Nicktoons MLB - Where Cartoons and Photorealism meet and don't mesh at all

[Chibs]

Only posting this here because I thought it looked hilarious and ridiculous when I read the premise of it. Figured I might as well share it.

IGN Article summarizing the game.

What is Nicktoons MLB?
Nicktoons MLB is a kid-friendly baseball game starring Nickelodeon's cast of cartoon characters and the stars of Major League Baseball. It's a wacky, arcade-style baseball game, similar to 2K Sports' The Bigs. Nicktoons MLB is coming out for Kinect and Wii.

Basically, you get to play arcade-y baseball with Nicktoons stars and MLB pros. That in and of itself sound like it'll be a collaborative trainwreck in terms of fitting in together, but as if it doesn't SOUND bad enough, this is essentially what it will look like in all its awkward glory:

Spoiler

Good Jesus.

Aside from the obvious feeling of "No, no those two don't mash together, get it off my screen" that is achieved from staring at that image for more than two seconds, I'd also like to take this time to bet that those MLB athletes models were acquired from a baseball sim with more respectable visual detail put into it, because notice the poly count difference between the pro in the back and the cartoon character in the front.

And if the models were all made by the same developers, then it's obviously an artistic direction, one that just further makes the difference in style all the more cringe-worthy.

But, hey, at least the kids who play it won't notice the difference.

 

[ThunderNova]

Am I the only one who noticed that her hand is going through her catching mitt?


This game makes me wonder why Nickelodeon even keeps trying. Seriously. The two visual styles will be way too different.

 

[LongcrierCat]

Holy shit, I don't think anyone's been able to make a cartoon character look that terrifying without going to the extreme of rendering it with hyper realistic detail. Worst model I've seen since '06 Sonic. Agent Kitty (that's her uninspired as Hell name, yes?) is as dead as a porcelain doll. Danny is no better.

Above all though, it leaves too many questions to be asked which can all be summed up in one word and with one more word for it's answer: Why? Money.

I hate money. It makes people do awful things that they think they need to do in order to survive whenever the very monetary system they scramble to maintain has always been corrupt from the get go. If we didn't have a greed for a pointless statistic (which is every bit as pointless as it sounds) then we wouldn't have people making horrible work like this. It's as the work of an automaton I tell you.

EDIT: I was wrong. Kitty is tolerable. Spongebob on the other hand...

Man, I don't really see how a kid could love seeing that automaton on the playing field. More like it's the bane of their nightmares.

 

[Wombatwarlord777]

This news makes me nearly as happy as that Battleship movie (based on the game!) that's coming out.

Spoiler: Not the Slender Man

I must say, I'm especially impressed with Danny Phantom's model in this new game. If Nick is willing to make Patti Mayonnaise a playable character then THIS GAME WILL BE A MOST DELIGHTFUL DAY-ONE PURCHASE FOR THIS CONSUMER.

'06 Sonic

You know, that game was ahead of its time in that it juxtaposed realistic-looking humans with cartoon characters possessing wildly divergent bodily structures. The only thing that could have made it even better would have been a playable Stick Stickly and cameos from the cast of Clarissa Explains it All, as I had adamantly petitioned SEGA to insert. I'm convinced these omissions are why such an otherwise-pleasurable game garnered so such critical ire.

 

[glaber]

For some reason, that first screen shot just screams "Garry's mod" at me.

 

[Scizor300]

Wait, Ren and Stimpy are in this game?!
Yeah! Plus Powdered Toast Man, characters from Invader Zim, and Avatar the Last Airbender. Plus, a bunch of current shows that are less exciting to anyone over the age of 15, but that your younger sibling/nephew/kid loves.

Ren and Stimpy characters, Invader Zim?

Get it away...

 

[Wombatwarlord777]

BUT WHERE IS PATTI MAYONNAISE???? PATTI MAYONNAISE MUST BE IN THIS GAME OR I WILL BE VERY VERY CROSS but i'll still buy it

 

[I'll Begin]

Will this sell? Absolutely! It's Nicktoons!

 

[Colson]

MY EYYEEEES
OH GOD GET IT AWAY


This is just disgusting. The only reason they could possibly be doing this is for money!/b]

 

[Mystic]

I like the billboard on the left side of that shot with "World not making any sense?" on it. Absolutely not, cartoon alligator. Absolutely not.

 

[fickleheart]

Someone was very late for April Fool's Day.

 

[Sonnarkku]

Mixing all of Nintendo's characters, might be a good idea.

Mixing Disney and Square Enix in one game, might also be a good idea.

Mixing Nickelodeon's characters and MLB players might be a good idea... To kill with fire.

 

[Wombatwarlord777]

I'm curious... To what extent are they including real Major League Baseball players in this game? I expect that since the Nicktoons are the major draw and that this is not a serious sports game, that they are only including the more well-known players.

 

[Chibs]

I'm curious... To what extent are they including real Major League Baseball players in this game? I expect that since the Nicktoons are the major draw and that this is not a serious sports game, that they are only including the more well-known players.

You know how the Backyard Sports/Humongous Sports series, when they began adding pro players as kids to the roster, added the "single MVP" of each pro team? It'll probably be the same here. Probably just one player from each of the 30 MLB teams.

 

[Autosaver]

On the positive side, the gameplay might be good. If it is fun to play, then the mash up might be the only negative.

 

[Jellybones]

The screenshots are really weird, but I want to see Ren and Stimpy alongside Powdered Toast Man! I WANT MY SCREENSHOTS NOW!

Really though, I'm a fan of the cartoon. Probably won't warrant a purchase from me though. At least not 'till it hits the $1 bargain bin, which is likely since I picked up Ratchet and Clank from there once.

 

[Metal Knux]

Not this first time something along these lines has happened...

But yeah, pretty much all I can say about this has already been said. The combo sounds about as obscure as candy with seafood, the character models are scariest thing I've seen in my entire life(well the nicktoons anyway), and It'll probably end up as just another bad, forgettable, piece-o-garbage with no purpose other then making money.

 

[ThunderNova]

You know how the Backyard Sports/Humongous Sports series, when they began adding pro players as kids to the roster, added the "single MVP" of each pro team? It'll probably be the same here. Probably just one player from each of the 30 MLB teams.

Nicktoons MLB features all 30 MLB teams

That's all I have to say.


EDIT:

Look, it's Powdered Toast Man and The Flying Dutchman.

 

[DarkRiderProductions]

I'm buying this game just for Spongebob and Danny.

 

[akb778]

Judging by all the info released on this so far, looks like this game's gonna make as much sense as if I were to put Klonoa and the G-Man from Half-Life in a tennis match. Also looks like a desperate attempt for getting $$$ quickly. Only thing that might make it a decent game outside of the bizarre Nicktoons-meets-MLB mashup is how actual gameplay goes - if it's good, then it might actually warrant a purchase from anyone willing to buy. Guess we'll have to wait for reviews to come out to see how good it really is.