I guess people are waking up to the fact that Nintendo was never really "hardcore".
How hard is the game to play? How difficult is it to hit the ball in a way that's neither foul nor out? In Wii Sports baseball we usually score only through lucky hits (especially if the other player was foolish enough to throw a fastball which seems to be the only type of ball you can hit not-out-not-foul) and whoever actually managed to score usually remains uncontested for the rest of the game.
I say its challenging to get a perfect hit. The trick is to hit the ball right in the center of the on screen cursor. Again, this is hard because the pitcher can either send a super powered pitch, or throw a slow ball.
This is where the character's stats come in. Each character has a set of stats for batting, pitching, catching and running. The character with the best batting stat is sometimes the slowest runner. They are also left and right handed batters and pitchers, which play a big role in character selection.
This is why making a team is so important. You need to find a balance between power hitters and defensive players. What I usually do is keep the slower characters close to the field, while I send my faster characters to the back.
Something I forgot to mention earlier were the buddy movies. Each character has a chemistry stat, meaning that you can pull off moves with another character. For example, if you have Mario and Luigi on your team, you can perform a buddy toss that allows you to catch a home run ball if done right.
Note that the keyword here is "done right". It isn't an easy move to perform, and you need to play co-cooperatively in order to fully perform these plays.
Finally, there are the superstar pitching and batting moves. These are moves that allow you to perform powerful maneuvers. I admit this is the one area that I'm not too happy with.
Some characters have moves that are doable and can be avoided. Some moves, however, are too powerful or annoying. I HATE Bowser jr. because his move covers the screen.
Luckily, this can be turned off during multiplayer mode, so no biggie.
I hate to sound like a rabid fanboy, but this game really surprised me with its features, stats and modes. The lack of online mode hurt it a bit, but what we have is rock solid and worth checking out.
Again, it amazes me why people suddenly hate the game when up to now these were standard decisions and no one would mind...
Topic: Mario Super Sluggers (Read 21094 times)
