EA Sports and 2K Sports has a large catalogue of realistic sports games, but sometimes you don’t want that in a sporting game, instead you go for something a little more laid back and not serious at all. Super Mega Baseball: Extra Innings is a prime example of that, not only in its art style, but also its gameplay.
The baseball title offers two game modes including: “Exhibition” and “Season”. If you’re looking to jump into a quick game of baseball, Exhibition is definitely the mode for you, but if you want to prolong your enjoyment into something a little longer, I’d go for Season. The Season places you in either the Super Division or Mega Division, as you play out a complete schedule of matches against simulated teams.
One of the key elements to the game is understanding your roster, as you have hard hitters who will get you the homeruns in no time and those who are better at pitching. I can’t quite remember the title on PC, but I remember playing something very similar many years ago to this. Throughout the season you can also alter your teams’ appearance and improve their stats through training. It’s vital that you do this throughout, especially as it’s so easy to forget. I think the biggest inclusion that’s required though are transfers to mix up the game a bit and make it feel more real. I do know that is something the developers are working on right now though for a future patch.
In terms of how the game plays, it’s fairly simple. You can use your A button to hit if you wish or your right stick to time your swing more accurately and aim for a homerun. There’s also an emphasis on base management in that you need to carefully get your team around the four bases without being called out. At times you might notice an opportunity to move onto the next base if the ball rolled through a nice clearing in the pitch, but sometimes you have to be weary of your surroundings. It’s no good running to a base if the ball is right next to it or you’ll be out.
So that’s the batting side of things, now onto the pitching. You can change your pitcher at any time and your options for the type of pitch can be altered by the spin you want on the ball. The more difficult spins will often fail unless you control the marker within the zone correctly, which isn’t the easiest. You also need to position players correctly in order to get your opponents out – so position them under the ball when it’s hit in the air to catch it and dive into the path of the ball if it’s hit near one of your players at speed. It’s a very simplistic control scheme and a lot of it is aided by assists.
I have to put a lot of praise on the venue designs, as they all seem to have a unique point to them, especially the one with the killer whales on the outside. They offer something to admire while you’re hitting a homerun ball and watching I glide through the air. Even the crowd add to the atmosphere with their cheering, as the fireworks launch into the sky lighting up a display. It’s very over-the-top, but recreates the atmosphere you expect from a baseball match in real life after a homerun.
The one downside is the absence of multiplayer, which for a game like this I thought would have worked brilliantly. Just imagine pitching a swinger to your friend for him to miss it three times in frustration, while you’re laughing smugly. Once again though, Metalhead Software are looking into adding this in the future, so fingers crossed!
I guess that’s the reason why I’m so addicted to the game. It doesn’t have too many complex control schemes to learn like most realistic sports games and the fact that the art style and gameplay feels arcade-like is great. I could invest hours into it and never feel like I’m getting bored. The only disappointment I have is that there’s no multiplayer to play against friends and other players online.
Pros
- Very enjoyable
- Love the venue designs
- The arcade feel works brilliantly
Cons
- No multiplayer
- No transfers in Season mode