The Bigs
The Bigs (stylized as The BIGS) is an arcade-style baseball video game for the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 2, Wii and PlayStation Portable. It was released in June 2007 in North America, and in October in Europe. A sequel, The Bigs 2, was released on July 7, 2009.
| The Bigs | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Developer(s) | Blue Castle Games |
| Publisher(s) | 2K Sports |
| Platform(s) | Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 2, Wii, PlayStation Portable |
| Release | |
| Genre(s) | Sports, baseball |
| Mode(s) | Single-player, multiplayer |
Gameplay
It features "outrageous visuals and intuitive gameplay mechanics," focusing on stylistic rather than realistic design, and gameplay featuring power-ups and turbo. It has also given the game of baseball a more "street" feel to it.[1] The game features online play capability for up to four players on most of the seventh generation consoles, though online play is not compatible on the Wii. The St. Louis Cardinals' first baseman, Albert Pujols, is on the cover. Minnesota Twins first baseman and former MVP Justin Morneau is featured on the cover of limited edition Canadian version sold exclusively by Future Shop and Best Buy. Radio host Damon Bruce provides play-by-play commentary. It was released on June 25, 2007 in the United States on all formats. The game was also released in Europe exclusively on Wii on October 26, 2007.
When the first trailer was released, gameplay bore a striking resemblance to Midway Games' MLB Slugfest series. However, in an IGN interview, producer Dan Brady stated that "The Slugfest design team made a lot of choices that really made it difficult for a fan of baseball to take the game seriously. Punching on the base path was just one of many of those decisions. The Bigs is authentic baseball taken to arcade proportions."[2]
Game modes
- Rookie Challenge: The user designs a custom player, assigns him to an MLB team and guides him through spring training and the MLB season. Attribute points to improve the player are rewarded for offensive prowess and the completion of various mini-games that test the player's skill in a variety of areas. The player can also steal 10 players from opposing teams after defeating them in certain games.
- Home Run Pinball: This mode that puts the player in the middle of Times Square, New York City with the objective of hitting baseballs into neon signs and windows in order score the highest points possible. The player can then upload their score to the online leader boards and see where they rank.
- Home Run Derby: A first-to-10 showdown between two hitters.
Multiplayer
Offline multiplayer supports up to four players, with Xbox Live support for two.
Reception
Reviews of the game have been positive, with critics praising the games "Rookie Challenge" mode, and the simplistic controls. However many considered that the "Rookie Challenge" was not long enough and the baserunning along with defensive controls were poorly made.