Taking the excitement level down another notch or two is the fact that the game’s amazing catches don’t stay amazing for very long. That’s especially true for the over the wall grabs that happen on nearly every normal home run. The opponent’s outfielder will jump six feet over the fence to put a glove on the ball and either drop it for a home run or hold on to it for the out. It’s really cool at first, but with the frequency and lack of variety to the catching animations, it becomes an all too familiar sight after a while. The same can be said for the slo-mo double plays, too.

This repetition and lack of depth is what nearly kills the game’s most promising feature, the aforementioned Rookie Challenge. Here you’ll create a player and build up his skills over the course of a season. Unfortunately, the skill progression travels awfully slowly considering that every match feels more or less the same. So playing a full season is a tough hill to climb, but we will admit that this mode winds up being quite rewarding as you build your player into an MVP over the course of his rookie year.

Another gameplay mode is a sort of pinball home run derby, which has you standing in the middle of Times Square hitting baseballs into objects like neon signs and taxi cabs in order to rack up points. It’s an odd addition to the game’s main menu, something feels more like an unlockable mini-game than anything else.

But as we said earlier, without a doubt The Bigs’ best attribute is its visual appeal, with the 360 just edging out the PS3 in looks. Nearly every player’s face bears a striking, sometimes scary resemblance to his real life counterpart. That applies to the usual big names as well as a surprising number of lesser knowns. The over-exaggerated bodies are good for a chuckle, too, and the stadiums look absolutely fantastic.