I would consider myself a pretty devout baseball fan.  I mean my favorite team is the Florida Marlins.  Sure we won the World Series twice, but I have to suffer through years of heartache before another chance rolls around.  So in the meantime, I've been trying to entertain myself with a good baseball game for the Xbox 360.

I wish "MLB09: The Show" would make its way over to Xbox but that doesn't look likely.  "MLB 2K9" is a pretty lackluster performance from 2K Sports.  So that leaves "The Bigs 2."

Overall, this is a very solid game.  It is more of an arcade game than a true baseball sim.  The over-the-top characters, animations, and long balls make this an easy "pick up and play" game.  But if you look a little deeper you'll find a creative Career mode called "Become A Legend" and a full 162 game schedule Season mode for every MLB team.

There are a handful of mini-games unlockable while playing through "Legend" mode.  Normally used to increase your player's attributes, these mini-games provide at least a few minutes of baseball fun, whether by yourself or playing multiplayer.

Visually this game is exciting to look at.  Each of the major league ballparks are recreated with remarkable detail, giving you the feeling of actually being in the stadium.  The game even takes you to Mexico and Japan which each offer their own uniqueness.  The players look like you would see them on TV, at least in the face.  To go along with the arcade style gameplay, the players look like they stepped out of a comic book.

The only drawback to the game is that it may start to feel repetative after the first few games.  There are only a certain number of ways to change up a baseball game.  But the various difficulty levels help to challenge the player.

I haven't had a chance to check out the game on XBL yet but if it is like the first Bigs, then I'm sure it will have its ups and downs.

Overall I am impressed with "The Bigs 2."  It is a solid baseball game that still keeps it fresh and fun, no matter how long you play.  It's probably the best baseball game you can get for Xbox 360 right now.  I'm still keeping my fingers crossed for "The Show" somewhere down the road.

Rating: 8.5/10

 The story is pretty good. You get thrown right in, and at some parts you may be like wtf; however, holes get filled in as you progress, and the parts you don't know aren't enough to kill the game for you. The combat is fun, and very satisfying. There is a bit of gun play, but that takes a back seat to melee combat. (I love my cleaver.) I'm not easily startled or frightened, but this game does have it's moments when you're like WTF?! Even though I saw a couple of those moments coming I was still surprised when they did happen because  they were done so well. The audio in this game is pretty friggin' awesome, and definetely adds to the game's eerie atmosphere. I can see why so many people didn't finish this game, but I did and I thought it was good. There's not a lot of replayability in this game, but it is good. Buy it or rent it, I would lean twoards renting it, but it is pretty cheap nowadays.

So, my 360 red ringed a couple weeks ago. I sent it to get fixed and everything went well. They sent it back, but I never got a tracking number; however, I was checking the status of the package on xbox.com. It seemed my 360 would get to me with no problems...I was wrong.

 My 360 was supposed to get back to me yesterday(12/23), or so I thought. I checked the status today(12/24) and it says, "AS REQUESTED BY THE CUSTOMER, THE RECEIVER WILL PICKUP AT A UPS FACILITY WITHIN 5 BUSINESS DAYS." At this point I'm like WTF?!!? I waited all day yesterday at home, and I didn't go out at all just to find out that I was going to have to pick it up! I brushed it off after a few seconds because at least my 360 was in Los Angeles, and I could pick it up. 

I call the UPS location where I dropped it off to see if they have it. The girl that answers says that they don't do pick ups there. She asks for my tracking number to see if she can get me some help, but I never got a tracking number. I got an email from Xbox a while back that said my console had been repaired, was on its way back, and that they'd send me another email with a tracking number, never happened. I tell her the situation, and she suggests that I try to get the tracking number and  then call UPS customer support.

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I haven't played with my stuffed animals since I was 23 years old (what?), but I had the wonderful pleasure of meeting the cutest stuffed bunny named Fairfax last week. Fairfax happens to belong to the most adorable little 1 year old girl named Marissa.

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