Bargain Bin Gaming- Episode 15: MLB 2K7

2k7For years, the people at 2K Sports have consistently released solid games that have accurately portrayed America’s pastime and have filled each and every title with a bevy of unlockable content and gameplay modes to keep gamers busy for hours on end. In 2007 however, the team at 2K Sports failed to deliver on more than one front, creating an almost miserable port of a slightly above-average PS2 game that is ugly, bug-filled and soulless to boot. In the end, the only thing that saves the game is the bevy of gameplay modes and unlockable content crammed inside of it.

Once the game starts, it’s obvious that not much has been done to make this version stand firmly on its own two feet. Aside from the updated rosters, this game almost feels like MLB 2K6 after a few Flintstones chewable vitamins. For instance, the same shoddy graphics and mediocre frame rate that almost ruined ’06 are still apparent in “MLB 2K7.” In addition, the game is mired with several graphical bugs and glitches that take away from the otherwise competent baseball experience the game offers.

Seeing former New York Mets manager Willie Randolph giving in his lineup card to the umpire before the game sounds like commonplace in a baseball video game, but seeing Randolph as a tall white man half the time, before seeing him the way he was meant to be seen, is nonsense. It’s something that any knowledgeable gamer would expect to see in an early PSone game, not in something for the PSP. Mistakes like this turn a solid baseball-sim into a crappy port that is worth skipping for everyone except the hardcore gamer that needs to own a baseball title.

Another interesting graphical bug is that upon closer inspection, it seems that the team at 2K sports has failed to mount the numbers and letters on the backs of the players. When the camera decides to zoom in every once in a while, during pre-game cut scenes or instant replays, gamers will unfortunately see the names and numbers of their favorite players floating just above their jerseys, creating an eyesore that is sure to be seen on numerous occasions.

While the graphics in “MLB 2K7” are a joke, the sound, provided by ESPN’s Jon Miller and Joe Morgan is spot on, but is usually late to make the correct call. Hearing Miller and Morgan makes up for the fact that their aren’t many sound affects in the game, but having to wait five seconds for them to describe a play that already happened just adds to the sub-par game experience and will grind the gears of any hardcore baseball fan.

Aside from the graphics and sound, “MLB 2K7” is not a bad baseball game. Filled with a myriad of gameplay modes such as the home run derby, create-a-player, season, situation, managerial and franchise, “MLB 2K7” can and will eat up plenty of hours on your PSP. Add in the fact that 2K has allowed gamers to update their roster online and has put in various legend teams in the game, such as the ’69 Mets, ’55 Brooklyn Dodgers and the ’61 Yankees and it’s easy to see that if given a chance, “MLB 2K7” can and will grow on you.

The only problem is that not many gamers will be able to see past the graphical bugs and glitches and will never see “MLB 2K7” for the solid baseball-sim it really is, turning it into the ugly step sister with a heart of gold that no one listens to.

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About Patrick Hickey Jr. 13821 Articles
Patrick Hickey Jr. is a full-time Assistant Professor of Communication & Performing Arts and Director of the Journalism program at Kingsborough Community College and is the chairman of the City University of New York Journalism Council. He is the Founder and Editor-In-Chief of ReviewFix.com. He's also a former News Editor at NBC Local Integrated Media and National Video Games Writer at Examiner.com where his work was mentioned in National Ad campaigns by Disney, Nintendo and EA Sports. Hickey was also the Editor-In-Chief of two College Newspapers before he received his BA in Journalism from Brooklyn College. Hickey's work has been published in The New York Daily News, The New York Times, Complex, The Hockey Writers, Yahoo!, Broadway World, Examiner, NYSportScene Magazine, ProHockeyNews.com, GothamBaseball.com, The Syracuse Post-Standard, Scout.com and the official sites of the Brooklyn Aces and New York Islanders. His first book, The Minds Behind the Games: Interviews With Cult And Classic Video Game Developers was released in April 2018 and is chock full of interviews with legendary developers. His second book in the series, The Minds Behind Adventures Games, was released in December 2019. His third book, The Minds Behind Sports Games, was released in September 2020. His fourth book, The Minds Behind Shooter Games, was released in March 2021. The Minds Behind Sega Genesis Games and The Minds Behind PlayStation Games were released in 2022 and The Minds Behind PlayStation 2 was published in January 2023. Hickey is also a contracted comic book writer, currently penning his original series, "Condrey," as well as "The Job," "Brooklyn Bleeds" "Dem Gulls" and "KROOM" for Legacy Comix, where he serves as founder, owner and Editor-in-Chief. Hickey Jr. is also a voice actor, having starred in the 2018 indie hit and 2019 Switch, PS4 and Xbox One release, The Padre (also serving as English language Story Editor), from Shotgun With Glitters. The sequel, The Padre: One Shell Straight to Hell was released in February 2021- Hickey also served as a Story Editor and Lead Voiceover performer. He has also done narration and trailers for several other titles including The Kaiju Offensive, Relentless Rex and Roniu’s Tale. Hickey is also the lead voiceover performer on Mega Cat Studios’ upcoming title WrestleQuest, responsible for nearly 90 characters in the game, as well as Skybound's Renfield: Bring Your Own Blood, where he voices both Dracula and Renfield, as well as several other characters. He also stars in Ziggurat Interactive’s World Championship Boxing Manager 2, where he performs the VO of nearly every male character in the game. He also worked on the Atari VCS’s BPM Boy.

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