Super Mega Baseball was something of an underground sports hit. The goofy big-headed players and cheery presentation evoked strong memories of kids’ titles like Backyard Baseball, but hiding underneath all the cartoon charm was a damn good single player baseball arcade game. Metalhead Software have announced Super Mega Baseball 2, and the developers are keen to refine the experience so the sports audience won’t mistakenly dismiss the sequel as another kiddie game.
I’ve been having a ton of fun with the first game. I must have played about 5 short seasons so far (16 games each + playoffs). I worked my ego difficulty setting up to 70 and it’s at the point where winning isn’t a given anymore. It would be great if they put in a little more realism into the game, such as having pitchers not being able to throw every pitch so they are a little more differentiated from each other.
Playing seasons is fun because gear, coaches, etc unlock so you can upgrade players on your team.
I really enjoyed the 1st one as well, the art style fooled people I think, lurking underneath the arcade appearance was a pretty good little baseball game.
Like most action baseball games, the difficulty in Super Mega Baseball comes from my inability to lay off bad pitches in the higher difficulties. I just can’t determine fast enough if the ball if going to be in the strike zone. Being able to position the swing cursor and keep good timing is pretty tough for me.
That said, I’m having a lot of close games now - winning 2-1, 5-4. I was scoring 15 runs sometimes more. I’ve lost 4 games this season, which is a new high and winning the championship isn’t a given anymore. I’ve played over 40 hours of this game now, and this is actually after returning it the first time I bought it at full price. I jumped back in at $7 and am so glad I did.
Good to hear you jumped back in and have enjoyed it. I only played one full season, tempted to set up and run another one based on our discussion.
I rather like the granulation of the difficulty, maybe i’m just fooling myself but it appears to me to actually work, unlike the difficulty settings on many games I’ve played.
All Xbox Live Gold members will have this game soon, so I’m looking forward to trying it.
I haven’t tried a baseball game since Hardball on my Amstrad CPC128.
Hardball was a fun game, but I remember it had cheerleaders between innings, because the British developers didn’t know that baseball didn’t have cheerleaders.
After 3 seasons of trying I won the championship at a ego setting of 80. Things seemed to click and I only lost 3 games - sweeping the playoffs. After my first season at ego 80 I didn’t think I was going to be able to do it. I still have trouble laying off bad pitches.
I think my level (from earning the starpoints) is about 55. It’s always great when another coaching slot opens up to give your players a boost. Other than maybe trying 1 game at ego 90, I think it’s time for me to put this one down for a while. One of the best $6 I spent for a game.
I picked up the first one about a year ago on sale for around $3. I finally got around to taking it for a spin only about a week ago. I didn’t expect much but wow, it’s really a ton of fun. I ended up playing it compulsively for days. The only thing I don’t like that much are the extremely cartoonish characters so I’m glad the sequel tones that down some. I really like the new look and the other stuff they’re adding in the sequel.
So, has anyone pulled the trigger yet? I’m still full throttle on Battletech and haven’t gotten around to it yet, but I’ve got a 15% off from the developer for buying the 1st one that expires the 10th so I was wanting to check in and see what impressions were from anyone who has already picked it up. Anyone?
It’s free this month with Xbox Live Gold, so I picked it up that way. I never played the first game (even though I own it), but I’ve put several hours into the second one since it released.
It seems fine to me, but I honestly have nothing to compare it to, as the last baseball video game I played is literally RealSports Baseball on the Atari 2600 as a kid in the 80s.
Actually, I don’t even know why i’m replying because I have nothing useful to say since I’m not familiar enough with the genre to give an honest informed opinion on the game other than to say I’m playing it.
The game play is still solid in this one. The addition of online is big, and for random matchmaking it’s even cross-platform which is nice. Editing and creating your own teams and seasons will add a bunch, but I haven’t given it a shot yet.
That said… I don’t know that I will get the same longevity out of this one as I did the first game. They got rid of the contracts system which was how you progressed your team in season mode before, and replaced it with a new system called Mojo where stats get adjusted based on hot and cold streaks. It’s fine and probably models a “real” season better but personally less interesting.
