Games 5/16: MLB 07 (PS3), Bust-a-Move Bash!
MLB 07: The Show
For: Playstation 3
From: Sony
ESRB Rating: Everyone
Sony’s sports games lineup suffered from some very public growing pains during its transition from the original Playstation to the PS2, culminating with most games taking a year off in 2004 to shake the lead out.
This time around, Sony is taking a safer route. That means a game like “MLB 07: The Show” doesn’t make as splashy a debut on the system as would a game built for it from the ground up. But it also means we won’t have to wait three years for the best-playing baseball game of the last hardware generation to become the king of this one.
For those who skipped the PS2 version of “MLB” in favor of getting the definitive edition, the rewards are modest. Online features such as a scoreboard ticker and chat are now always available, rather than simply when playing online. The game also makes simple but clever (and optional) use of the controller’s motional-detecting capabilities by allowing you to perform dives on defense and even aim your slide when running bases.
Graphically speaking, “MLB 07″ has a ways to go to catch up to 2K Sports’ baseball game. A smattering of new animations and some high-definition gloss aside, these essentially are the same visuals we saw on the PS2. It looks fine, and the incremental improvement is hardly surprising given the game’s upscaled port treatment. But surprise or no surprise, you’ll never mistake it for a TV broadcast the way “MLB 2K7″ tricks you into doing.
In terms of everything else, though, “MLB 07″ bests all comers. Sony’s game already was home to the smartest, most intuitive video game baseball experience on the market, and the surprisingly bloat-free improvements in “MLB 07″ only help matters.
In terms of features, the new Road to the Show mode — which lets you play situational ball as a would-be big leaguer with Hall of Fame dreams — is original, engaging and personally satisfying to a startling degree. “MLB 07″ also boasts complete franchise, season and online modes, including 30-team online league support.
On the field, smart catchers scout hitters and recommend pitches for you, different umpires have different personalities, and the game offers on-the-fly scouting and swing analysis when you need the help. The much-improved throwing controls come lifted from EA Sports’ baseball game, but the brilliant new baserunning system more than compensates in the originality department.
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Bust-a-Move Bash!
For: Nintendo Wii
From: Taito/Majesco
ESRB Rating: Everyone
Here’s a lesson for you developers out there: If you’re going to rush a game out the door, at least get the super-important stuff done first. Taito did that much for “Bust-a-Move Bash!,” which brings the celebrated bubble-shooting, color-matching puzzle game to yet another gaming system.
If you’ve ever played a Wii and ever played “Bust-a-Move,” you probably imagine the control scheme working one of two ways. Sure enough, “Bash” includes both, with “gun” (point the Wiimote at the screen, wave left and right to aim) and “baton” (grip the Wiimote like a wand, and the on-screen bubble shooter mimics your movements) schemes.
The gun scheme is slightly more fluid, but the baton method reigns supreme by freeing you from having to point the Wiimote at the screen in order to play. It also allows you to dynamically control the speed of your shot by tilting the Wiimote forward (slower speed, greater control) and backward (faster shots, less control). Either approach works, though, and the virtual sensation of holding the shooter in your hand instead of operating it via controller definitely adds to an experience that’s changed little over the years.
The polished controls are more surprising than they should be when you consider how many bad decisions plague the rest of the game.
Take the puzzle mode, which returns alongside the standard marathon mode to comprise the bulk of “Bash’s” single-player component. Per usual, it serves up 500 puzzles to clear, and per usual, it’s a lot of fun. Unfortunately, the game insists that you complete a staggering 50 at a time instead of the usual 10. There’s no way to save mid-game, so you’ll either have to get comfortable or accept that you’ll never topple this mode entirely.
Then there’s the Bash mode, in which up to eight(!) players simultaneously fire on the same game board. It’s clever and extremely chaotic, but the complete dearth of strategy keeps it in the temporary diversion zone. That means “Bash’s” primary multiplayer draw is the same great “Bust-a-Move” multiplayer mode we’ve all grown to love — except that oops, Taito omitted it entirely instead of giving us both.
More bad news: The menu system is unintuitive, the modes lack important options, and the high-score system is woeful. Hopefully the controls are enough to satiate you, because until next time, that’s all the good news you get.