Game Reviews

Baseball Superstars 2011

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Baseball Superstars 2011

When a successful sports team hits the top of its game, it can be tough to sustain momentum. Where do you go when you’re the best at what you do?

Baseball Superstars 2010 was the best baseball role-playing game around. It was also the only one around, but that's neither here nor there.

The question is: where now for the game that rules its singular field? The answer lies among a bunch of incremental updates that manage to keep the franchise’s batting average up without shattering any records.

Batter up

If you’ve played either of the previous Baseball Superstars games, you know what to expect. Gamevil’s series continues to marry arcade baseball with quirky role-playing elements.

Having devoted significant time to the 2010 edition and now 2011, we're disappointed that the core experience hasn’t evolved in any meaningful way. While it remains light and fun, the game would benefit from more depth given the sheer the amount of time you’re being asked to spend with it (again).

Batting remains a three-way split between luck, timing, and player stats (which can be affected by bonus items and even illness). It would be nice to have a better means of guiding bat to ball in addition to the timed stab of a virtual button.

Pitching, too, hasn’t evolved. It’s still a matter of choosing a pitching type from a list and trying to mix up the placement, aiming as close to the edges without getting too many no-balls called against you.

Good innings

Regardless of the light nature of the batting and pitching, Baseball Superstars 2011 remains a formidable proposition, with hours of gameplay stashed away across six modes. The two that will doubtless soak up most of your time are My League and Season.

Both present an overview of a baseball career, allowing you to micro-manage players and get a piece of the action. The difference is that My League hones in on a single player – either a batter or a pitcher – and lets you train him up to fame and fortune.

Meanwhile, Career mode zooms out and lets you manage a whole team. I found this preferable due to the monotonous nature of pitching and batting.

There’s also the added bonus of being able to transfer players and make modifications to your stadium (one of a number of minor additions).

You can also hire the super-powered star players (who continue to pitch and bat in physics-defying fashion) as coaches for your team. All nice additions, but they don’t fundamentally change the game.

Solid hit

Baseball Superstars 2011 has also received a boost in the graphics department, although it’s more of a subtle enhancement than overhaul. It has the same anime-inspired style, but the sprites seem sharper and more vibrant than before.

There are also additional incidental animations, such as fielders leaping and diving for catches. In general, it just looks and feels more polished than the previous instalment.

Ultimately, Baseball Superstars 2011 feels every inch the annual update it is. It’s a slightly sharper, slightly better balanced version of an already good game. While recommended for newcomers, Baseball Superstars 2011 is pretty non-essential if you have the 2010 version.

Baseball Superstars 2011

Baseball Superstars 2011 makes enough improvements on its predecessor to become the definitive version, but it doesn’t offer anything substantially new
Score
Jon Mundy
Jon Mundy
Jon is a consummate expert in adventure, action, and sports games. Which is just as well, as in real life he's timid, lazy, and unfit. It's amazing how these things even themselves out.