Bargain Bin Gaming- Episode 19: The Bigs

The_BigsConsidering the intuitive controls of the Nintendo Wii, it was only a matter of time until someone besides Nintendo made a baseball game for the system. While 2K’s “The Bigs” may not be exactly what hardcore baseball fans are looking for, as its focus is more on arcade gameplay, than fulfilling the dreams of stat-hungry gamers, the end result is a fun one that is worth at least a rental.

Upon playing “The Bigs” for the first time, you’ll notice that everything looks much bigger in scale. The players and stadiums are huge and brightly colored, looking as if they take place in some kind of dream where every player can be a superstar and every stadium can host a World Series.

As a matter of fact, in the world of “The Bigs,” even David Newhan, the former Mets bench-warming utility man, can hit home runs. Gaining points for every hit, great catch, strikeout and everything else that can contribute to you winning the game, “The Bigs” big play-meter fills up after every great play and can eventually turn even the most lethargic big-league hitter or pitcher into a superstar, if only for a short time. Knowing that, it doesn’t take a genius to know that runs come quite easily in the game and big plays are more frequent than a Jose Reyes stolen base.

This type of action-first gameplay will distract those who are looking for a genuine MLB-experience, but will capture the hearts of the casual fan and remind them of the same exciting and enthralling experience they had playing games like “NBA Street” and “Mutant League Football” for the first time.

As far the game’s control scheme however, while not being exactly perfect, they do get the job done and even manage to reward those who master them. Unlike the Wii-Sports version of baseball, “The Bigs” uses both the nunchuck and Wii-mote, offering a more complete and thorough gameplay experience.

Using the nunchuck to decide where your pitches will end up and where to place your swing and the Wii-mote for the timing of your pitches, swings and the speed of your running, players who decide to venture into the game will find it quite a workout. Nevertheless, once mastered, the game’s control is quite responsive, despite some hiccups when fielding and running the bases from time to time.

Adding to the game’s solid control is a bevy of gameplay modes, including a Rookie Challenge mode that allows you to create a player and take him to the big leagues and an amazing soundtrack that features Jane’s Addiction, Rollins Band, Motorhead and Stone Temple Pilots. However, despite its plentiful amount of gameplay modes and amazing soundtrack, the game still feels like it’s lacking something.

With Major League Baseball known for its plethora of player moves every season, a baseball game today needs to be able to keep up and offer everything from a smart roster management system and online updates to keep the game fresh and current. While its mediocre roster management system may drive some players batty and force them to buy a new game, those who care less about not being able to trade Scott Proctor for Wilson Betemit [the game doesn’t allow trades of pitchers for hitters or vice-versa] will still find it a charming entry into a Wii lineup starved for adequate sports titles.

All flaws considered, “The Bigs” is an absolute blast to play and even better with friends. Hardcore baseball fans may want to wait for something more realistic to hit the shelves, but casual fans may just find a new staple in their Wii collection.

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About Patrick Hickey Jr. 13820 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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