Arcade-style sports hit, Super Mega Baseball, is now batting on Nvidia Shield
Home run
Some baseball fans like video game interpretations of their sport to be a dry, simulated version of the game, replicating the real-life sport right down to every last detail. Some, however, just want a fun experience they can enjoy with friends that boasts baseball’s most exciting aspects and action and that’s exactly what Super Mega Baseball: Extra Innings delivers in a big way on NVIDIA SHIELD Android TV.
In Super Mega Baseball: Extra Innings, players get to choose their team from a pool of twelve, split over two divisions. Each team has its own playing style whether that is a blatant disregard for the rules or intimidating other teams. While the game can be fully enjoyed as a single-player experience, it also features support for local multiplayer, which is a lot of fun. If you’re planning on playing Super Mega Baseball: Extra Innings with friends, you should make sure to have some extra SHIELD controllers on hand.
As for action on the field, pitchers get to choose a pitch type from a list of nine then attempt to pull it off by aiming a reticule in the desired direction of travel. Batting is a combination of split-second timing and accuracy, while fielding is mostly AI controlled with players able to subtly influence outcomes and intervene in specific situations.
It’s fast-paced and enormously entertaining thanks to the combination of animated style visuals and gameplay, which see players reacting to events in an exaggerated fashion, sweating under stress and crying when they blow a play.
For all its focus on fun, Super Mega Baseball: Extra Innings also has some meat on its bones for baseball sim fans to sink their teeth into. Over the course of multiple games and seasons, the game tracks all your batting and pitching statistics so you can pore over them at your leisure and show off by working your way up the leaderboards.
In terms of gameplay you can simply treat it as a fun knockabout but should you want a deeper experience there is the option of jumping, diving, wall-catches, power- swings and relay or cut-off plays.
Each and every player on the field has nine skills, which affect their performance on the field. Power dictates whether or not a player is able to perform mind-boggling hits out of the park. Contact affects how cleanly you are able to hit the ball. Speed is important both on the base paths and when defending. Mojo will affect how well a player copes in a high stress situation. Fielding skill covers your ability to avoid embarrassing errors. Arm skill will allow players to hose runners, while the remaining three skills—Velocity, Junk and Accuracy—affect the various aspects of pitching such as a player’s ability to curve the ball and pull off a specific pitch.
Super Mega Baseball: Extra Innings also incorporates a smart system of progression. As you play through the season, you are rewarded Star Points for getting things right, from simple, well-struck balls and double plays right up to making the playoffs. Earning Star Points enables you to work on you backroom staff, hiring the best support staff in the business to improve every aspect of your team’s performance. Coaches, trainers and even stylists all contribute to helping your team play well and look good in front of the cameras.
The new Android edition of Super Mega Baseball: Extra Innings is launching exclusively on SHIELD Android TV, with highly-detailed visuals and baseball action that makes full use of its next-gen Tegra X1 processor with 1080p visuals at up to 60FPS.
Download Super Mega Baseball: Extra Innings on SHIELD Android TV for $19.99.
