Super Mega Baseball: Extra Innings
Producer: Metalhead Software
Release Date: August 14, 2015
Platform: Xbox One, PC
Rating: Everyone
Genre: Sports
Hitting it Balls Deep
Written by Josh Schilling
Super Mega Baseball: Extra Innings is an enhanced version now available on the Xbox One and PC through Steam of a game that was released on the Playstation consoles last year. Now to set the record straight, I am a baseball connoisseur of sorts. Of course, one man’s connoisseur is another man’s snob, right? Well, being that I also play a lot of video games, it is a natural assumption to say that I have played a hell of a lot of baseball video games in my day, in fact if I had to play only one game for the rest of my life, it would probably be the graphically challenged, 1987 DOS based Earl Weaver Baseball. Super Mega Baseball is pretty far away from that classic in just about every way, but it still manages to be really fun despite departing from some of the intricacies that could make or break any sports game.
So how exactly can you make a good baseball game without a major league license that allows the developer to use real players, team names and stadiums? Super Mega Baseball answers that question by not taking those aspects too seriously. The player models are cartoonish, resembling something out of Backyard Baseball with oversized heads and bats, along with the addition of outlandish names like Hurley Bender, Splash Cashman, Johnson Swanson, and Billy LeBoink. The comedy of the game is not meant to be the defining factor, however, and it serves as a nice side note to the actual gameplay itself, which is remarkably outstanding. The fielding is not difficult, but is made challenging with the timing of jumps and dives, and the base running is simplified into the pressing of only a few buttons. What makes this game great is the essential battle between the pitcher and the hitter, and Super Mega Baseball creates a simple yet fulfilling mechanic that ends up being supremely satisfying.
This game uses anticipation, timing, and accuracy to define the hitting and pitching aspects, and when you succeed or fail, you can understand why you did so. If you miss your spot as a pitcher or fall into a predictable pattern, the ball is going to get hit hard, but it will not always a homer. As a hitter you need to look for pitches in a certain zone and work the count, and shockingly you can even draw your fair share of walks. These seemingly small things are essential aspects to the real game of baseball that few video games have succeeded in making right, but Super Mega Baseball makes sure that when you get a hit or strike someone out, you deserve it. You earn points for getting hits, outs and other baseball activities during a game, and you can level up your team during a season or compare your score against your friends. In addition, this game adds a difficulty meter (your ego) that adds a multiplier to your score, and it serves to challenge you to play a more difficult opponent. Sure you can spend a season hitting fifteen homers a night, but this game is far more rewarding when you win a low scoring game at a higher difficulty level, and it’s even satisfying when you lose a close one as the game plays fairly.
You can play Super Mega Baseball with up to four players on the same console, but there are some things that this game could improve. There is no online multiplayer which is somewhat limiting, and the different pitchers are all fairly similar, with all of them able to throw the same types of pitches. You can customize your players by changing their names and appearance, but this game tries to maintain a leaderboard balance by not allowing you to change a players abilities. Regardless, this is an extremely simplified, yet challenging baseball game that is sprinkled with a goofy sense of humor. It is fast, fun, and easily one of the best baseball video games I have ever played.