Ask any honest man, Field of Dreams made them cry at the end. Why? It wasn’t because Kevin Costner is that a convincing of an actor but it played on the heart strings of a father and son enjoying a game of catch. There is something about throwing a baseball around that brings up fond memories. To bring this back to the realm of video games, I’m almost sure there is a special baseball game somewhere in your past. It could be the original NES Baseball or the legendary Baseball Stars but the point is that it most certainly will not be a baseball game made in the 21st century with few small exceptions. Baseball titles have lost their magic of capturing the essence of being America’s favorite pastime. That is where Kush Games and 2K Sports wanted to step in and find what was lost with Major League Baseball 2K7. Taking a “back to the basics” approach to the baseball genre, their hopes were to stop adding on top of fundamental problems and fix core issues from past editions of the MLB 2K series.

Take Me Out To The Ball Game
One thing that wasn’t taken back to the basics was the graphics. In fact, the graphics got a huge overhaul. All the MLB players had their faces scanned so their virtual selves look just as good as turning on the TV and catching a telecast of a game. It is a little creepy to watch at first, to tell you the truth. Stadiums have also been faithfully recreated. I checked out the stadium from my home town of Minneapolis and it was perfectly recreated down to the banners hanging in the upper decks.

Animations have been smoothed out this year too. The team at Kush Games added signature habits to some of the most recognizable baseball figures. There are also more subtle touches like infielders and outfielders also behave differently with their throws. That is not to say the animations are perfect, 90% of the time the animations impress but that remaining 10% are strange anomalies. One odd occurrence is when your batter puts the bat under his arm and the bat stick through his armpit. Another example is where my centerfielder wound his arm back like he was throwing to home but I only wanted him to throw a few yards to second base.

Take Me Out To The Crowd
Another part of the magic of a baseball game is the sounds. From the beer vendors going up and down the isles selling their delicious product to rally calls from impassioned fans, it all needs to be included to make an authentic experience. While no “beeeeeeeer here!” calls were heard, the fans do a grate job at making you feel in the ball field. MLB 2K7 has some all star commentary that is diverse and adds some color to the game. To top off the “required” sounds of a Baseball diamond, there is a pumping sound track heavily influenced with alternative and independent rock sounds. You might not expect that in a baseball game but let me tell you, it is nice having a more original soundtrack to the game.