The beginning of the 2006 baseball season was different for MLB’s international players due to the inaugural World Baseball Classic, and in the video game world 2K Sports bought the exclusive 3rd party license for Major League Baseball. Major League Baseball: 2K6 is the only officially MLB licenses game to come to consoles but will the monopoly hurt the game of will 2K Sports drive it out of the park?
Features:
Gameplay:
Back in the day, that day being last year, there were two 3rd party baseball games, one from EA Sports and the other from 2K Sports. Each brought a different style of presenting baseball to the consoles, and for this year 2K Sports decided to keep the arcade style, while keeping the depth of game modes. 2K Sports turns a simple game of baseball into a clumsy and complicated experience. This game requires a gamer to pick up the manual and actually read the instructions. Pitching doesn’t have meters or “sweet spotsâ€, but rather has an expanding area and four sets of yellow curved lines that have to be lined up so that the pitch doesn’t go wild. The pitcher can select the pitch by pressing one of the four buttons designated with a pitch on the HUD, those buttons being “Xâ€, “Squareâ€, “Triangleâ€, or “Circleâ€, and occasionally the “R†trigger. Hitting can be done by swinging the bat, or bunting. While hitting, which is done by the “X†button, there is a cursor that acts as the batter’s eye and can be moved to an area in the strike zone where the batter thinks the pitch will be located. Bunting can be tried by pressing the “Triangle†button, and the bat can aim the bunt to the left or right by pressing the “L†or “R†triggers, respectively. What complicates this configuration is the ability to control of a base runner. If the batting team has runners on base, at any time, the player can take control of that base runner instead of hitting. What’s confusing, is that when playing as the hitter, pressing the “R†trigger will keep the runner(s) closer to the base, and the “L†trigger will advance their lead; however when playing as the runner, these controls are reversed because the next base is to the runner’s right, while the base they’re on is to their left, hence the “R†trigger and the “L†trigger. Fielding is an adventure on its own. The bases are allocated accordingly, meaning “X†is home, “Circle†is first base, “Triangle†is second base and “Square†is third base. The fielders won’t necessarily always catch the ball, whether the ball is on the ground or thrown to the fielder. The joystick is sensitive but at times can be unresponsive.
Visuals/Audio:
Since Major League Baseball: 2K6 is a game that spans four different consoles, this is an area that suffered. 2K Sports definitely did not finely tune the game to the specifications of the PSP. The players do not look like the actual players the characters represent, and not every team has an updated picture for their players. The stadiums appear flat and lifeless, even though there is a crowd, it appears painted in although you can hear them. The menus are bright and easy to navigate, however loading times are some of the worst experienced on the PSP. While waiting for a ballgame to load, there is baseball trivia that will cycle through and give the player the answer after a few seconds of being displayed. There are a few bugs in the PSP version of Major League Baseball: 2K6 such as sometimes a batter will not be wearing a helmet at bat. The signature stances that some players have are not noticeable and appear to be generalized. There also appears to be a lack of player animations and after a team makes the final out and heads to the dugout, the cut scene goes to the pitcher leaving the mound; but the pitcher already left the mound and is in the dugout. If you’re not going to do the job right, don’t do it at all.
Now baseball isn’t baseball without commentary, and in Major League Baseball: 2K6 the commentating tandem of Jon Miller and Hall of Fame 2nd Basemen Joe Morgan are back for another season with 2K Sports. Now aren’t these two announcers part of ESPN, yes, however the ESPN name is not attached to MLB: 2K6 because it along with the “Madden†franchise were gobbled up by EA Sports. Their commentary isn’t award winning, but occasionally the two in the booth come up with some good points on baseball. What is disappointing is the lack of enthusiasm and creativity in the crowd, but some cut backs must be made when releasing a game across the market.
Overall:
Baseball is said to be a 162 game grind, a campaign and a marathon, not an easy jog or 5K run; 2K Sports gives Major League Baseball: 2K6 that exact feeling, a grind and a job. Baseball is a game and games are supposed to be fun. Major League Baseball: 2K6 is a port and a poorly done port of what was a decent baseball game and turned it into a sub-par baseball sim that requires more patience than should be required. Major League Baseball: 2K6 is a good reason why exclusive right sales are a bad thing in the video game industry a free market economy.
