easy. I'm pretty sure my cousin's newborn could beat them. There are a lot of things that are difficult, though. One thing that is difficult (for me) are the training sessions that you need to do in Become a Legend. I don't know why, but those have always been a challenge for me. The only thing in this game that is REALLY hard are the Hall of Fame challenges. I'm pretty sure that some of them aren't even possible.
Gameplay (30%) - 30% of 10 = 3.0
Graphics (10%) - 10% of 9 = 0.9
Sound (10%) - 10% of 9 = 0.9
Addictiveness (25%) - 25% of 9 = 2.25
Story (0%) - 0% of 0 = 0
Depth (25%) - 25% of 8 = 2.0
Difficulty (0%) - 0% of 6 = 0.0
OVERALL - 9.05 (Rounds to 9)
I love this game, and I always enjoy playing it. If you like serious games, this game is not for you.
Thank you for reading my review, this is actually my longest review so far! I hope you enjoyed it, please let me know what you think!
Graphics
9 Sound
9 Addictive
9 Depth
8 Difficulty
6
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