Major League Baseball 2K13

Batter up, all bases loaded, it’s the bottom of the ninth. Yeah, I’m out of cliques but you get the picture, we are talking baseball. Now when it comes to baseball games, the recent years have been dominated by the MLB: The Show series. However, before that it was a pretty open market where the most iconic baseball sim arguably belonged to Wii Sports. So, when Major League Baseball 2K13 stepped up to the plate, it was time to see if someone could knock it out of the park. I guess I had more cliques in me.

This game plays similarly to other baseball related titles such as the aforementioned MLB: The Show as well as other titles such as MLB Slugfest 2004, The Bigs, Triple Play, R.B.I Baseball 2019 or Out of the Park Baseball 2018. This game offers a officially licenced and authentic take on the iconic American sport but does it measure up the other competing series? We find out in our review of Major League Baseball 2K13

Hit the Diamond

Let’s start on a positive note. The things that we have grown to love about the MLB series is still present in this title. You still have access to the wonderful my player mode, allowing you to live the highs and lows of the Major League Baseball player. Plus, the game is still a graphically well presented title for the time period. We will admit that the animations are a little bit janky in places but as a whole, its a good visual showing here.

Then with regards to the actual gameplay, there aren’t a lot of changes present but the ones on offer are positive. The most important change relates to the pitching mechanics. Players will now be able to make use of analog pitching which adds more control over that whole area of the game. However, this is where we stop praising this game, mostly due to the lack of innovation present.

A Carbon Copy

If you are a fan of this series, then you likely played the 2011 and the 2012 releases. Well, if you have then we are sad to inform you that you’ve basically played the 2013 version too. There is little to no changes in how this game plays aside from what we have already mentioned. Which by no means justifies a new annual release.

Then to rub salt in the wounds of the paying customers, the MLB 2013 online functionality would offer absolutely no online league support. A component that made the past iterations a joy to play with friends. In short, this game feels like it was made more out of obligation than anything else.

The Verdict

Overall, Major League Baseball 2K13 is an absolute let-down. In all honesty, if you paid full retail price for the previous year’s version, then this game surely felt like a slap in the face if you had the misfortune of falling victim to it.

Pros:

• My player mode is still a great mode to play
• Analog pitching is a welcome change

Cons:

• Animations are glitchy
• The game is a carbon copy of MLB 2012
• Online functionality is very limited