ith the winds of change sweeping across the entire league, the upcoming season is shaping up to be one of the most exciting ever. The identities of most of the teams have changed, and thanks to the powerful scent of money, everyone is a likely contender. The San Francisco Giants paid a king’s ransom to add Barry Zito to their rotation. The Chicago Cubs are hoping that Alfonso Soriano can earn the team a new nickname other than “Doormat of the National League.” The Boston Red Sox forked out an unprecedented $51.1 million for the exclusive negotiating rights with Seibu Lions star Daisuke Matsuzaka. We even saw the lowly Kansas City Royals open its pocketbook to overpriced free agents.
The new face of the league can also be seen in MLB 2K7, thanks to drastically improved graphics. I’ve always been of the mind that visuals don’t really make a game, but in this case they really do. A baseball game has never looked this good, and you really do gain something by seeing such a high level of visual authenticity. In last year’s game, Ichiro appeared to be Caucasian. In this year’s game, you’d swear that you were seeing him through a live HD video stream. Developer Kush Games has captured the exact likeness of almost every key player that either steps up to the plate or takes to the mound.
Having a player look exactly right is only the start; most of their motions have been captured as well. When Nomar Garciaparra steps out of the box, he goes through his routine of adjusting both batting gloves. You can’t help but feel intimidated by Dontrelle Willis’ wild wind up and delivery. You’ll also see signature home run celebrations, waggles, and mannerisms. Zoom cams cut in to show the remarkable details on the faces, and replays constantly show off the amazing animations.
The gameplay is built on the same engine as last year. Rather than going back to the drawing board to rework the pitching or batting mechanics, Kush has simply smoothed out the rough edges. This has led to a better playing, yet largely familiar game. Fielders no longer move like drunken bums, the batting motion is less choppy, and the pitch velocity now has some heat behind it. It plays quite well, but it’s still a ways away from perfect. Tracking down fly balls feels just right, but I still can’t seem to wrap my glove around ground balls. The transition between the pitching view and fielding still leads to disorientation and a pause that would help you get to hard hit grounders. You mostly have to rely on positioning and CPU assistance to get to a screamer. There really is nothing to timing hops, either.
On another note, even if you are throwing a gem of a game, your pitcher tires far too quickly. Breaking balls quit falling off of tables mid-game, and you usually are forced to turn to the bullpen – even in low pitch shutouts – around the seventh or eighth inning.
The front end of the game would appear to be excavated from an archeological dig. The Crib is the same from years past, and Franchise mode offers little new other than ticket prices. Online is largely unchanged as well, but this game still boasts one of the best online leagues out there.
MLB 2K7 is certainly a better game, but most of the new content is of the visual variety. I can’t stress enough how impressive this aspect of the game is. It captures the look, sound, and feel of the game better than anything that you’ve seen before.