PSP

Major League Baseball 2K6

Major League Baseball 2K6 is a great game as far as the gameplay mechanics go but it really skimps on the razzle and dazzle. We are most likely to be forgiving considering that this is a handheld game but we can't help but expect more because we know it's possible. I don't want to have to be making excuses for a game and if things aren't improved for the '07 season then the crap is really going to hit the fan.

On the whole, Major League Baseball 2K6 for the PSP is a solid baseball sim that hasn't had to sacrifice too much in the transition from console to handheld. Diehard simmers will probably be able to forgive the game's stoic atmosphere, since the gameplay and features are deliciously deep.

In the offing, 2K Games has made a comprehensive, deep baseball sim that just isn't much fun to watch. The fact of the matter is, unfortunately, that every baseball game out right now is equal with regards to features and gameplay. The ones that go the extra mile are the games that duplicate all of the little plays and all of the myriad broadcast cutaways and replays that fans would see in an actual ballpark or during a major-network TV broadcast. Major League Baseball 2K6, unfortunately, doesn't go that extra mile. As such, it's tough to recommend it over the more polished products on offer from Sony and EA Sports.

MLB 2K6 does a lot of things right in terms of providing the largest amount of options ever seen on a UMD. In fact, it's probably one of the few titles that makes a direct port to handheld not seem so bad. Unfortunately, only the most hardcore baseball fan will probably forgive the screwed up control scheme for baserunning and fielding, visual problems and a number of glitches that can complicate and hamper play.

Baseball is said to be a 162 game grind, a campaign and a marathon, not an easy jog or 5K run; 2K Sports gives Major League Baseball: 2K6 that exact feeling, a grind and a job. Baseball is a game and games are supposed to be fun. Major League Baseball: 2K6 is a port and a poorly done port of what was a decent baseball game and turned it into a sub-par baseball sim that requires more patience than should be required. Major League Baseball: 2K6 is a good reason why exclusive right sales are a bad thing in the video game industry a free market economy.

Major League Baseball 2K6 makes solid contact at the plate, but in the end, it's a routine one-hopper to short.