The fact that I own a Nintendo Wii tells the gaming industry something about the man that is Luke. First, I am willing to sacrifice power, adult-themed titles, a vast online community, and my beloved sports games. What do I value instead? Why, anything starring slightly obese, pornstache-eqipped Italian plumbers, of course!But in all seriousness, I own a Wii because Nintendo can flat-out produce fun games to play. And counterintuitively, although its online community is lagging far behind Microsoft and even Sony, having a Wii is the best way to get a group of people under one roof suddenly fired up about gaming. There's something to be said for that Wii Remote and its ability to track three dimensional movement. It sucks the casual observer in quite well.
But there's another side to that motion tracking. When one is by oneself and twirling the Wiimote this way and that just to get Link to freaking jab somebody, one starts to feel a bit too bibbidi-bobbidi-boo, if you catch my drift. My stance is that if you're going to implement the motion tracker into a game, then make it creative. I don't want to accomplish mundane tasks over and over again just because developers had to somehow implement the motion tracker. Take Super Mario Galaxy, for example. Great game; probably even the best Mario game ever. But a crucial aspect of progressing is to collect star bits, which is accomplished by aiming the remote at the screen. So here I am, pointing the Wiimote at my TV like I'm Harry effing Potter summoning a Patronus.
The point is, I don't play video games to get a nice buildup of lactic acid in my triceps. If I wanted that, I'd do some Perfect Pushups. I don't need motion tracking in every game that I play. I'd be fine with a good, old-fashioned gaming experience, son. Especially in a sports game. Man, I love sports games. Ever since my 360 tanked and my subsequent hatred of all things Microsoft, I've gone without a sports title to play.
Enter MLB Power Pros 2008! Don't let the kiddish look fool you. This game is a blast to play. The hitting interface is a thing of beauty, simple yet satisfying. There are enough modes to keep busy for months at a time. And there is absolutely no motion tracking! All these features make Power Pros feel like a throwback to games of old. I feel it paying homage to RBI Baseball every time I load it up. It is just fantastic. Take a look at this video from IGN.com. You cannot tell me that you don't want to play this game.
Don't get me wrong, the game has its issues. Most of the problems I have are with the AI. For example, any time there is a runner on 2nd, he will take off on contact regardless of the situation. Ground ball to short with one out? There he goes! Out at 3rd, and I die a little inside. Also, I was recently leading 1-0 in the bottom of the 9th against the Astros. There was a runner on first with one out. Brandon Backe(Houston's starting pitcher) is at the plate. The computer puts in a pinch runner...and then leaves Backe up there to hit. Huh??? Finally, the announcer is a fast-talking psychopath who sacrifices correct pronunciation to keep pace with the action. I have yet to figure out how to silence him.
It definitely isn't perfect, but I don't care. I'm so happy to have a legitimate sports game to play on the Wii that I will gladly overlook the issues. I was ready to sit and wait for Griffey Baseball to hit the Virtual Console. No longer, friends! No longer.
