A Solid Hit Into Center Field – A Review of MLB Power Pros 2008 for the Nintendo DS


With the exception of MLB: The Show for the PSP, we have found portable baseball games lacking in both control and complexity. In comparison to their home console brethren, handheld titles are frequently watered-down conversions, subjugated by hardware limitations. While the DS has seen its share of sports game ports, few are engaging enough to hold our attention for a substantial amount of time.

In 1994, Konami released Jikkyō Powerful Pro Yakyū (translated to: ‘Live Powerful Pro Baseball’) for the Japanese equivalent of the Super Nintendo. The game featured cartoonish players with excessively large heads, drawn in an anime-inspired method. Hardware limitations kept the players simple; they lacked mouths, noses, hair, and legs. The cuteness of the characters prevailed over the desire for graphical sophistication, and became a franchise trademark. While the series was a popular hit overseas, it wasn’t until last year that the games hit consoles on these shores. MLB Power Pros for the Wii and PS2 was a moderate success, and paved the way for MLB Power Pros 2008 for the Nintendo DS.

With its graphical abstraction, yet full-featured gameplay, Power Pros was a perfect candidate for conversion to Nintendo’s handheld system. With a few DS incarnations under its belt in Japan, Konami has brought the franchise here- albeit with significant changes. While one would expect a roster change to reflect American ball teams, the game has additionally been given a graphical overhaul as well. Players no longer share the hand-drawn look of the Japanese game, and now look much more polygonal. The bottom screen’s overview of the playfield has been revamped to give a much more detailed view, while the top screen has been reduced of clutter.


Despite these changes, Power Pros offers some of the most compelling and stat-driven baseball found on the DS system. Upon loading the game, players are offered a multitude of options that include a quick exhibition game, an eight team playoff series, a homerun derby, as well as the ability to practice and manage teams. One glaring omission is the lack of any seasonal play; while a 162 game schedule might seem extreme; we would have liked to at least seen an option for an abbreviated season.

Power Pro’s core gameplay is quick and solid. While batting, players control the angle and position of their swing by moving a cursor. To pitch, players select a delivery from the hurler’s repertoire, and then quickly choose an area around the batter’s box as the ball heads toward the plate. Fielding and baserunning can be set to auto, semi-auto or zero levels of computer assistance; one of the game’s strengths is its ability to use the touch screen to control runners. The title is known for a realistic and robust physics system that accurately models contact when a hit is made; and we found it equals Power Pro’s console counterparts.

Sonically, the game is a schizophrenic mess; the home run derby features a tidy rock-a-billy tune, while player entrances are accompanied by low bandwidth hard rock songs. Surprisingly, player’s names are announced, which adds greatly to the overall feel of the game. As we mentioned, the game suits the DS limited graphical abilities well, although we wonder why player pictures are buried in the team editing menu system.

Simply put, baseball fans have few options for recreating their favorite sport on the DS. While MLB Power Pros isn’t perfect, it is far better than all the other baseball shovelware that plagues the system. Let’s hope that Komami and publisher 2K Sports hit one out of the park next year.

Final Grade: B

About Robert Allen

Since being a toddler, Robert Allen has been immersed in video games, anime, and tokusatsu. Currently, his days are spent teaching at two southern California colleges. But his evenings and weekends are filled with STGs, RPGs, and action titles and well at writing for Tech-Gaming since 2007.

52 comments

  1. Oh, that game just oozes Japanese cuteness. It’s like Hello Kitty!

  2. Nice review- but lose the words like “subjugated”, please. SAT was too long ago.

  3. Looks good, I hope I win the game.

  4. Your review was a grand slam! Best one I read. Why aren’t you guys on metacritic?

  5. Great review. I’ll wait for clearance tho- baseball isn’t my thing.

  6. How come their eyebrows are on their batting helmets?

  7. Awesome review. I would play the game daily if I won it.

  8. Might have to look into this game!

  9. Car Battler Jorge

    How deep are the rosters?

  10. Nice review. Great work on this site.

  11. the steroids will make you lose your face and legs? Oh noes!

  12. I bought last year’s PP for the Wii and this year for the PS2 (it was half price), and must say…

    Anyone sleeping on this game is a fool!

    It’s one of the best baseball games out there. Dont let the simple graphics throw you. This is a great baseball game.

    Oh, and BTW great review. I would have given it an “A” though!

  13. Looks too ‘kiddy’. Id choke on the sweetness of it all.

  14. My roommate said this style was pretty popular in Japan when he lived there. Japanese and their baseball 😛

  15. Good review. Might rent it.

  16. Cool stuff!

  17. Great writing; your reviews always seem to be so descriptive.

  18. Aww, no season mode. It’s what makes this series killer on the console version. Informative review, but other than better fielding (or better controls), is it any better than Fantasy All-Stars? =p Might give it a try.

  19. Bought this today and just came across the review. I guess I’ll break the shrinkwrap.

  20. From reading this review, it sounds like a great game. Not fully featured enough to be considered a console game but not simple enough to be a waste of time for gamers. It wasn’t until the end of the review that I noticed that 2K games worked on this as well. I’m not a big sports fan but I remember playing MLB/NBA/NFL 2K5 (I think it was 2K5) a few years ago. As newcomers, the games they made were great, controls, gameplay, and visuals. Of course, this was before EA stretched it’s tyrannical arms into the sports game industry. The 2K sports games were great in my opinion. I liked the idea of consumers paying like $20 or $30 for games that would be updated the next year like clockwork instead of tacking on an extra $20 for no apparent reason (looking at Madden).

  21. This game sounds great for my little brother. He would love something like this!

  22. Its like the wii on the ds. Woah.

  23. Looks like fun!

  24. A baseball game for the ds! Would that be fun? I bet it be hard but I would try it.

  25. I am glad to see the conversion from Wii to DS was successful. Wonderful review!

  26. Sounds like a great baseball game. Good to hear baserunning is ok. that’s always a problem with games.

  27. Why the hell did they leave out season mode?

  28. Nice review. Look forward to playing it 😀

  29. Awesome review. You guys musta graduated from college or something. A lot of 50 cent words there.

  30. Good write up. Looking forward to what else this site reviews.

  31. The character design looks better than the Miis, but overall it’s not much worse looking than the Wii itself, sadly. Although I’m not a huge baseball fan anyway…

  32. I like the Japanese take on the sport. May get this game.

  33. Great review. This is an awesome website!

  34. Very nice!

  35. tiptop review dudes.

  36. I knew this game would be a sucess in the US. Way to go Konami!

  37. Got my interest raised on this one.

  38. Cool review.

  39. Nice review, sucks that there’s no season or life mode like the console versions.

  40. Another great review guys.

  41. Picked this up at Wal-mart for $24.99

  42. Thanks for the review!

  43. Guy from Destuctoid called this GOTY!!

  44. Who and WHY?

  45. Looks awesome

  46. nice review!

  47. Sweet game. Liking the style.

  48. No way! Don’t limit your vocabulary for the sake of simplicity. It’s nice to see a gaming site using words that are longer than two syllables and slightly more obscure than “the” or “it”.

  49. Looks like it might be fun.

  50. It’s got a cutesy feel to it. Review is thorough for sure. Well done.

  51. Reminds me of Backyard Baseball.

  52. Looks like it is going to be a good game, thanks for the article.