The Review: MLB 2K7

I hate the New York Yankees. Rooting for the Yankees is like rooting for the house in poker. Its like hoping Bill Gates wins Powerball or watching Heidi Klum grow a third perfect...leg. Okay, so maybe that last one is a bad example but you get my point. Its just not right. Unless you or your parents are from New York you should never, under any circumstances, root for the Yankees.
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Unless, of course, you like faceless automatons with no charisma who’ve sold their souls to the highest bidder to be led by a man who will pay more then the Gross National Product of Guatemala to try and buy himself a championship.
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What does any of this have to do with video games? Surprisingly a lot because New York shortstop Derek Jeter is again on the cover of the newest MLB video game, “Major League Baseball 2K7”. That’s right, for the fourth year in a row a Yankee player is on the box of a 2K baseball game. Enough already!

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Fortunately for 2K, my pappy always told me not to judge a book (or game) by its cover so I can get past this problem. I just turned the instruction booklet around and found an enjoyable baseball sim.
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One of the best things about last years 2K offering was the amount of things that you can do and this year’s version is no different. Gamers can enjoy season, franchise, GM career, manager showdown, different types of home run derby’s and even play in online tournaments and leagues. For die-hard baseball fans its enough to satisfy that itch of being Brian Cashman, if you have that kind of itch (and if you do, see your doctor immediately, you need some high grade ointment).
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The game play is a blast. On defense, working the batter is always fun to do and now the catcher actually provides a little bit of help. The backstop will suggest a pitch and even set up his glove where he expects it to go. Being the hurler you can brush him off, but just having the game give you some hints about how to pitch almost feels like a pitching tutorial.
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When at the plate, gamers again have the choice of using the traditional button swing or the more realistic right analog swing stick. The right stick feels incredibly natural once you get the hang of it and gamers are more likely to be successful on the tougher settings using the stick.
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2K7 really shines in its game presentation. The audio overcomes its horribly annoying soundtrack (I had to mute my TV while maneuvering through the many menus) with detailed in-game background sound effects and the top notch commentary of Jon Miller and Joe Morgan. Visually, the game is stunning, especially on the Xbox 360 and PS3 versions. The players are detailed and look and move exactly like their real life counterparts. But what makes 2K7 so attractive are the little things. The dust that kicks up when an outfielder runs down a long drive to the warning track, the way the light shines off the Green Monster as the sun sets in Boston and the way jerseys ruffle off a batters body while you’re at the plate on a windy day in Chicago.

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All of this makes for an overall solid presentation but a number of issues keep 2K7 from being a must have title for casual baseball fans.

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The game has a number of collision detection issues with base runners occasionally running through fielders and guys sitting on the bench having their heads go through the dugout ceiling. The fielding can be a bit of an adventure as its easy to misjudge where a ball is going. What makes this so frustrating is the CPU never seems to have this problem and will routinely make great catches. The CPU also interferes in other ways, consistently rearranging your lineup after you’ve already set it. The game play is still painfully slow, even for baseball, and the quick red and white 2K symbol that flashes when you button mash through mountains of cut scenes reminds me of subliminal messages for Coca-Cola that used to run during movies in the 80’s. Or was I the only one who noticed that?

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But most disappointing is the online component. While its great to be able to play in an online league and in tournaments, almost all the fun is taken out of it by the incredibly laggy game play. Because of the lag, the ball changes position and you’ll often miss your target. The games also take a long time to play, running about 45 minutes long on average. This is a long time to hang out with someone you don’t know playing an unsatisfying, laggy sim.

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While it has its imperfections, especially online, “Major League Baseball 2K7” is still the most complete baseball sim available and is a big improvement from last years version - except for the cover.
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Major League Baseball 2K7
Price: $19.99 - $59.99
Category: Baseball Sim
Players: 1-2 (2 Online)
Formats: Xbox 360, Xbox, PS3, PS2, PSP, DS, GBA
Grade: C+
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Top 5 Funniest Real Baseball Player Names (courtesy of hardballtimes.com)
1. Dick Pole
2. Gaylord Perry
3. Guy Sturdy
4. Tony Suck
5. Harry Colliflower
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terry.terrones@gazette.com