The release of an independently-developed game called "Super Mega Baseball" in late 2014 helped revitalize a sub-genre that was once popular but had gone essentially dormant. Arcade-style sports games and those lacking any official league licensing have become unappealing to the big publishers in the industry who see limited potential for profitability. Consumers have gravitated more towards the (now few due to contraction) massive league-supported offerings on the market.



Thankfully, independent developers have picked up the slack in recent years with unique games like "Rocket League" breaking out to become huge successes. "Super Mega Baseball" was so well received by reviewers and fans that it would go on to get consideration for and even win some Sports Game of the Year Awards.

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The sequel has now arrived and it'll likely find itself in the mix for awards yet again. Developer Metalhead Software has addressed the few deficiencies in the feature set from the first game while further refining the already fun and strategic gameplay. Make no mistake about it, despite the cartoon-like visuals "Super Mega Baseball 2" is at heart a pure simulation of the sport. There are no power-ups or other-worldly abilities on display.



The gameplay of "Super Mega Baseball 2" is accessible while still retaining realism. The controls and directives are basic and partially assisted without having to sacrifice depth.

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For instance, hitting mechanics are user-friendly: aiming the bat isn't required, and at lower difficulty levels isn't necessary. The CPU will attempt to auto-lock on to the ball as it approaches the plate, though some will choose to play the game by trying to wait for a good pitch and timing it right. However, the option is also there to move the reticle manually, as the auto aiming won't always be able to reach the sweet spot in time, and doing so can better improve the chance of making solid contact if guessed correctly.



Additionally, it's impressive how "Super Mega Baseball 2" gets the fundamentals of the sport right. Being patient at the plate is important with good pitches to hit tending to come in favorable counts. That's when it's most advisable to use a power swing and lay into one.



Once you get beyond just single games and into a season there are other factors in play that require management. "Mojo" acts as confidence for players based on performance which will boost or hamper their ratings while "Fitness" will find some players benefiting from days off out of the lineup.



While the gameplay is fairly crisp and polished there are some minor gripes. There have been a number of instances where fielders have been seemingly close enough to make a play on a grounder but it's gone right by without any sort of effort animation. There's the ability to dive for the ball, but when that close a dive may overshoot it. There needs to be something for the in-between. There are also too many come-backers fielded by pitchers and fly balls can be tough to judge when overriding the CPU control to try and snag them manually.



The stamina may need to be tuned, as starters can too easily go deep into games and relievers can go several innings without any concern about losing their stuff. Confidence seems to play a much bigger role than fatigue on when pitchers need to be replaced. There is a smaller bullpen and fewer pitches being thrown overall so maybe that is intentional but it's one of the few areas that feels as though it diverges from reality.



Making a return is the brilliant and innovative Ego difficulty system. Already considered to be one of the best features ever introduced in a baseball video game, Ego provides both the challenge and the balancing that makes the game so great.



The user determines what Ego to utilize in offline play on a 1-99 scale. The higher the number is set the more difficult it becomes, but also the higher the multiplier for "Starpoints" being awarded which is a metric tracked by leaderboards. That factor gives incentives for playing on higher settings rather than leading to a feeling that moving up is a self-punishment. In the first "Super Mega Baseball," the "99 Ego Challenge" became a thing as fans tried to win on that setting, an achievement considered to be nearly impossible.



Though commentary would be unnecessary for a game of this genre, not having it does create a sense of emptiness in between at-bats and innings while the exciting moments lack some emphasis that could elevate them. Maybe there is some other use of audio that would be able to fill those gaps in the future. It would have also been nice to have auto-replays besides just those for home runs and the ability to manually view replays.

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Visually the players have been modeled in a less-exaggerated fashion than the original, which is a welcome change. The game looks sharp and colorful and includes some interesting stadium designs. Xbox One X and PlayStation 4 Pro owners will even have the game enhanced for the more powerful hardware but will be limited to 1080p resolution rather than 4K.



Online functionality and extensive customization options headline new features for "Super Mega Baseball 2." Online, which has performed well in limited testing, includes the ability to play with or against friends in the traditionally offline-only Season Mode. Cross-platform play allows for PC users to pool with those on Xbox One or PlayStation 4.



The customization is now a big part of the series which is important given the lack of licensing. Whether it's the league structure, the team names, uniforms, logos, equipment or editing the individual players down to their batting stances and tattoos, there's a lot of enjoyment to be had in crafting the game to one's liking. Those creations are not shareable however so it'll require some time and effort to do so.



Inviting to newcomers yet challenging for experienced players the "Super Mega Baseball" series has rounded into form with the sequel's more complete feature set.