The Bigs 2 Baseball (UK Release 17th July 2009)

Democritus Mav · 25-06-2009, 8:13 PM

Anybody else interested in this game?

I loved the old school fun and over the top action of NBA Jam and this looks like that style, only for baseball. Played the demo and was impressed with the style and simple gameplay. It's not going to win any awards for graphics but its all about the fun imo.

Must admit I like watching Baseball, I think it's the cricket fan in me, and this will probably be a lot more fun than the new Ashes Cricket 2009.

There has been a few good previews across the web (IGN.com Teamxbox.com Gamespot.com Gamespy.com) plus its only £18 at Play.com. Result.

Kinetic Frenzy · 25-06-2009, 8:51 PM

tried the demo, deleted it 10 mins later, i just can't get into baseball games anymore.

Inj · 27-06-2009, 12:41 PM

If anyone is remotely interested in baseball and especially The Bigs 2, I would click on this link...

BIGS 2 Asda Entertainment - Xbox 360

But for £15.91 it's a bargain! At last a baseball title is released in the UK!

SuperSportBilly · 27-06-2009, 1:09 PM

Yeah good to finally see some baseball titles released in the UK.

I tried the MLB2K9 demo via a US account and liked it - not region free though so ended up getting it on the PC through direct2drive - very nice with 360 pad and moddable. Also have MLB 09 on PS3 which is brilliant.

The Bigs and Bigs 2 whilst clearly ott arcade style are always highly rated by the US Operation sports and 1up sports anomally podcasters. Enough strategy and sim lite gameplay in a fun package - they are already talking of Bigs 2 as sports game of the year and they have already played Tiger and pre-release Madden etc.

I had seen it for £17.99 at play but good find via Asda.

Cheers

Moogle · 27-06-2009, 1:25 PM

The MSRP is £19.99 so it's not surprising the pre-order price is so low. Interestingly in the US the 360, PS3 and Wii versions are regular price. It looks like only the 360 and Wii versions are actually being released here too.

Inj · 28-06-2009, 7:24 AM

Interesting to see that they've put the RRP so low as to test the water. Hopefully, the UK buyers will come out in their droves to buy it and maybe we'll see future releases from 2K games in PAL format (or is Bigs 2 region free?)

Well, that's what I hope the idea is...

Moogle · 28-06-2009, 3:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Inj

Interesting to see that they've put the RRP so low as to test the water. Hopefully, the UK buyers will come out in their droves to buy it and maybe we'll see future releases from 2K games in PAL format (or is Bigs 2 region free?)

Well, that's what I hope the idea is...

The original game wasn't region free on the 360 so it's unlikely this one is.

Craigy · 28-06-2009, 3:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Moogle

The original game wasn't region free on the 360 so it's unlikely this one is.

It was, I have it, bought from play-asia.

Moogle · 28-06-2009, 3:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Craigy

It was, I have it, bought from play-asia.

Must have been the Asian version. The US NTSC version was not region free which is what I was referring to.

Goooner · 28-06-2009, 5:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Moogle

The original game wasn't region free on the 360 so it's unlikely this one is.

This is what really bugs me, if they have no intention of releasing a game over here, why not just make it region free, then anyone who wants it over here can import it, they sell more copies, everyone's a winner. Just makes no sense region locking.

Democritus Mav · 28-06-2009, 10:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Goooner

Just makes no sense region locking.

Without trying to sound supercilious there are plenty of reasons to region lock games, it's the economic theory of price leakage. Whilst it may make apparent sense to just make games region free so anyone can buy them and play them thereby maximising potential sales, it's really the value of those sales that matters not just the amounts of sales.

In certain, largely highly intellectually driven, industries (think pharmacuticels or software development) companies make more profits by selling less goods at a higher price then they do by making it available to all at a common price point. They therefore have to ensure that those who normally pay a higher price for a product cant import it from another area at a lower price, hence region codes in DVD's and games. This stops "price leakage" and maximises profit.

Therefore companies are very reluctant to release games outside of their normal "area" as this is seen to errode their ability to charge different prices for essentially the same product.

Having said that 2K are set to release The Bigs 2 in Europe and at a lower price so it seems for once the UK market is actually benefiting from this practice which is highly unusual. Normally in "Rip Off Britian" we pay markedly more than not only the Americans but most of Continential Europe as well.

Goooner · 29-06-2009, 11:30 AM

I understand the reasons behind region locking.

But when it comes to some American Sports games, where they have no intention of releasing them over here, presumably because they don't think they'd sell more than a handful of copies, it doesn't make sense.

At a guess there's a very small percentage of people that would want to play them and an even smaller percentage would actually buy from abroad even if they knew it was region free, so the affect on the native market, prices, sales etc would be negligible.

Region free games doesn't seem to hurt on the PS3, thankfully, so at least I can get my baseball fix with MLB The Show, almost reason enought on it's own for buying a PS3

reddevil63 · 29-06-2009, 11:51 AM

Found cheaper places than ASDA tho its a few pennies less:

£15.73 TheHut.com: BIGS 2 Xbox 360

£15.89 BIGS 2 Xbox 360 - Sendit.com

reddevil63 · 08-07-2009, 1:12 PM

Not long til this is released, who's getting it?

rooftopgambler · 08-07-2009, 1:54 PM

Got it on pre-order! I've got the first game on PS3, absolutely loved it.

austinqpr · 08-07-2009, 2:58 PM

Got it on pre-order too. Loved the demo

reddevil63 · 08-07-2009, 4:18 PM

Have my pre-order with ASDA, no idea how quick they despatch.

Inj · 09-07-2009, 8:15 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by reddevil63

Have my pre-order with ASDA, no idea how quick they despatch.

Me too. I ordered Overlord II from them (at the same time as Big 2) and it arrived within 3-4 days or so, but then again Overlord II had been out by then, so not sure about 'day of release' orders.

Goooner · 09-07-2009, 10:21 AM

Get all my baseball action with MLB The Show on PS3 to be honest.

I think, especially as it's so cheap I might pick up The Bigs, if only to help convince them that it is worth their while releasing baseball games over here.

Moogle · 09-07-2009, 3:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Goooner

Get all my baseball action with MLB The Show on PS3 to be honest.

I think, especially as it's so cheap I might pick up The Bigs, if only to help convince them that it is worth their while releasing baseball games over here.

To be fair The Bigs is an arcade style game and not a simulation. It's going after a different market. Comparing it to MLB The Show isn't really a good idea.

Goooner · 09-07-2009, 10:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Moogle

To be fair The Bigs is an arcade style game and not a simulation. It's going after a different market. Comparing it to MLB The Show isn't really a good idea.

Don't get me wrong, I wasn't trying to compare them in any way. Nothing wrong with a more arcade experience.

All I was trying to say, the more people that buy it, the more likely they are to think "well maybe there is a market over there for baseball games" which has got to be a good thing, hasn't it?

reddevil63 · 09-07-2009, 11:28 PM

Its odd we don't get baseball games here as we get the football, basketball and ice hockey ones.

Then you look at sports on TV and we get coverage of a wide range of american sports, all including the above.

Baseball has a quite big fan base here.

Inj · 10-07-2009, 9:18 AM

It's driven me mad for as long as I can remember...the only reason I can think of is that it's a slower sport compared to basketball, hockey and to some degree football.

Let's hope it opens the floodgates rather than being a one-off. Whilst The Bigs is more of an arcade game, it's the only thing we've got on the 360. I hope it just sells more than enough copies to ensure that the UK market isn't ignored in the future for baseball games, as has been mentioned, there is a groundswell of baseball fans in the UK.

Go Giants!

Nik73 · 11-07-2009, 11:28 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Inj

It's driven me mad for as long as I can remember...the only reason I can think of is that it's a slower sport compared to basketball, hockey and to some degree football.

Let's hope it opens the floodgates rather than being a one-off. Whilst The Bigs is more of an arcade game, it's the only thing we've got on the 360. I hope it just sells more than enough copies to ensure that the UK market isn't ignored in the future for baseball games, as has been mentioned, there is a groundswell of baseball fans in the UK.

Go Giants!

Tell me about, it was the main reason I bought a PS3 to play The Show, NCAA football and basketball and College Hoops 2K8. Back in the day I had one of those silly plastic hook things to play US games and imported games, anyone remember MVP2005? Great game.

Personally, I didn't like the demo, just too arcadey for me (I know that's the point! lol) but I can certainly see the appeal. I'm afraid I'm a sad sim player with sports games, I've never got away with games like the Street series or NBA Jam, etc.
Saying all that, I'm amazed it's so cheap. God only knows why they don't just make some US sports games like NCAA region free. I emailed EA once but never got a reply.

Brigggers · 11-07-2009, 11:16 PM

i saw this demo on live today and downloaded it.
got to say i really enjoyed it, although i was getting absolutely stuffed on medium difficulty, i had to drop it to easy to have a decent close game

for the prices quoted on this thread im seriously interested in buying it.
but does anyone know if it comes with some sort of career season mode, so i can try and make it to the world series year after year?
these games just dont appeal to me if im just playing one off games with no objective.

Llamatronian · 13-07-2009, 10:47 AM

I was just reading some reviews of this and they did say it has both a season mode (complete with mini games when trading players etc) and a 'be a pro' mode where you take on the role of a fallen star player trying to come back from injury and back to the big time.

I didn't know the rrp of this was going to be so low so will probably pick this up. although like a previous poster, I got seriously spanked when playing the demo on medium

reddevil63 · 13-07-2009, 12:42 PM

Wonder if the online cheevos can be done in unranked matches?

Don't fancy playing the yanks in ranked as will get ripped to pieces.

It was the same with Madden, played against them and got blown away.

Inj · 13-07-2009, 1:21 PM

When I played the original, I too was getting my ass handed to me (especially via the Change-Up pitch) but soon got the hang of things without changing the level. The only downfall was the reaction of the outfield players in retrieving the ball, by which time whatever runners were on base could have run backwards and still made it by the time I returned the ball to whichever base was required!

I hope that element has been tweaked a tad.

Not long to wait now!

Llamatronian · 13-07-2009, 1:25 PM

Im new to the whole baseball game thing but I was having real problems fielding the ball on the demo last night. Both moving the fielders around and attempting the ridiculous catches the ai is capable of were proving v.difficult. I'm assuming most of that is down to my lack of experience with the systems.

The other thing i was finding incredibly frustrating was controll (or lack of) the runners.

Inj · 13-07-2009, 2:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Llamatronian

Im new to the whole baseball game thing but I was having real problems fielding the ball on the demo last night. Both moving the fielders around and attempting the ridiculous catches the ai is capable of were proving v.difficult. I'm assuming most of that is down to my lack of experience with the systems.

The other thing i was finding incredibly frustrating was controll (or lack of) the runners.

I hear ya. The original was much the same when it came to the runners. And yes, the AI is marvellously adept at catching stupendous catches, but in time you'll be able to to adjust and do similar catches. (Though if memory serves me, in the original they AI was prone to dropping the ball too on the most simplest of catches, so it evens itself out.)