Wii Review: Major League Baseball 2K8

Major League Baseball 2K8

Wii Review
Developer: Kush Games
Publisher: 2K Sports
Release: March 3, 2008
Players: 1-2

The Nintendo Wii has certainly seen its fair share of baseball games. You have baseball in Wii Sports, MLB Power Pros, and The Bigs. All of these games were fun in their own right, some better than others. There has yet to be a full-out baseball simulation on the Wii though to really capture the sport in an enjoyable and engrossing manner. Kush Games’ developed MLB 2K8 hoped to change all of that, and has come very close!

This is the first offering for the MLB 2K series of baseball on the Nintendo Wii, meaning it is obviously going to go through some growing pains, just as every other sport has gone through on the Wii. That does not mean though that Kush Games has not put together a solid game of baseball. It is actually the opposite, as they have put together a very fun game of baseball.

The biggest aspect that many are going to be concerned with in regards to MLB 2K8 on the Wii will be the controls and how the game plays, which is right where we are going to star.

The pitching is handled extremely well on the Wii, blowing away anything seen in the Wii Sports baseball, or any other release. You point the Wii Remote at the screen to choose where you want to throw your pitch. You choose the pitch by holding the analog stick on the Nunchuk in whatever direction pitch you want. Once you have your location and pitch type set, you hold down the B button to lock it in. You then lift up the Wii Remote and you will see a circle begin to close. Once it reaches a certain point you flick the Wii Remote forward and your pitch will fly towards the catcher. This is extremely effective, enjoyable, and intuitive. It gives you great command over your pitches and where they are going, instead of just flicking the Wii Remote and hoping you throw a strike.

Batting is handled in a similar manner. You can direct where you are going to hit the ball with the analog stick on the Nunchuk, while you swing with the Wii Remote just as if you were playing Wii Sports baseball. It detects your waggle of the Wii Remote, how hard you swing etc. One difficult aspect though, due to sensitivity, was to check my swing. Bunting is handled by holding down a button to lay down the bunt, while pointing at the screen to aim where you want to hit it, also very intuitive and creative. Once you hit the ball, base-running is very intuitive, as is stealing. One great thing I have to mention is with stealing, you have to drum the controllers to run faster, which can get very hectic if you are in a crunch game and need to get a runner in scoring position.

The fielding aspect is very simple as you use the analog stick you run, and can also use the Z button to sprint. The only thing that needs to be fixed with the fielding is diving for balls, which require a thrust with both the Wii Remote and Nunchuk. This has to be simplified a bit more as it is too much to try to do while chasing after a grounder with the shortstop. Maybe even a button push could make this more enjoyable.

For throwing to the bases, you have two options. You can either flick the Wii Remote and let the AI choose which base it goes to, or you can use the D-Pad to throw the ball to a specific base. I personally did not feel comfortable trusting the AI to choose the right base in big situations, but if it is a simple ground ball, flicking the Wii Remote to throw to first is perfect.

All of the game modes from other releases of the game are carried over here, with the exception that there is no online play at all. You will get all of the big modes though such as franchise mode, home run derby, as well as all of the stat-tracking and such, making for a very deep and simulation-style baseball game.

One big change needed for next year is with the visuals, as the game can surely look far better than it does. It looks almost identical to the PS2 release in just about every way. It does run smooth, but animations, player models, and stadium details can surely be improved. I know the Wii cannot be as advanced with visuals as the Xbox 360 or PS3, but it can surely look better than this.

The audio on the other hand is top notch, as it is about as good as the Xbox 360 version of the game, with great commentary, sound effects, etc.

Major League Baseball 2K8 on the Wii is a great first effort for Kush Games. The game has a great foundation here with solid controls and game modes. If you are a baseball fan you simply have to pick this up on the Wii. It may not be perfect, but the way things are looking, in a year’s time, this could be the baseball game to own across any home console!

Graphics: 6.5 The Wii can surely look better than this. More details are needed in stadiums, character models, etc. Added animations are a must as well.

Audio: 8.0 The audio is very well-done with great commentary and sound effects.

Gameplay: 8.0 The game plays nicely on the Wii. The pitching/batting interface is fun, and the fielding works well. It can only get better!

Replay Value: 8.0 The lack of online play is a bit disappointing, but the game is still very deep with plenty of single-player modes for simulation baseball fans.

Final Score: 7.8

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Interested in picking up this release? Head over to Amazon at the link here - Major League Baseball 2K8