MLB Power Pros

MLB Power Pros is a different take on the MLB license. While the player has the ability to play as authentic players on actual MLB teams, the players are represented by anime characters, with large heads, feet and hands with no arms and legs. The game has been a mainstay in Japan for the last 15 years.

Released: 1 October 2007
Platforms: PlayStation 2 Wii
Genres: Baseball Simulation Sports
Developers: Konami
Publishers: 2K Sports
Modes: Single-player
Perspective: Third person Bird view / Isometric
Country: Japan
Age ratings: ESRB E
Languages: English, Japanese

About

MLB Power Pros, also known in Japan as Jikkyou Powerful Major League 2 (実況パワフルメジャーリーグ2), is a baseball video game developed by Baseball Contents Production and published by 2K in North America and Konami in Japan for the Wii and PlayStation 2 video game consoles. It is part of the traditionally Japan-only Power Pros series of video games, and is the first game in the series to be released outside Japan. It is the sequel to Jikkyou Powerful Pro Major League which was released only in Japan for the GameCube and PlayStation 2. It was released in October 2007, and is published by 2K.

A sequel, MLB Power Pros 2008, came out in 2008. Another sequel, MLB Power Pros 2010, came out on iOS and Android devices in 2010.

Keywords

baseball
anime
gravity
dating
management
multiple endings
dialogue trees
billiards
polygonal 3d
motion control
wii classic controller support
mii support

Media

The articlegameplay, story, development, reception

Gameplay

Gameplay in MLB Power Pros features "easy pick-up and play mechanics". The game contains over a dozen gameplay modes, including a Season Mode and a Success Mode. Within the former, the player takes the role of a General Manager of a Major League Baseball team, with the goal of winning the World Series. The player has control over all the aspects of the team, including training players, purchasing better equipment, and trading players between teams. Maximum playtime is 10 years, or when the team points run out and the player loses (game over).

In this mode, players may play a baseball game against a Major League team. There are options for a day game or night game, number of innings, what stadium to play at, lineup selection etc. Players may also play exhibition mode with two players, or can watch a game against two teams with the computer controlling both teams and take the role of a spectator.

Reception

The game received "favorable" reviews on both platforms according to the review aggregation website Metacritic. In Japan, Famitsu gave it a score of two eights and two sevens for a total of 30 out of 40.