Plot: What’s it about?
MLB Bobblehead Battle is a spin off of Konami’s recent MLB Bobblehead Pros. While that game was more or less a standard baseball experience, this spin off veers from that concept. In Bobblehead Battle, you have a pitcher and a batter engaged in a duel to rack up points. The field is divided into numerous sections, each one designated a certain value. Some areas are instant outs, others offer singles, doubles, triples, and so on. As the batter, you want to knock the ball into the valuable segments and put the screws to the pitcher. But this isn’t always a simple task, as obstacles litter the field and in order to get the most points, you’ll have to learn how to use these blockades to your advantage. In Quick Game, you jump right into a standard nine inning affair, while Exhibition lets you fine tune your experience.
The real draw in Bobblehead Battle however, is Challenge mode. In this version, you not only have to guide your player to the highest score, but utilizing a power card system. These cards give you a certain edge over the competition, but the catch is that you are limited to so many cards per game, plus you start with few card options. As you advance through the challenges however, you unlock new cards and even new stadiums to play within. You can also design your own stadium, which is quite a cool inclusion. The cards add even more of an arcade feel to the game, especially when you take your skills into a competitive session. You can play against someone in a local game, or battle another player over Live, to see how you stack up. The on-line play is a lot of fun, but you’ll want to do some challenges beforehand, in order to unlock a nice selection of cards to exploit. MLB Bobblehead Battle is a lot of fun and while a little unusual, it is highly recommended and well worth a look.
Video: How does it look?
The visuals have a fun, cartoon like design, as you’d expect given that the players are bobbleheads, after all. The graphics are colorful and well detailed, while the animation looks cool and is fun to watch. If you played MLB Bobblehead Pros, then you know about what to expect here.
Audio: How does it sound?
The sounds of the ballpark are well handled here, though in a more wacky fashion of course. The crack of the bat, the crash of a direct hit on an obstacle, and the whiff of a bullet fastball all sound great here. The music is passable, but at least you won’t be annoyed or bored by the tunes. The sound design covers all the needed bases, rock solid in all aspects.
Supplements: What are the extras?
N/A
