- Kinect Sensor Optional
- Publisher: 2K Play
- Developer: High Voltage Software
- ESRB Rating: “E" for Everyone
- Genre: Baseball
- Pros: Fun gameplay; Invader Zim; decent modes
- Cons: Kinect controls; GIR's commentary; too easy; needs more Nicktoons
- Also On: Nintendo Wii (Read Wii Version Review Here)
Nicktoons MLB is an arcade-style baseball game where Major League Baseball players are on the field right along side Nicktoons characters. All 30 MLB teams and 300 real players are in the game along with 24 playable Nicktoons. There are six Nicktoon-themed stadiums along with six MLB stadiums (Yankee Stadium, Fenway, Wrigley, Dodger Stadium, Rangers Ballpark in Arlington, and AT&T Park).
Modes include quick play where you pick an MLB team and then insert a few Nicktoons into the lineup, a Showdown Mode where a team of Nicktoons take on an MLB team, and Tournament Mode where you make a team of all Nicktoons and play series against MLB teams to ultimately win the Championship. There aren't any full season or career modes. Also a bit disappointing is that the best part of The Bigs, the Home Run Derby, is greatly simplified down into a mere target challenge where you and an opponent are both hitting at the same time trying to hit targets as they pop up.
Optional Kinect Controls
2K Play
The Kinect controls are ultimately a bit too simple to really be fun for very long. It is also very tiring since you have to literally throw every pitch, swing the bat dozens of times, and make every throw from the field. It is more work in one game than real MLB players do in a whole month. The menus in the game are also pretty terrible when trying to use Kinect - very slow with a super jittery cursor. It is nice that the option to use Kinect is here, but it isn't very well implemented. Use a controller instead.
Using a regular controller, the game is pretty much just The Bigs in a new wrapper. It is still all about arcade-style, over-the-top, crazy unrealistic baseball, and it is very fun. The game seems to have been toned down quite a bit from The Bigs games, though, which makes sense since this is a game aimed at kids, so if you want a challenge bump the difficulty up to Hard. Of if you want to score 50 runs in a 3 inning game, play on Easy, I won't judge you. The Achievements are also very easy and, other than beating all 30 MLB teams which will take a while, can all be earned without much effort. The game is undeniably fun, even if it is easy.
Needs More Nicktoons
One thing that I can't help but think, though, is that this game probably didn't need to even have the MLB license attached to it. Frankly, it is weird to see realistic MLB players out in the field with ginormous cartoon characters. I would have rather they went wild with the Nicktoons and had way more playable Nicktoons, more themed stadiums, and even crazier gameplay to match. The best part of Nicktoons MLB is easily the Nicktoons themselves, so only have 24 to choose from is a downer. It does have Invader Zim, though, so bonus points just for that.
2K Play
The game looks nice enough overall. Not great and super-detailed or anything, but nice. Once you get over how odd the 3D models of the 2D Nicktoons look on the field compared to the MLB players, and ignore the wonky hit detection (seriously, the Nicktoons are all odd sizes and their bat doesn't always line up with the ball when they hit), it isn't too bad. The Nicktoon-themed stadiums are definitely cool looking.
Sound
The sound is also pretty nice. Each character has catch phrases and stuff they say. They do repeat a bit often, but it isn't too bad. The commentary is done by the news anchor fish from Spongebob and GIR the robot from Invader Zim. GIR says a bunch of his best lines from the show (he isn't really doing commentary, just saying funny stuff) which, while fun for fans of the show (me), does get old after a while.
Bottom Line
In the end, Nicktoons MLB is worth a look for Nicktoons fans who also loved The Bigs. Kids will like it. Adults who grew up with the Nicktoons will like it. The only folks who won't like it are those than don't like the Nicktoons and/or are easily annoyed by repetitive catch phrases. While it does feature a Kinect control mode, it isn't really worth the effort of moving your living room around to play it and shouldn't be a determining factor in whether you buy it or not. If you liked The Bigs and like Nicktoons, Nicktoons MLB is worth at least a rental or even a purchase if you have kids.
