Major League Baseball 2K12

Developed by Visual Concepts and published by sports gaming behemoth 2K Sports, Major League Baseball 2K12 is a baseball simulation game. The title licenses America’s largest baseball league the MLB, and features teams, players, and talent from the league. Released on March 6, 2012, the game was made available for Playstation 2, Playstation 3, Playstation Portable, Wii, Nintendo DS, Xbox 360, and Microsoft Windows.

Inside the Pitch

Major League Baseball 2K12 is a simulation game, that focuses on the hardcore fans of the sport. Changes have been made towards the pitchers, as well as a batter to create a more balanced title. Easy hits and underwhelming pitches are far gone, pitching is arguably the most improved feature - and most fun feature in the game. Those familiar with the franchise will quickly realize that there really aren’t any extravagant changes towards the general gameplay, even if all the minor improvements deliver a more well-rounded than in previous versions.

MLB 2K12 has three game modes for players to enjoy: The Perfect Game Challenge, MLB Today Season Mode Today, and Franchise Mode. The first challenges players to pitch what is known as the perfect game, a game where no batter is able to reach the first base. Season Mode Today, was a ground-breaking feature where actual events from the 2012 season would reflect, and influence what was happening inside the game, players could even take over teams having a bad season and try to turn it around. And finally, the franchise mode, where players can build a team from scratch.

Better, Yet Far From Perfect

Major League Baseball 2K12 is not a perfect title, in fact, it still carries many of the issues that have made the previous iterations unpleasant to play. Visuals and performances are pretty rough around the edges and there is a lot of weird glitches and interactions if you take the time to play multiple games. Also, having what is arguably its most refreshing game mode become obsolete after the season ends, forever hurts the overall enjoyment one could extract from the game.

Ultimately, the game just falls short of delivering what competitors have done. The stadium, crowd, and sound design come alive, yes, but they also suffer from the glitches that are peppered throughout the entire game. The licensed content, such as players, team names, uniforms, and official products that are displayed try to salvage and expand on the immersion but is just not enough. In the end, the most enjoyable part of the game was the perfect casting and commentary from Steve Phillips, Gary Thorne, and John Kruk. Seriously their performance as well as the massive amount of data, curiosities, and information delivered alone might make the game worth for aficionados for the sport.

Conclusion

Major League Baseball 2K12 is an improvement on the series, but it didn’t really give its direct competitors a run for their money. Yes, 2K Sports set the foundation for better titles, and as always was willing to push the boundaries of sports games, but it made its greatest feature obsolete in a couple of months.

PROS:

• Commentary Trio
• Gameplay Improvements
• Groundbreaking Game Mode

CONS:

• Made Its Best Game Mode Obsolete
• Visual Glitches
• Not Any Notable Improvements on Earlier Versions