MLB Power Pros is originally a Japanese game that has been brought over to the American market by Konami and 2k Sports. Power Pros offers quick arcade style baseball action combined with super cute baseball superstars. Even though there is a very cute exterior to the game there are actually a ton of options and modes for you to try out.

Presentation and Graphics: Sadly this game although cute and cartoonish in style still has very poor graphics that much better suite the PS2 rather than the Wii. After seeing Metroid Prime on the Wii this type of graphics are unacceptable for the Wii and Nintendo should lay down the law and make developers push their limits on the console. The superstars are all miniaturized and Power Pros tries to capture their style to make each character unique, but when the characters are batting they all look the same. 2 out of 5

Sound and Music: The sounds of the game are good, but nothing really to brag about. There is no real soundtrack to speak of except for the sounds of baseballs being hit. The sound is very basic and would have benefited a lot form a soundtrack as a minimum. 2 out of 5

Gameplay: You can play one of the many different modes, exhibition, success, league, etc. Each mode gives you different things to do, like success mode is more RPG like and tracks your created player from College baseball on his quest to the majors. Success mode is actually a bit of an overkill and offers way too much information and quickly becomes un-fun. League mode lets you create a custom 6-team league that competes for the title, while season mode lets you play out a whole season.

Hitting in Power Pros is simple to learn but hard to master, you need to aim your bat at the pitches to hit them either with a contact swing or a power swing, similar to the BIGS. Each player has his own attributes as far as speed, power, fielding, etc. Stealing bases is very easy and with a player like Ichiro you can take second and third fairly easily.

Using miniaturized baseball players is good fun until you begin to take the field. Fielding routine groundballs and flyballs can become a chore, as your little characters will just run by balls and then run in circles to try and get them. A major complaint of mine was the difficulty I had trying to create a character and by this I mean I never figured it out, instead I took a free agent and just made changes to him. Also the lack of Mii importation is frowned upon, why no love for the Miis? 3.25 out of 5

Online/ Multiplayer: There is no online play to speak of in this title, which is a big minus. There is local multiplayer at least, which lets you and a buddy get some cartoonish baseball in, with lots of different modes to play in. 2.5 out of 5

Lasting Appeal: Power Pros does a lot of things to try and keep you interested and actually overwhelms you at some points with too many options. Lack of online play cuts replay time but if you have friends over and are tired of the basic Wii Baseball that came with your system this will fill in nicely. 3 out of 5

Final Word: This title was surprisingly deep with options, but the gameplay was lacking and the lack of Wiimote usage was surprising. As a baseball game it does a decent job, but the controls can get in the way quickly, worth a rental to try out before buying. MLB Power Pros is a cross between Backyard Baseball and the BIGS.

Overall: 2.75 out of 5

1 = Not worth the bandwidth.

2= Demo is enough, not worth your money.

3= Game is good, depending on the price, seriously consider picking it up.

4= Worth your money. Should provide some good times for quite awhile.

5= Buy the game. Lock your door. Pick up a case of beer. This could take all night.