MLB Power Pros - Out Now! - Gamespot 8.0, IGN 8.4

[quote name='coltcannon']Im gonna hit BB looking for it tomorrow but I dont have my hopes up. Everywhere says 10/4 including BB.com. Anyone have a review?[/QUOTE]

Its in Best Buy's ad as in by 2 PM today.
 
The BB as also has an asterisk saying "Unless by manufacture delay".

Everyone keeps talking about this and The Bigs. Just because its 2k and baseball doesnt mean it has anything to do with The Bigs. This franchise is 13 games old from Japan. I hope it sells well so we might have a chance for the DS or next one.
 
[quote name='coltcannon']The BB as also has an asterisk saying "Unless by manufacture delay".

Everyone keeps talking about this and The Bigs. Just because its 2k and baseball doesnt mean it has anything to do with The Bigs. This franchise is 13 games old from Japan. I hope it sells well so we might have a chance for the DS or next one.[/QUOTE]

Right, I'm just saying it could be in today.
 
[quote name='coltcannon']Just picked it up from my BB. Glad they had it today.[/quote]

Excellent, I'll be stopping by BB on my way home today too, then. *fingers crossed*
 
Someone post impressions on the controls. I'm excited about it, but I'm waiting to hear how the wii controls actually work.
 
Dammit, Amazon! Ship the game to me already! People have this game in their homes already, and mine hasn't even been shipped!
 
[quote name='Cambot']Dammit, Amazon! Ship the game to me already! People have this game in their homes already, and mine hasn't even been shipped![/quote]

I had no clue it would be at BB today. Gamestop told me it didn't even ship until the 3rd, so I didn't think to look other places.

Sucks. Oh well. I won't be around a BB until the 4th now that I didn't stop today, so I'll probably pick it up at BB and then cancel my pre-order.
 
Wow, it sucks that the stats are messed up. Although, I don't mind going to fix them. Yay edit mode!

I have a RZ cert.. prolly go pick it up on Saturday.
 
Yeah, I can fix stuff via edit mode and whatnot. It looks as if this game is going to be mighty beefy. This game is in my next slot at GameFly, so it should be shipped out to me tomorrow.

Bummer this isn't WiFi enabled, though.
 
I have to say I see why this game has a huge following in japan. Easily the most fun ive had with a baseball game ever. The stats are kinda screwed. Also like other games players not in the MLBPA have fake names. If anyone comes across a list of those players or updated stats, post it here. I am looking right now.
 
[quote name='yukine']So how are the controls? Are they better than the motion controls for Wii Sports?[/quote]According to the guy running the thread on GAF, when playing the Wii mode (most modes don't use motion controls), it's not quite as fun as the Wii Sports play since it doesn't mimic your pre-batting motions, but it seems to work fine:

Only messed around with the Wiimote mode once, an exhibition game so I can't comment on HR derby. At-bats aren't quite as satisfying as Wii Sports in the sense that your bat motion while standing in the batter's box isn't reflected at all on the screen (bat waggle, etc). Swinging the Wiimote will start your swing animation, holding it horizontal will put you in a bunt animation. Pitching is similar to Wii Sports as well, though you select a pitch with the D-pad and can adjust which way to break a pitch with the - or + keys. Shaking the Wiimote will speed up baserunners. Fielding and defense is all automatic. You can choose to play this mode with any MLB team, any created team, a team made of available user-created Miis, and a team made of random generic Miis.
Click to expand...
 
There is Wii mode, where you use the motion controls for a game or home run derby. The main game can be played with just the wiimote, wiimote & knunchuku, or gamecube controllers. If you are looking for a MLB licensed Wii Sports baseball, you may be a bit dissapointed. I started a season to make for the brewers collapseing in theirs. It has everything ive seen in any other baseball manager mode here. I started the success mode but it was too much dialog for me at the time. There is lots of stuff to collect from baseball cards, to alternate jerseys, players swing characteristic and pitch deliveries. If you are a baseball fan and on the fence, get on this. The $40 price tag makes it even better.
 
Eh, oh well. It's not like I'm buying it right away, anyway... I'll rent it and buy it later when it's a bit cheaper.

First game I'll play is Diamondbacks against the Cubs. :lol:
 
Grabbed it yesterday after school at Gamestop. Great game so far and I love how you can edit a player's stats from the previous season to make it more realistic.
 
Surprised to see that Blockbuster had this for rent already (and yet, no Dewy's Adventure yet?). Snagged it to make sure it'll be good before I look into grabbing it at the TRU B2G1F.
 
The GS my friends work at got exactly ONE non-preorder copy. Luckily its in the hold drawer and I'll be picking it up tomorrow. =D
 
IGN Review - 8.4

Closing Comments

It’d be nearly impossible – and terribly boring – to try and cover every aspect of MLB Power Pros; there’s simply too much here. Rather than rattle on about the insane amount of options, seemingly never-ending ability to customize and tweak every facet of the game, and pile of modes included in the $40 package we’d rather you just go out and play it. Whether you rent it, buy it, or steal it, MLB Power Pros is worth playing, as it’s easily one of the most in-depth baseball games we’ve ever played, be it MLB The Show, the Major League Baseball 2K series, or the like, and by far one of the deepest games on Wii as far as modes, options, and pure entertainment value. It’s a shame that more of the game couldn’t become Wii-ized this time around, as the game is best played with a classic controller or GCN controller, but what Wii integration is there works great, allowing you to play full games with your Mii characters, and pit them against visiting Miis via controller memory or real-life MLB teams.
The gameplay is arcade-like and simplistic, but still a strong enough balance of pure pitching, fielding, and batting. You aren’t losing the control you get in new MLB games; you’re just loosing the complicated feel of more recent next-generation controls that – quite frankly – don’t need to be there. Baseball doesn’t need guess pitch systems, golf-meter sliding bars, or overly-intricate base running to be good. MLB Power Pros balances simple, classic controls with tons of customization, a fun-loving style, and more bang for your buck than the majority of sports games out there. It’s hands-down the best baseball game on Wii, and a no-brainer for sports fans.
Click to expand...
 
I started playing it tonight. Im just waiting for the end of the Cowboys game and Im going right back to it. Seems awesome soo far!
 
The 'Success' mode is soo whacky. Im about 45 min in and I havent even played any baseball yet. Just studying and dating and working part time jobs, etc... anyone who loves quirky Japanese style games will love this!
 
I'll probably get this on PS2 and save me the $10. I don't like the idea of swinging a bat with the wiimote...I sucked at t-ball :whistle2:(

No wonder I had trouble when I tried to import Yakyu Powerful 13...

[quote name='Puffa469']The GS my friends work at got exactly ONE non-preorder copy. Luckily its in the hold drawer and I'll be picking it up tomorrow. =D[/QUOTE]

I saw like 50 zillion PS2 copies at Best Buy. And by 50 zillion I mean 15-20.
 
This does sound pretty awesome. I am a big fan of games that allow GC control when Wiimote is not necessary. May be enough to get me to pick this up and plug in my Wii again.
 
Its only $40 for the Wii version. Is the PS2 version $30? If so the games a steal at that price.

And the motion controls are only for two specific modes. You cant use wiimotion in season or success modes, which are the two main game modes.
Motion controls are limited to single exhibition games and homerun derby modes. These are also the only two modes where you can import your Miis into the game.

But the game supports Wiimote + nunchuck, Classic controller, and Gamecube controller, so its not like you dont have choice.



[quote name='freshzen']I'll probably get this on PS2 and save me the $10. I don't like the idea of swinging a bat with the wiimote...I sucked at t-ball :whistle2:(

No wonder I had trouble when I tried to import Yakyu Powerful 13...



I saw like 50 zillion PS2 copies at Best Buy. And by 50 zillion I mean 15-20.[/quote]
 
I finally finished the Success mode. I made a pitcher. My college team won the College Championship tournament, and then we got to play a MLB Allstars team. That game I lost 1-3. But in the end I got a minor league contract with the Yankees!

I cant wait to start the mode over again and make another player. Sooo much fun!
 
I guess I will post my rant here too for full coverage.
[quote name='botticus']
I hope I did something wrong/stupid or something, because I failed to make the minors after an hour of work in Success Mode, and my character is just gone. No use in exhibition games, no record of anything I ever did. Horrendous design that has totally pissed me off. It's a shame too, because I enjoyed both the baseball part and the RPG part... but I don't really feel like doing that all over again, particularly when I think I did a decent job other than failing to get any contact in my at-bats.[/quote]
 
[quote name='botticus']I guess I will post my rant here too for full coverage.[/QUOTE]

Ya, I'll give you that, the same thing happened to me. I played as a pitcher, and only pitched to about 3 or 4 guys before getting yanked each game. Even with my stamina pumped up over 100. The computer always lost the game for me. And I too got the same ending after about 2 hours. Very lame.

I've since switched over to the season mode, it seems to have a lot more depth and less annoying discussions.
 
I've yet to play this but....I hope they bring this to the DS. It seems like it would be the perfect fit...not to mention that the DS lacks good sports games.
 
[quote name='botticus']I guess I will post my rant here too for full coverage.[/quote]

Oh man that sucks. I'd be pissed too if that happened to me. If you invest a few hours in Success mode, which is basically a create a player mode, then the game damn well better make your player!

So when you go into success mode again, does is still say you can create 110 fielders and 90 pitchers? Cos for me it says 110 Fielders and 89 Pitchers. But I still dont know where my created player went. I dont see him on the Yankees roster. I need to go look, I know he's there somewhere.

Im playing thru a second time now, so I'll see what happens. I picked shortcut mode, so it only shows events that require a response, so I should be able to breeze thru the mode in an hour or so.
 
Okay guys, I just finished Success mode for the second time and again got the minor league contract. And I did even better this time. I won the College Championship tournament in my second year, but then I tied in the finals of the third year, and then the game said I lost the rematch, but I still got the contract.

I figured out some good tips that are really gonna help me in future run thrus and I'll share them with you. But I'll put them in spoilers in case you want to discover everything for yourself. I'll try not to spoil plot points however.

Your gonna need money in this mode, cos my strategy involves buying lots of items, but theres simply not enough time to practice, work, date, and study. But I found a solution! When you meet the math major girl, you must date her. She gives you bookworm and ladiesman ability when you date her, killing two birds with one stone.

When you meet her, she gives you math problems to do, you have to go to the 'study' option to do them, but that makes her like you. After a couple times of this, she likes you alot and gives you bookworm ability on dates and you never need to study again. I got the highest scores in the class on my exams just thru dating her.

When not dating her, practice and work a part time job. The more you work, the more money comes your way, you need to build your financial skills. After a while I was able to 'invest' my money and every week I would make about $40 doing nothing just thru my investments.

So what do you need that money for? Go to the shop and buy a shitload of those tonics that restore vitality. The better you get at finance, the cheaper they become. Buy as many as you can, I try to have at least 10 of them on hand at any one time.

Why the tonics? Heres the big secret. When you practice and lose vitality, dont rest! If you rest every time your vitality gets low, you will never get the 'Hyper' experience point bonus. Theres a meter that you cant see, that builds as you lose vitality, and when it gets to a certain point, you get the Hyper bonus when you rest. Now when your vitality gets low, instead of resting, guzzle down a bunch of those tonics you bought to raise your vitality back up. Now the next time when you get run down, finally rest and you will get the Hyper bonus, which is substantial. I was getting over 90+ strength points per Hyepr bonus! This adds up really fast. Plus instead of wasting a week resting, you can practice or work more. So basically you need to forego sleep and live on a chemical cocktail like any normal college student! =p

My first run thru of Success with a pitcher I rested all the time to regain vitality and I wound up with a four pitches of levels 3,3,2 & 2. On my second run thru with another pitcher, using this strategy, I ended up with four pitches levels 6,6,6,6 and many more special abilities and a 90 mph max speed. My second character was at least twice as powerful as my first.

Note that while doing this, your beginning career may look bad. I had insomnia twice that I had to go to the hospital to cure, and I was always losing motivation in the beginning and doubting myself. But it turned around in the midddle of the second year, and I even won the Tourny in that year. So dont get discouraged if everythings not going great at fist.

*whew* that was a mouthful, but I hope it helps!
 
[quote name='Puffa469']Okay guys, I just finished Success mode for the second time and again got the minor league contract. And I did even better this time. I won the College Championship tournament in my second year, but then I tied in the finals of the third year, and then the game said I lost the rematch, but I still got the contract.

I figured out some good tips that are really gonna help me in future run thrus and I'll share them with you. But I'll put them in spoilers in case you want to discover everything for yourself. I'll try not to spoil plot points however.

Your gonna need money in this mode, cos my strategy involves buying lots of items, but theres simply not enough time to practice, work, date, and study. But I found a solution! When you meet the math major girl, you must date her. She gives you bookworm and ladiesman ability when you date her, killing two birds with one stone.

When you meet her, she gives you math problems to do, you have to go to the 'study' option to do them, but that makes her like you. After a couple times of this, she likes you alot and gives you bookworm ability on dates and you never need to study again. I got the highest scores in the class on my exams just thru dating her.

When not dating her, practice and work a part time job. The more you work, the more money comes your way, you need to build your financial skills. After a while I was able to 'invest' my money and every week I would make about $40 doing nothing just thru my investments.

So what do you need that money for? Go to the shop and buy a shitload of those tonics that restore vitality. The better you get at finance, the cheaper they become. Buy as many as you can, I try to have at least 10 of them on hand at any one time.

Why the tonics? Heres the big secret. When you practice and lose vitality, dont rest! If you rest every time your vitality gets low, you will never get the 'Hyper' experience point bonus. Theres a meter that you cant see, that builds as you lose vitality, and when it gets to a certain point, you get the Hyper bonus when you rest. Now when your vitality gets low, instead of resting, guzzle down a bunch of those tonics you bought to raise your vitality back up. Now the next time when you get run down, finally rest and you will get the Hyper bonus, which is substantial. I was getting over 90+ strength points per Hyepr bonus! This adds up really fast. Plus instead of wasting a week resting, you can practice or work more. So basically you need to forego sleep and live on a chemical cocktail like any normal college student! =p

My first run thru of Success with a pitcher I rested all the time to regain vitality and I wound up with a four pitches of levels 3,3,2 & 2. On my second run thru with another pitcher, using this strategy, I ended up with four pitches levels 6,6,6,6 and many more special abilities and a 90 mph max speed. My second character was at least twice as powerful as my first.

Note that while doing this, your beginning career may look bad. I had insomnia twice that I had to go to the hospital to cure, and I was always losing motivation in the beginning and doubting myself. But it turned around in the midddle of the second year, and I even won the Tourny in that year. So dont get discouraged if everythings not going great at fist.

*whew* that was a mouthful, but I hope it helps![/QUOTE]

That sounds like a better idea than what I was doing.
 
[quote name='yukine']Jebus, this game sounds pretty in-depth. :lol:[/quote]

It's actually really, really worth it. I'm shocked!
 
I'm not even a baseball fan, but this game just looks too damn cool. (I loved Mario Superstar Baseball, too.) I've always wanted to try a Powerful Pro game in English! The closest we got was what, a player in Konami Krazy Racers? I want this game so badly...but with MP2 now, MP3 next, and Super Mario Galaxy after that, my game dance card is pretty full. And that's not even including handheld stuff! Argh! :(

I've heard that MLBPP is super-deep, though. Is it daunting, or is it easy to pick up and play, and still enjoy?
 
This games BLOWS the Bigs and 2k out of the water. Shocking with all the sweat and jersey rippling, that a game with good "gameplay" is the winner in my book.

In all seriousness, this game is really really good. It plays much better than any of the other baseball games released this year (with The Show being the exception to that).
 
[quote name='liquidcross']I'm not even a baseball fan, but this game just looks too damn cool. (I loved Mario Superstar Baseball, too.) I've always wanted to try a Powerful Pro game in English! The closest we got was what, a player in Konami Krazy Racers? I want this game so badly...but with MP2 now, MP3 next, and Super Mario Galaxy after that, my game dance card is pretty full. And that's not even including handheld stuff! Argh! :(

I've heard that MLBPP is super-deep, though. Is it daunting, or is it easy to pick up and play, and still enjoy?[/quote]

This game is ridiculously easy to pick up and play. I haven't even gotten into the deep stuff and I have been playing it for awhile. Im ashamed to say it but all I have been doing today is the home run competition.
 
[quote name='liquidcross']I'm not even a baseball fan, but this game just looks too damn cool. (I loved Mario Superstar Baseball, too.) I've always wanted to try a Powerful Pro game in English! The closest we got was what, a player in Konami Krazy Racers? I want this game so badly...but with MP2 now, MP3 next, and Super Mario Galaxy after that, my game dance card is pretty full. And that's not even including handheld stuff! Argh! :(

I've heard that MLBPP is super-deep, though. Is it daunting, or is it easy to pick up and play, and still enjoy?[/quote]

I havent played a baseball game since All Star Baseball on the N64. I hardly watch baseball in real life, Im not really a baseball fan. But I LOVE the Power Pro series. The second I heard this was coming to the US I knew it was a day one purchase.

The game is only as complicated as you want it to be. Literally every variable can be turned on/off, and you can make fielding and baserunning, hell even batting automatic. You can make it as simple as playing Wiisports baseball, or you can turn it into a true baseball simulation, with stat tracking for literally everything.

Want to know the percentage of strikes that breaking balls to the inside bottom corner get you? Probably not, but its in there if you do want to know.

You can just pitch to a batter, or you can check out his hot/cold zones vs right/left handed pitchers in away/home games.

The game has something for everyone. The Success mode is a baseball RPG, but you hardly play any baseball in it. Its more like a Phoenix Wright type experience.
 
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