Baseball arguably holds the least mass appeal (globally) of the four major American team sports but is almost certainly the most under-rated.
The Bigs 2
2K Sports
Xbox 360
Hayden Meikle
New Zealanders, for example, get basketball - their own Tall Blacks were fourth in the world in 2002 - and kids at school can play ice hockey.
American football also has a big following.
I'm constantly surprised how many people have an NFL team they follow.
Baseball, though, is a bit different.
We play softball in this part of the world, not baseball, and a Major League star of the day, like Albert Pujols, is less known than a LeBron James or a Sidney Crosby or even disgraced NFL star Michael Vick.
It's a shame.
I've followed baseball, and been a Boston Red Sox fan, for about 20 years, since I first started reading the books of Stephen King, a passionate Sox fan.
Having also read some of the classics of the game, like David Halberstam's Summer of 49 and Richard Ben Cramer's Joe DiMaggio: The Hero's Life, I've grown to love baseball.
Our supposed disinterest in baseball is reflected in our nation's video game library.
While we can buy new Madden NFL, NHL ice hockey and NBA basketball games every year, we are not given the option of getting on to the diamond.
Before this month, my entire gaming collection included just TWO baseball games, the classic Triple Play Baseball 2000 on PlayStation One, and All-Star Baseball 2003 on PS2.
The long wait is over.
The Bigs 2 is a radical departure from those earlier games but at least it gives us a taste of America's pastime.
The Bigs refers to Major League Baseball, which is often referred to as "The Big Show".
But it also stands for the attitude of the game, which doesn't even pretend to be an accurate simulation.
It's an arcade-focused, glitz-heavy game that aims to give a taste of baseball while not boring gamers rigid with statistics (though there are still plenty).
The pace is fast and the graphics are larger-than-life.
While the usual sports game options like "Season" and "Career" are available, there is also "Home Run Pinball" and assorted mini-games.
Unusually, based on my limited history of baseball gaming, pitching is much easier than batting.
You choose your style of pitch, aim in or near the strike zone and hold down the button for a certain time to try to hit the sweet spot.
Weirdly fun.
Batting still seems a total lottery to me.
There are normal and power buttons, and you get to choose the direction you want to hit.
But I can't find any consistency.
The arcade style of The Bigs 2 will no doubt pull in some non-baseball fans.
But after a couple of 17-13 games (baseball is normally lower scoring), I was feeling frustrated.
Still, it's nice to be given the chance to play some ball again.
And go Sox.
