The Bigs: Hands-on and new gameplay trailer

Gamespot has posted up a hands-on look at the new game The Bigs. Recently more has been coming out on this title, which is just over a month away from being released.

And, unlike the longer, more drawn-out matches in a typical baseball game, the five-inning matchups in The BIGS were intentionally designed to help you quickly get through a game and move on (think 20 minutes for an average game length).

head-to-head play and four-player cooperative play available online and off. When playing defense during co-op play, one person acts as the pitcher and the other acts as the primary fielder (though when the ball is put into play, both players control fielders). On offense, players take turns batting.

The essential pitching/batting duel is where The BIGS’ unique gameplay elements start. Batting is handled with the A or B button, with the latter controlling your power swing. You can also move the left analog stick to “guide” the ball either left, right, up, or down; your player will twist his body accordingly to set himself up for the pitch. When at the mound, you’ll have access to a number of pitches assigned to each of the face buttons (though, if you stink it up, your pitch arsenal will gradually decrease). To pitch, you press and hold the appropriate pitch button; as you hold down the button, a vertical pitching meter above the strike zone fills up (similar to the service/volley meter in the Top Spin tennis series). There’s a line near the top of the meter, and you must stop the meter from filling above that line in order to toss an effective pitch.

The A button acts as an all-purpose action button of sorts; when chasing down a fly ball, you can attempt a diving catch by pressing the A button. When approaching the wall, you can make a dramatic wall leap by pressing the A button, as well–here, a minigame pops up showing a sequence of buttons you have to press to make the catch, and the better your player’s fielding rating is, the fewer buttons you’ll have to go through to make the play.

the introduction of two meters–turbo and big play–adds depth and a whole lot of fun to the overall package.

Other minigames include running into other players to break up a double play (also controlled with the A button) and a fun button-mashing contest when rounding third and looking to knock the ball out of a catcher’s hands.

Rookie challenge mode is estimated to contain around 20 hours worth of gameplay and is focused around the progression of your created player (and you can only use a fielder, no pitchers allowed in this mode).

One of the other cool aspects of The BIGS is the new home run pinball mode, which has you cracking home runs in a virtual representation of New York City’s Times Square. Practically every neon sign, flashing light, and taxi cab is destructible in this mode, and the more of them you hit, the more points you’ll earn. Because you can aim your shots by positioning your player with the analog stick, you can go for the most valuable signs, hit various multiplier signs, or use the power swing button to blast the New Years Eve ball at the very top of the screen.