The BIGS Hands-On

In 2K Sports' upcoming baseball game, The BIGS, everything is exaggerated for effect. The stadiums, while accurate to their real-world configurations, have embellishments such as larger landmarks and slightly different background layouts to create environments that have a distinctly larger-than-life quality to them. The players, too, are similarly buffed up; for example, cover star Albert Pujols is big in real life, but he's a monster in the game. It's all part of 2K Sports and development studio Blue Castle Games' approach to creating an arcade baseball game that's over the top while still staying true to America's pastime. We had a chance to get some time with a work-in-progress build of the Xbox 360 version of the game, and frankly, we're itching to play more.

Instead of "arcade" baseball game, producers behind The BIGS like to refer to it as a "heroic" baseball game--a term that emphasizes the stars of the sport and the big-play nature inherent in the game. As they put it, the goal is to make every play in The BIGS feel like something you'd see on a SportsCenter highlight reel. And while that goal, naturally, is impossible (you're going to foul the ball off sometimes, and not every routine grounder to the pitcher is going to be thrilling), there's no denying that the game has frequent moments of action that are unlike any other baseball game out there. And, unlike the longer, more drawn-out matches in a typical baseball game, the five-inning matchups in The BIGS were intentionally designed to help you quickly get through a game and move on (think 20 minutes for an average game length).

The essential pitching/batting duel is where The BIGS' unique gameplay elements start. Batting is handled with the A or B button, with the latter controlling your power swing. You can also move the left analog stick to "guide" the ball either left, right, up, or down; your player will twist his body accordingly to set himself up for the pitch. When at the mound, you'll have access to a number of pitches assigned to each of the face buttons (though, if you stink it up, your pitch arsenal will gradually decrease). To pitch, you press and hold the appropriate pitch button; as you hold down the button, a vertical pitching meter above the strike zone fills up (similar to the service/volley meter in the Top Spin tennis series). There's a line near the top of the meter, and you must stop the meter from filling above that line in order to toss an effective pitch. If you let go of the button below that line, the batter will get an icon showing the pitch location. If you top out the meter perfectly (like an ace serve in Top Spin), you'll get a blistering pitch that's a good deal more effective than your typical toss. Each pitch you make will affect your pitcher's confidence in that pitch--throw strikes and it will increase, but a batter putting the hurt on you will decrease your confidence. If your confidence meter bottoms out, that pitch will be removed from your pitcher's arsenal completely. At that point, you might think about warming up some relievers.

If you've played a baseball game before, fielding in The BIGS will feel similar, though there are some tweaks to the setup that keep it feeling fresh. You move your player with the analog stick and can take control of another player by pressing the left trigger. Throwing to different bases is handled with the face buttons. The A button acts as an all-purpose action button of sorts; when chasing down a fly ball, you can attempt a diving catch by pressing the A button. When approaching the wall, you can make a dramatic wall leap by pressing the A button, as well--here, a minigame pops up showing a sequence of buttons you have to press to make the catch, and the better your player's fielding rating is, the fewer buttons you'll have to go through to make the play. We tried the system once with the Chicago Cubs' Alfonso Soriano and completely screwed up the five-button sequence. Of course, rather than blaming ourselves for the gaffe, we blame Soriano, his cruddy fielding rating, and the Tribune Company for paying his salary.

Other minigames include running into other players to break up a double play (also controlled with the A button) and a fun button-mashing contest when rounding third and looking to knock the ball out of a catcher's hands. As you head for home, a meter pops up; whoever can press the A button quickest will win the matchup. Beyond some over-the-top animations for things like fielding (and the occasional trail of flames emanating from the ball during a hot pitch), so far this sounds like a fairly straightforward implementation of arcade baseball. However, the introduction of two meters--turbo and big play--adds depth and a whole lot of fun to the overall package. To explain the various aspects of the two meters, let's return back to the pitcher/batter duel.

Put simply, earning turbo is simply a matter of success. When at bat, you want to get hits, home runs, and RBIs; even smaller victories like taking balls and avoiding strikeouts will earn you small jumps on the turbo meter. On the mound, throwing consecutive strikes, earning outs, and getting those all-important Ks will fill up your turbo meter. Each player's turbo meter consists of "cells," and you can earn a maximum of five cells, which can be used at practically any point in the game, whether at bat, on the pitching mound, running the bases, or in the field. To use turbo, you simply pull the right trigger.

Whenever the pitcher or batter engages turbo, the screen changes slightly in hue and lighting, putting the focus squarely on the pitcher and hitter. For the batter, engaging turbo will force the pitcher's icon to stay visible and locked within the strike zone. It won't necessarily result in a guaranteed hit or home run, but odds are definitely in the batter's favor. If the pitcher uses the turbo, the pitches he throws are greatly enhanced--fastballs are faster, curves have a wicked break, and changeups, well, they're more infuriating than ever. Should both the pitcher and the batter engage turbo at the same time, both players will gain their respective benefit--batters will have a pitch locked into the strike zone, while pitchers will get much more effective pitches. When running, turbo will give you extra speed to chase down a fly ball or grab a stolen base.

The big play meter fills up with successful play on the field, as well, and it offers even larger rewards. To engage the big play, you first fill up the big play meter completely, and then you pull the left and right triggers together. For a pitcher, the effect lasts for an entire at-bat, and if you strike out the opponent, you steal some of his big play meter points. For a batter, if you make contact with the ball, it's more or less an automatic four-bagger. Most interestingly of all, if both players engage their big play at the same time, the stakes are raised accordingly. The batter, naturally, will have the benefit of the big blast; should the pitcher strike the batter out, then that player will receive all of his opponent's big play points. It's The BIGS' equivalent to "all in" in poker and makes for another level of intrigue to the pitcher/batter matchup.

Instead of a season mode, The BIGS' rookie challenge feature will be the single-player focus in the game. It's your classic "zero to hero" story that will have you creating a rookie ballplayer, bringing him up to the big leagues, and eventually, taking him to the World Series. Player creation is pretty run of the mill; you choose your character's name, appearance, and accessories, and as you progress through the game, you'll unlock new items such as eye black, tattoos, sunglasses, and more.

Rookie challenge mode is estimated to contain around 20 hours worth of gameplay and is focused around the progression of your created player (and you can only use a fielder, no pitchers allowed in this mode). Early on, you start out in the cactus league, earning your stripes, and to progress, you'll have to not only win standard five-inning games, but also complete scenario challenges that feature a variety of goals. In one scenario, you might be asked to preserve a one-run lead; in another you need to make a comeback with your team down by two and so on. There will also be both team- and rookie-based stats challenges--such as asking you to hit five home runs in a game or steal two bases with your created player. There will also be "steal player" challenges that will let you steal any player off of the team you defeat and add him to your roster (with a maximum of ten spots on your roster for "stolen" players.

In the beginning, you'll have a pool of attribute points to spend on your rookie's abilities, including batting, fielding, speed, and so on. You gain points for successful play during games and scenarios, but the most effective way to earn points is in the training drills. These minigames include for example, running obstacle courses where you must jump over or slide under various obstacles, as well as hitting and fielding. These drills come in a number of different difficulty levels and will even feature boss battles at the top level--the boss battle in the running-game drill involves running through the obstacle course against New York Mets' speedy Jose Reyes.

One of the other cool aspects of The BIGS is the new home run pinball mode, which has you cracking home runs in a virtual representation of New York City's Times Square. Practically every neon sign, flashing light, and taxi cab is destructible in this mode, and the more of them you hit, the more points you'll earn. Because you can aim your shots by positioning your player with the analog stick, you can go for the most valuable signs, hit various multiplier signs, or use the power swing button to blast the New Years Eve ball at the very top of the screen. Though the pitcher starts out with meatballs across the plate, it won't be long before he's mixing it up with different pitches to keep things interesting. Your high score in this mode is uploaded to an online leaderboard.

The game's online and offline multiplayer modes look to be the best way to play the game if the sheer amount of trash-talking that occurs during a typical game is anything to go by. The BIGS has you covered there, too, with both head-to-head play and four-player cooperative play available online and off. When playing defense during co-op play, one person acts as the pitcher and the other acts as the primary fielder (though when the ball is put into play, both players control fielders). On offense, players take turns batting.

With approximately 40 Xbox Live achievements, ranging from the relatively easy (hitting five home runs in a single game) to the difficult (get a grand slam to win the game in the bottom of the ninth), there should be plenty of variety for fans of XBL achievement points. In all, The BIGS' approachable gameplay and over-the-top style look to make it a game that's best shared with friends. It's due out on June 25, and we'll be bringing you more in the near future.