What could be better than baseball and Nicktoons? A baseball game with our favorite characters from Nickelodeon! 2K Play brings us a title that at first glance may look like a baseball game made for children, but is a game with relatively good gameplay and challenge that will even please grown ups who enjoy a baseball game.
Even better, if in addition to a good baseball game you’re a fan of the different Nicktoon characters, this game is worth checking out!
Gameplay
Well GIR did a mess and now is up to… oh wait, it’s just baseball silly me. The game is simple, if you like baseball this game is a good choice from the many titles out there. Both children and grown ups will enjoy this title equally for the different options available.
Among the options you have a quick game in which you can choose from 3, 5 or 9 innings to tournaments, these modes are: Pick-Up Game, Tournament, Showdown and Distance Derby.
Rookie (easy): The ideal mode for kids or players trying to chill, a afternoon playing baseball without major hassle and without big challenges, also a good way to learn the controls.
Pro (medium): Ideal for those that do not want an easy win but not as challenging as All-Star. Faster balls making it harder to do a perfect throw and improved AI.
All-Star (hard): Now this is the choice that will give you a run for your money, much more faster balls and a more competitive and aggresive AI. If you want a challenge this is the choice.
The game features 12 different fields, although the selection is not bad it could have been more varied. Six real and six more ballparks from the Nicktoons series such as; Invader Zim, Sponge Bob Squarepants, Danny Phantom, Avatar, Fanboy and Chum Chum.
You can build a team with a mix of Nicktoon characters and real players or going all the way with just toons or real players, it really is up to you. Each of them having different stats and abilities, so when it comes to building a winning team you have to take this in mind (no Charlie Sheen tho, still you can play and be WINNING). Or just do like me and let nostalgia decide your team, i had to pick my all time favorites, Sponge Bob, Ren & Stimpy and of course the awesome Invader Zim!
You can use a turbo as a batter or as a pitcher, as a batter this allows to do a home run if you hit the ball. As a pitcher can be a double-edged sword, you can do an amazing strike but if the batter hits it will be a sure home run. Homeruns trigger different animations in the ballparks, some are worth to see, others a bit meh.
Having GIR (Invader Zim) and Perch Perkins (Spongebob Squarepants) as announcers give the game a funny vibe, while Perch is trying to do his job narrating the game, GIR keeps yelling nonsense comments just like in the show… BURRRRIIIIIITOOOOOOS~!
Character models are not that bad, nothing spectacular but nothing you can complain about. The nicktoons have different animations and speak when it’s their turn at bat, a nice touch.
Card Gallery with 54 different cards to unlock, a nice touch but without a great importance, unless you want to of course get the achievement for unlocking all 54 cards of your favorite Nicktoons.
Downsides
Time to discuss what is wrong with this game. First i have to rant about the Nicktoons selection, as much as i love to see Sponge Bob, Invader Zim and Ren & Stimpy, cant denny loved characters such as Rocko’s Modern Life, Angry Beavers or The Fairy Odd Parents are a huge void in the game. At first i thought you could unlock more characters from other shows, alas was not.
Music is not bad, fast paced and catchy, but the music tracks are really scarse, listening to the same songs often gets really boring.
Lack of unlockables, as i said before with the characters you could expect characters or extra ballparks to be unlocked as you play and win games, this is not the case. (It would have been nice to have this.) It leaves a bad taste in mouth having no more incentives to win apart from getting achievements.
Nicktoon animations can also get boring with time, as each one of them has but one animation, every time it’s their turn at the bat, watching Patrick fall to the ground each time going to the plate tends to get old fast (that’s just as an example). Having 2 or 3 different animations would be more fun and would not end skipping them all.
Extras
Sadly no avatar awards or gamer pictures at all. A pack of Topps trading cards with MLB + Nicktoon characters it’s bundled, sweet! Not sure if only the first batch of games comes with it, but a sure good way to please fans!
Overall
At the end we can say that Nicktoons MLB is not spectacular but not a bad option if you want a baseball game without complications. For children, a good game if they like the Nicktoons. And of course for a grown up who wants a trip to memory lane with their favorite Nickelodeon characters.
If you do not like baseball or Nickelodeon characters, probably a title you should avoid, otherwise try it and perhaps have a little fun, PLAYBALL!
We give the game a 7 out of 10
~Mario
