Developers of annual sports games, like Madden or NBA 2K, are somewhat fortunate to be given just one year to make each installment. Sure, their games are heavily scrutinized by those wondering if they’re worth another $60. But if you screw up one year, players are quick to forgive you the next time around – so long as your next game is worth it. That’s the cycle of sports games: with another always around the corner, it’s hard to hold a grudge for too long.

Arcade sports games, such as Blitz or NFL Street/Tour, are released much less frequently. This raises our anticipation for each sequel, creating expectations that go further than the differences between NBA 2K8 and NBA 2K9. Despite the extra development time, arcade sports games have not been able to keep up, hence the disappearance of NHL Hitz, NBA Jam and a few others.

If this buildup sounds like I’m heading toward disappointment for The BIGS 2, that’s because, sadly and unavoidably, that’s exactly where the sequel takes us. You’ll come in, have a little fun, and wonder if what you just played was a 12-month upgrade to a game you purchased two years ago.

Very little has changed in regards to how each pitch is thrown; likewise, the batting mechanics are the same as the first game. These features are hardly standout anymore – after all, you’ve been using them since 2007. The BIGS 2 focuses on other things – such as Legendary Catches and the Batter’s Wheelhouse – to try and make the experience seem fresh again. Since Legendary Catches lead to a frequent mini-game, they will be covered later in the review.

The idea behind the Batter’s Wheelhouse, which appears within the batter’s box, is player enhancement. The wheelhouse is an orange-red-colored wheel that may cover half, the middle or just one corner of the box. If the ball is thrown within the wheelhouse, both the batter and the pitcher stand to gain something; if the ball is hit, its momentum will increase – if the batter strikes out, the pitcher will gain extra turbo.

Turbo is the same power-increasing lifeblood of the original BIGS. You’ll use it to activate normal power enhancements, as well as Big Hits (which automatically trigger a home run when making contact with the ball) and Big Slams (allows you to swing four times from the same pitch).

The long-awaited Season and Become a Legend modes should fulfill the desires of those who have been waiting for them. Both are fairly predictable, though Become a Legend is certainly the most interesting. Starting at the bottom as an injured major leaguer forced to play in a fictitious Mexican league, you play as one homemade athlete but have the luxury of controlling the entire team. Mini-games and mini-challenges are mixed within a series of short and full-length games, most of which require the same basic objective: win!

Thank goodness for the return of Home Run Pinball, because without it The BIGS 2’s mini-game collection would have been a disaster. The new version of HRP is just as good as the original, albeit without any significant gameplay changes. This time you get to play in Tokyo, Vegas, New York, and a very cool vintage location. The other mini-games are garbage; during the speed-based running game, you don’t actually get to run your player through an obstacle course. Nope – your only objective is to push a button as it appears on screen. The rest aren’t any better: there’s a batting game, a catching game and so on, but none of them offer the big fun that a “mini” game should provide.

More than the first, The BIGS 2 embraces the idea of in-play mini-games (including Legendary Catches), where the player performs an easy action to produce an unlikely result. They’re all born from the same concept: when the ball is too high or too far away to reach, a button icon appears on screen. Press the appropriate button(s) quickly enough and you’ll catch the ball, stopping the batter dead in his tracks.

Alternatively, you may have to press the LT and RT buttons to balance a beam as a ball rolls along the top. There’s also a catching game that requires you to hold a button and release it at just the right time. Hmm, come to think of it, the pitching mechanics follow that same rule.

From a gameplay perspective, these mini-games add nothing to the experience. But on the bright side, they don’t hurt it either. It’s a different story when looking at it from a challenge perspective, because they don’t provide any challenge whatsoever. They do, however, cheapen the experience for the opposing player, who hopes you’re not able to tap A-B-A-A as quickly as possible. Because if you do, that excellent hit you just made was for nothing. In a way, you could say the hit caused your demise because a mini-game was all your opponent needed to make it irrelevant.

This quickly turns into a cycle that’s all but never-ending. Rather than fight for the most home runs, you’ll spend most of the time using or battling against the mini-games, knowing that they can ultimately make or break your success.

Graphically and musically, The BIGS 2 is not an outstanding sequel. The visuals are noticeably improved over the original, but there have been a lot of changes since that time. Other games, including sequels and brand-new franchises, have made huge advancements since 2007. Comparatively, The BIGS 2 is just a few steps past its predecessor. Many animations are shared among players, their facial detail is abnormally weak, and the textures, lighting and coloring look like they came from a 3D cartoon – not a sports game aiming for graphical realism.

The sound is even worse. As far as the commentary is concerned, it’s hard to figure out why it was even included. Lines are repeated almost as frequently and as annoyingly as they were in NFL Tour. The music isn’t much better – it’s rock, the unofficial sound of baseball. But it’s not good rock; it’s average (and in some cases old), unexciting rock that won’t inspire anyone to go purchase a CD.

One area that The BIGS 2 does succeed in – though not as well as the first game – is multiplayer. Its feature list won’t knock your socks off, but there is something really fun about playing this game with others. That alone might be enough to satisfy some of the players who were disappointed with the rest. But as an entire baseball package – and certainly as a sequel – The BIGS 2 is a little too small for its own good.

Gameplay: 6.5
The lack of fresh gameplay can only be ignored when playing with a friend, but even then the fact still remains that The BIGS 2 is The BIGS 1 all over again. Minor gameplay tweaks and name changes (Become a Legend isn't all that different from Rookie Challenge) aren't enough.

Graphics: 6.9
Visually, this one isn't ready for the big leagues.

Sound: 3.0
Repetition central.

Difficulty: Easy
No more difficult than the original. But if you haven't played it, The BIGS 2 should be fairly challenging.

Concept: 5.0
After writing this review, I paused for a moment. I wondered if the lines had been blurred, if maybe what I felt while playing The BIGS 2 wasn't deja vu but merely an inadequate summation of both games. Then I glanced back at my review of the original and realized that much of what I had to say in 2007 is what I have to say now. The only difference is that we're being asked to spend another $60.

Multiplayer: 7.5
Still loads fun to play with friends...as long as you haven't played the original so much that you're sick of The BIGS' gameplay style.

Overall: 6.9
The BIGS 2 isn't an awful game. If you missed the original, this sequel is worth playing. But it's not the game it could have been. Fans of The BIGS 1 will come to this game with high expectations, and unless those expectations are as simple as the addition of a season mode (or something equally minor), they're going to be deeply disappointed.