Major League Baseball 2K12 Review

Spring has sprung early this year with summer-like temperatures, budding trees, and of course the start of spring training. That also means that the annual baseball franchises are back to the mound pitching their products to consumers. It’s Major League Baseball 2K12 vs. MLB 12: The Show. Does MLB 2K12 hit a grand slam or strike out against its main competitor?

The first encounter that I had with Major League Baseball 2K12 was with its confusing menu system. It took me a good ten minutes to just get an exhibition game going with a friend. After we already selected our teams the game decided to add an online opponent and boot my friend from the match. Maybe I’m just a wholly incompetent gamer – who said reviewers lack humility? – but I still think that it is more likely that 2K Sports badly misjudged what should have been a routine groundball.

Baseball metaphors notwithstanding, MLB 2K12 is all sorts of mess. There is no real tutorial system in place to ease newcomers into the experience. The pitching system uses the analog sticks combined with pre-set motions for each pitch. Batting similarly uses the analog sticks to simulate a swing. I found it to be completely annoying and switched to the classic control scheme after a couple games.

One new feature that I thought was worth mentioning is MLB Today. This allows you to compare your progress to the team stats of whichever team you select as they play in real-life. You can even avoid playing games and instead rely on the scores of the actual team, although that puts your team’s fate into the hands of actual players. Fans of the New York Yankees will probably have more success with this than fans of the Kansas City Royals.

Graphically, Major League Baseball 2K12 is one of the least impressive that I have played in recent memory. It looks more like an early PS3 game than a product released in 2012. Ugly character models, awkward animations, and unimpressive stadiums are three strikes that few gamers are willing to let pass when worthy competition like MLB 12: The Show exist. On the plus side, MLB 2K12 does offer some pretty decent commentary.

Baseball fans should look elsewhere. Major League Baseball 2K12 has made slight improvements over past games yet still badly trails the competition in every way imaginable. You could just as easily pick up MLB 2K10 for $5 and call it a day. Save your money.