Play Baseball Like a Pro with MLB Dugout Heroes

There are some lesser baseball games, and then there are some truly great ones. The ones where you get taken along with the gameplay and forget about the world around you.

Hit that curve with all you’ve got and show that pitcher what you’re made of. Hit it out of the park, and sprint your way to all the bases, adrenaline pumping in your ears.

This is baseball – when you forget for a time that you’re just playing a computer game.

MLB Dugout Heroes

MLB Dugout Heroes is a MMO baseball game, created by Wisecat and published by Gamescampus. Although developed in Korea, the game completely focuses on the American baseball scene. Earlier this year, they signed a licensing deal with Major League Baseball, allowing them to use the real-life baseball parks and players ingame. All existing MLB teams are now represented in the game, and more stadiums are in the making.

One way to describe this game would be accessible. The basic gameplay system has a pretty low learning curve so even the youngest can enjoy it, while the leveling, upgrading and the strategic aspects of the game keep it interesting for the more advanced gamer.

All this is presented in a cartoony package. The characters seem very similar to the Mii guys of Nintendo – here representing major league baseball players – and although the graphics aren’t exactly high-end, the great animations make up for a lot.

Players can take on the role of batter, pitcher and fielder. As a batter, players not only have to time their swing right, but need to guess on curves and fastballs. This might seem strange at first, but similar to the real game, you’ll soon start noticing the subtle differences in the pitch and get used to spotting the right throws.

Batting and pitching is controlled with the mouse, where fielding and base running is done with the keyboard. Controls are simple to grasp, and winning is a tasty mix of tactics and mastering the different positions.

And then there’s the difference between NUTs and Campus Credits. NUTs can be earned in-game, while playing the game. Campus Credits, on the other hand, are bought with real-money deposits.

The problem is that – while you can buy some pretty useful stuff with your NUTs – too much depends on Campus Credits. Not only can the major items only be obtained through Campus Credits, they recently started giving insane sums of NUTs every time you make a purchase, giving the paying gamers a huge advantage over the rest.

However, save these capitalist gents, the people in-game are tons of fun, and even without spending a dime, you can have the time of your life.

What do you think? Have you played this game before, or do you prefer other baseball games? Let us know which ones you think are best in the comments section below!

More technicalities can be found here, on the client download page.