MLB Power Pros 2008...Should I Get It?

[Rogmeister]

Does anyone know much about the 2nd edition of MLB Power Pros? I have and enjoy the first one on the PS2 and wondered if there's enough difference between the new one and it to warrant picking it up. Another possibility would be to get the DS version if it's any good so I can have some portable baseball since the only other baseball game I can play on my DS is a very outdated GBA one...

[oesiii]

My experience with the Powerful Pro (Jap) series is that there's usually some interesting changes in each new edition in the rpg Success modes which I don't really play too much. I stick to the baseball season side of things and the gameplay doesn't really change too much only every few years.

I imported the most recent PPro 15 that came out earlier this month and it's the first import of the series that I've tried on the PS2. I can't say I see too much difference in the baseball gameplay between it and the the PPro 10 I have for my Gamecube.

I'm picking up MLB Pros 08 when it comes out because it will have this year's rosters but I have no idea what other improvements there might be. I'll let you know in a week or two

I think the DS version will be a hit too. The series goes way back on the Gameboy and the Jap versions on the GBA and DS are very tight and easily my favorite portable baseball games. Tough choices for you, for me it will be easy because I'll pick both of them up.

[Osaka]

I've been looking into this a lot too. I got the last one for the Wii, but I was too engrossed in MLB The Show to really give it the time of day it deserved..which is why I am most likely gonna get this for the DS.

[nestlekwik]

I'm definitely getting the newest version. The 2008 version adds an all-new RPG-style mode MLB Life where you go through a 20-year MLB career on top of the returning (and new) Success mode. There's also a new Dream Mode and Career Mode on top of everything that is returning from last year. I just liked the game play enough that dropping $20 on the Playstation 2 version sounds pretty attractive to me.

If you'd like to surf through the details, here is the game's press release:

"2K Sports, the sports publishing label of Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc. (NASDAQ: TTWO), and Konami Digital Entertainment, Inc., today announced the next iteration of the wildly popular baseball franchise, MLB® Power Pros 2008, scheduled to be available for Wii™ home video game system from Nintendo and PlayStation®2 computer entertainment system this July, as well as Nintendo DS™ later this fall. As the highest-rated and top-selling baseball title in Japan, MLB Power Pros was available in North America for the first time last year. Its comedic visual appeal of miniature Major League Baseball player models has attracted a dedicated following through its easy-to-use controls and addictively fun gameplay experience.

“We’re thrilled to partner with Konami again, and with the Baseball™ season now in full swing, we’re proud to offer our fans a refreshingly smart and exciting baseball game that is easily accessible for all ages,” said Christoph Hartmann, president of 2K. “Baseball enthusiasts will appreciate the variety of newly added features, intuitive game modes and improved overall feel, and we look forward to hitting one out of the park this season with MLB Power Pros 2008.”

With over ten different exciting game modes including the traditional Practice, Exhibition, League and Home Run Challenge modes, MLB Power Pros 2008 will bring fans closer to the action than ever before. Gamers also get the opportunity to act as general manager and control the destiny of their own franchise in Season mode, or engage in entertaining role-playing story modes such as Success and MLB® Life modes. As general manager, gamers can trade, sign free agents, coordinate practice schedules, purchase new equipment, call up and send down players from the Minor Leagues™, along with other management options to bring in fans, win playoff games and eventually, earn the title of World Series™ champion.

In Success mode, fans can participate in a story-based career of rising players in the Double-A Minor League system trying to improve their baseball skills and make an impression on baseball scouts while also having to balance various situations in their personal lives. Through a variety of amusing training and game challenges, players who complete Success mode will also be able to take their created player files into MLB Life as well, or also play as either an existing Major League Baseball® player in Dream Mode, or start as a rookie in Major League Career mode. As a new feature in MLB Power Pros 2008, MLB Life is another story-based mode that will allow fans the possibility to simulate the exciting life and experience of being a Major League Baseball player over the course of a 20-year career. While continuing to play in games through the regular baseball season, players will also participate in a number of realistic situations such as signing contracts, purchasing houses and cars, making charitable donations, building up relationships with friends and teammates, picking up hobbies and much more.

With easy, pick-up-and-play hitting and pitching controls, along with intuitive Wii functionality, other new features in MLB Power Pros 2008 include support of 40-man rosters, change of ball speed, adjustment of defensive shifts, along with a real-time bullpen check functionality for substituting pitchers. MLB Power Pros 2008 will also support the option for players to import their Wii-based characters, Miis™, from their Wii or Wii Remote™ to become part of the exciting action!"

[roushimsx]

I really hope that by including the Double A for sending down or bringing guys up from the minors means that we'll actually get to have teams from the Eastern/Pacific/Texas leagues along with PCL and IL for Triple A. I'd love to just send everyone from the Giants down to the minors and promote everyone from the Defenders

[Rogmeister]

Thanks for the added info, nestlequik...mmmmmmm, chocolate... I do know that one magazine wasn't overly excited about it. Playstation: The Official Magazine gave it (if I remember correctly) 2.5 out of 5 stars. That's the only official review I've seen so far. I imagine I'll go ahead and get the PS2 version (especially since I don't have a Wii) and I may also buy the DS version when it comes out in about a month.