thebigs2-150Simply saying ‘this is a baseball game on Wii’ should be enough information for people to know what this game essentially is about, so I’ll keep this review rather brief. The Bigs 2 is 2K Sports’ latest baseball game, and the Wii version incorporates typical motion-controlled tomfoolery at the price of graphical prowess and online gameplay.

To be straight up and honest, the game doesn’t start out too well. The tutorial mode doesn’t really explain a whole lot, and the text instructions don’t actually demonstrate how to effectively use the Wiimote during gameplay. You basically make the general motions you would expect to pitch and bat, but unless you like playing your games standing up all the time, you will just end up doing similar-but-less-immersive actions from the couch. Pitching sees you selecting a pitch with the d-pad, then flicking the Wiimote in time with a power meter on screen. Fielding sees you running around after the ball, (and occasionally partaking in Wiimote style QTEs) and batting is simply a matter of pointing in the general direction of where you want to hit the ball, and then following through with a swing (or waggle) with correct timing to execute a shot. Eventually you’ll get a hang of the controls, but hitting the ball the way you want to and where you want to still feels a bit like it’s just randomly determined.

Speaking of random, playing against the AI can be rather unpredictable. They can alternate between totally dominating you, right down to making ridiculously stupid mistakes. Combine this element with the repetitive nature of the sport, and the game soon becomes dull. Because of this, you never really feel like you’re outsmarting the AI – you feel like it’s letting you win. I suppose fans of baseball won’t mind so much, but other people will get bored quickly.

There also isn’t, to put it simply, much to do in the game. The ‘Become a Legend’ mode is the meatiest part, and sees you create and take a former star (My creation: Poo Pooface… uhuh) along the road of recovery from an injury back to the big time. You do this by, you guessed it, playing baseball and baseball-related minigames (such as whack as many balls as possible within the time limit), but it all gets a bit samey. There are a few other minigames thrown in, (such as the horribly uninspired Homerun Pinball, where you smack a ball into the environment and watch it bounce around for points) but they are all pretty lacklustre.

If the pitcher moved to the left a tiny bit, this image would have a much funnier caption.

Presentation values are of an equally low quality, even by Wii standards. Graphics are grainy and uninspired, while audio fares a little better thanks to some decent commentary and sound effects. Things look especially bad when compared to the same game on other consoles. The crowd also deserves special mention, as they consist of identical people who all animate in unison. Reminds me of games on the N64…

Though this review has come across as overly negative, there is some definite fun to be had here. Things like striking out an opponent, or smacking a homerun with all bases loaded can be quite enjoyable, so in that respect it does redeem itself a little bit. It just gets old far too quickly. I would suggest that baseball fans who own a Wii give the game a rent and see how it goes, but to perhaps check it out on other consoles if possible.

By watchers_eye

Graphics: D-

Poor, even for the Wii.

Sound: B-

Good commentary and decent sound effects, but horrible music choice (nu-metal, ewww).

Gameplay: C

It’s baseball. Can be fun at times, but is too repetitive and gets old quickly.

Overall: C-

Baseball on the Wii. Maybe rent it if you’re a baseball fan, otherwise stick to Wii Sports – at least you can move onto something else when you get bored.