Customer Reviews

Little League World Series 2009

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

This review is meant for fans of the series, so I won't bother with details about how the game works, as I'm assuming you've already played the first game.

This review is about the differences between the two versions to help you decide if it is worth buying 2009 or just to continue play 2008.

First off, I'm actually going to start off with the cons to get them out of the way. The most noticiable (and irritating) negative addition this year is the commentary. On the back of the case it says there are two commentators, but so far I've only heard one and he has about... let's see... 5 lines of recorded dialouge. Ok, that may be an exaggeration but you'll be sick of hearing lines like "It's all fun" and "There are roses to be cut today!" after you've heard them seventeen times in the same game. Especially when there seems to be no triggering event for these lines. It's just thrown in for filler during dead air.

(AMENDMENT: The commentating duo is only during the World Series or exhibition games being played at one of the big three LLWS stadiums. For any games being played at the smaller stadiums, including the regional games, there is just one commentator)

Also, the commentator will say things that are contrary to what's going on in the field. Examples would be him talking about how nice the weather is in Williamsport today even though you're playing in the regionals in the Northwest. Or, in one game, I was trailing 4-0 and scored one run and he said that I "came from behind to take the lead." Huh? If the commentary was going to be this bad, they should have just stuck with the format they had last year of just limiting it to stadium introductions.


Really, I would say, this is my one true gripe with this game. The others aren't really gripes or necessarily cons, but just things I don't think were necessary. For example, there's a box in the upper right hand corner that will occasionally pop up and either show the commentator, a random fan or a teammate cheering you on, and the LLWS Beaver Mascot. I don't really get what the point of having this pop up box is but it's not really that irritating, just unusual.

Also, they changed the animations slightly for the powerups for batting and pitching. The batting one is ok as all it really added was an "electricity" effect to your bat but the pitching one is very different. Now, if you power up your pitcher, his pitches will look like he's throwing fireballs. Now while it looks cool I think it's a little too much. I mean, sure, a batter leaping twelve feet in the air and then smashing a guaranteed home run with an electric bat is unrealistic too, but the sight of seeing a fireball being hurtled towards you seems too bizarre. Last year the ball still looked the same it just zoomed in there real fast.

The one other thing I felt was unnecessary, but at least I can understand, is a pitching meter. Now before you get all up in arms like I did when I first saw it, understand that it is not like the pitching meter in MVP baseball and does not change the way you actually pitch. In this series, when you wind up and "pitch" the Wiimote, you have to match your motions with the wind-up and delivery animations of your pitcher. That is still the same. The meter is just there to help new players with timing issues to see if they are doing it correctly. Luckily, you can turn this feature off.

Now to the things that make this game stand out from the first one in a good way. First off, the presentation has changed slightly to have a more televised game feel. The camera angles of the at-bat warm-ups and players leaving the field and in-field plays look more like a TV presentation, which I happen to like.

As opposed to just being able to customize your star player on the team, you can now customize every player on the team down to looks, abilities, and type of player. This is a big step up from last year. Also, you can create custom teams as well.

(As a side note, be sure to actually analyze your roster. When I started playing as Western Washingon team in the NW region, I realized in the third inning that the computer defaulted the roster to have my best fielder as the pitcher and my best pitcher playing center field. I was trailing 3-0, my pitcher had terrible velocity and break, and my center fielder was really slow. Once I switched their positions, I came back to win the game as my CF was now making running catches and my pitcher was racking up strikeouts. Just a word of caution to, again, check your lineup first. I don't recall having this problem in last year's game as the CPU always optimzed your rosters).

This year also has a new collectible baseball card feature that adds a new element of strategy to the game. By accomplishing certain feats in the game, you are rewarded with a baseball card with special abilities that you can "play" during the game. For example, one card I got forces the opposing pitcher to only throw fastballs during that at-bat I played the card. For those of you not into that sort of thing, you can choose to play the game without it.

But let me get to the part of the game that sold it for me: The Tournament Mode. Last year's game dropped you right into the LLWS Pool as a team representing your region. However, in this year's addition they have expanded the mode so you start out as a little league team playing in your regionals to be able to advance to the World Series. It's a lot of fun picking a name for your team, their logo, and what part of the region they're from and then battling the other little league teams in local ballparks to be able to wear the uniform of your region in the LLWS.

Bottom line is, if you liked last year's game you will like this one as well. There are some new features which add much more depth and strategy but there are other features which will leave you saying "was that necessary?" And of course the commentary which will make you flirt with the idea of playing with the sound off (unfortunately, you can't turn off the commentary by itself or turn the volume of just the commentator off).

One last thing is, I actually feel like the 2008 game is more pick-up-and-play than this one. While the actual controls are virtually identical, the 2008 version is not as deep so new or younger players don't have to fiddle with much to get to the action. This year's version seems like it was made for young adults, older youngsters, or adults who are young at heart as some features require more thought and strategy than last year. So if you've never experienced the series or if you want to get it for a young child who doesn't like to get too invovled with his Wii games, I would actually suggest renting or playing 2008. However, if you like or love 2008, especially the World Series mode, than I think they made enough improvements that it is worth purchasing 2009.

I bought this game for my nephews who are 10 and 12 and they absolutely love it. They said that it is so much better than 2008 Little League World Series. They are always playing the game.

This game is not a baseball simulation. If you want realism then play MLBThe Show on Playstation 3.

This is a good game for younger kids. My 5 year old loves it, and has learned a lot about baseball by playing this game.

The controls ARE adjustable. On the easiest setting all you basically have to do is swing to hit, and shake the controler to field. You can play it on more difficult controls. My son also likes the mini-games and is proud of himself for all this rewards and unlocked prizes.

CONS: The announcer comments more often than not -- DO NOT MATCH EVENTS ON THE FIELD!!!

Also, There is NO INSTANT REPLAY!!! How can you have a sports game with no instant replay???? It would be good to coach a young potential little leaguer by reviewing a play, and having them think about stategy. Also, replay could also teach fundamentals of the game such as What is a forceout? Why was the runner out when he tried to advance on a fly ball out, etc. Maybe the developers thought that instant replay would slow down the game, as it is fairly fast paced little game.

Sorry for the typos

My 8 yr old son LOVES baseball and loves this game. We have spent hours playing this as a whole family since Christmas Day. He set up his whole AAU team in the Mii profiles so we play with all his teammates which is just funny. Especially since Grandma & Grandpa also have a Mii profile & often end up on the field too. This is a lot more fun than the baseball game that comes with the Wii console, although we have enjoyed both.
For us the Wii games are not about amazing graphics or complex game strategy, they play the XBox for those type of games. We have found that the Wii is all about family & plain old fun. We really like the sport games & this game is just plain fun. Enjoy!

this game is really fun, even for older age people, i don't play a lot of wii games but this one had me playing the wii for countless days and hours!

Excellent, we gave this as a gift to my grandson, we played it, worked well & enjoyable.

I wanted a Wii baseball game I could play with my 8 yr old son that would be fun and also teach him about the game. After reading reviews I chose this one because it was easy to play and you could customize the difficulty. You can set the game to handle somethings automatically like base running and defense.Over all I have been very happy with this game and we play it often

My 9 yr old. son broke his arm this summer and loves this game! He'd rather be playing baseball for real, but he has really enjoyed his consolation prize. Great game, really fun. Came quickly too.

I was looking for a neutral baseball game, with no real name players, and this has been a good choice.

You can play 11 games and get a championship, but this is not necessarily easy, but is not impossible. I was tired (of course) of the baseball game that nintendo wii has originally. There is a moment that you can't win, the computer hits everything, and I was tired of that.

In LLWS 2009 you can throw a no hitter, and lose the next game, or win it by a little, and you have a record book that has your achivements.

There are some things that I would change in this game to make it better: It's good to select a region a pick your country (in my case Venezuela in Latinamerica), but this is symbolic, because you never see again the name of your country or your state (in USA case for instance). I would recommend athat if a pick Florida, and Sharks, my team should be known as Florida Sharks.

Other thing that I would like to see in a improved future LLWS game, is about the current record of the players during the game. If my first baseman is batting, I rather to see that he is batting .333 and is 0 for 3 in that game, that see over and over the favorite food or favorite hobby. Maybe that information can be mixed.

But in general is a good game, and I have enjoyed a lot.

We've enjoyed this game alot and haven't even touched the options to it. The multi-tournament capabilities allow you to participate with others and still keep your own tournament going. It's challenging enough that it will provide entertainment for QUITE a while.