Out Of The Park Baseball ’14 Review

As baseball fans, we always look to find the newest, most realistic video/computer game so we can feel like we are in the action. Over the past years, the number of computer games that have the ability to create simulation baseball has dwindled down. However, the quality of the Out Of the Park Baseball Series has never disappointed.

(Photo Credit: ootpdevelopments.com)

This year, Out Of The Park Baseball 14 has brought several new elements into the game that continue to expand the reality of the game simulation. In the past, I used to like playing as the hometown Staten Island Yankees and playing with the computer-generated prospects. This year, the player development includes monthly updates from your team’s scout. It tells you even when your pitcher has developed a new pitch or gained velocity on their fastball. This helps especially when you are the manager and players continue to be promoted and demoted at a rapid pace during the season.

 When you play one of the games, the atmosphere is realistic. You get play-by-play from the game itself, but you also have three different options to view your game. You can view it via the broadcast, the webcast (featuring a K zone), and the BNN network, which gives you updates from the other teams in your league. You also have the ability to write game recaps about your team, which makes you both the manager and the writer. Who knows, maybe you will write about the questionable moves you made during the game.

 This is also one of the few games where your player during the season can get a drug suspension, even though there is no evidence of a Biogenesis in this game.

 There are many different modes of season that you can play, whether it is the New York Yankees from this year (based on PECOTA rankings), fictional names on the major league clubs, minor league players, or my favorite, Cooperstown mode, where you have a lineup of Babe Ruth, Derek Jeter, Lou Gehrig, Robinson Cano. Then, you will see the stats on the league’s page really add up. Plus, in any of these modes, you now have the ability to find the next Yu Darvish or Yasiel Puig in the game’s international free agency mode.

 All in all, this game has a variety of features that will always keep you wanting to play more and try out different things. There is never a dull moment to play out your season, experiment with in-game situations as if you were Joe Girardi, and manage your organization to multiple championships. I highly recommend OOTP14 to every baseball fan out there looking for the latest game to play on their PC/MAC.