R.B.I. Baseball 14

Editor's Notes

360 version reviewed.

Introduction

Unlike its last generation competitor, the Xbox 360 never really got a fair break when it came to laying claim to its own top-notch baseball themed game. The annual entry from the 2K series was generally mediocre at best and 'The Bigs' was an interesting diversion more akin to 'NBA Jam' or 'NFL Blitz.' Left with nothing coming close to matching Sony's 'The Show' franchise, the last possible chance at an enjoyable baseball game comes with the revival of a game franchise dead for nearly two decades. Originally released in the mid-80s on the NES, 'R.B.I. Baseball' was the first major MLBA licensed game offering; a product of its time, the game boasted quick, simple action that came far from replicating all the intricacies America's pastime, but still managed to be a load of fun. The franchise would see several sequels ending with the Sega CD offering in 1995, before being resurrected as the multi-platform downloadable title, 'R.B.I. Baseball 14.' The new game has been put together by MLB Advanced Media, and so, in theory caries within it the DNA of the league. And so, like with a long-suffering fan of a cellar-dwelling club on opening day, it's not without some trepidation that 'R.B.I. Baseball 14' arrives on the 360.

The Game Itself: Our Reviewer's Take

From a strict gameplay experience, I'll be as painfully blunt as possible: 'R.B.I. Baseball 14' feels like an NES game, if not worse. The controls are simple, press a button to pitch (you can alter the pitch with the directional or analog stick, although there's no in-game support to make this clear), press a button to swing, press a button + direction to throw to a base.

That's the general gist of the game; you can also move your fielders (as well as try to throw out runners and steal bases), although the control is so sluggish and often inconsistent, I'd recommend for your first few games, using the 'assisted' fielding system. One would think with such a basic approach to control, things would go incredibly smoothly. That's not the case and more often than not, I found tiny imprecisions in the control scheme resulting in me throwing to third base instead of home, allowing an AI opponent that already feels like it's 'cheating' to score yet another run. Granted this is an arcade approach to baseball, neither I nor any other gamer should expect advanced controls, but what's offered here feels lazy and sloppy.

To make matters worse, unless you can wrangle up a friend for local multiplayer, your entire experience with 'R.B.I. Baseball 14' will be against the wretched AI. If you're not a perfect player, expect a lot of games to end early due to the 'mercy rule.' The game does offer a token season mode as well the ability to pick a team and skip straight to the post-season, but I can't imagine wanting to play more than one or two rounds of the game in the first place, let alone an entire MLB season. At the end of the day, the only thing the game has going for it, is the MLB license, which due to the game's visual design, feels ultimately like a waste of time and money, that could have been better utilized in adding at least a few merciful flourishes to the game (*cough*online multiplayer anyone?*cough*).