As a portable experience at two-thirds the price, The Bigs on PSP does a good job masking the flaws of its next-gen counterparts. The irritating repetition and overall shallowness is less of an issue with the ability to easily wake up the PSP for a few quick games on the go. That and the fact that the awesome visual style still look great on PSP makes this the version to own… if you do choose to own it. The Bigs can be fun in short bursts, but like any game with that ominous caveat, it’s far from perfect.
The biggest offender is the fact that the game’s arcade style elements just don’t add very much. It starts with the Big Play feature, a points-based gauge that you build up through getting hits, catches, and just generally doing things right on the field. When it’s maxed out, you can hit an all but guaranteed home run as a batter – known as a “Power Blast,” which sounds suspiciously like a flavor of Gatorade – or collect an equally likely strikeout with a pitcher that’ll sap the other player’s Big Play meter.
