Rusty’s Real Deal Baseball review

by Piyoz on Apr 21st, 2014

Rusty’s Real Deal Baseball is Nintendo’s second take on free-to-play gaming. Instead of submarines and torpedoes, this new title is a series of baseball mini-games not too different at all from something you’d find by playing Wii Sports. Subtract the remotes, add some 3D effects, and drizzle on the topping sauce du jour: talking dogs.

The chapters of Rusty’s Real Deal Baseball follow the owner of a local sports supply store and his utterly depressing existence. In his prime, the eponymous Rusty Slugger was a star baseball player. He allegedly set records, inspired youth, and was the go-to baseball expert of his time. These days, he’s resigned to managing a dinky shop selling game demos in a desperate attempt to feed his pups. That’s right. This is his living. This slobby, pessimistic mutt has to feed and raise an entire litter from people like you and me buying his games. It’s kind of sad, really.

Sounds like a real bitch.

During your first visit to his shop, Rusty sends you home with a demo and one of his children to watch over. The pup acts as a mentor and guide through all the mini-games. All ten of these dogs look exactly the same, apparently. Even their dad can’t tell them apart.

Each mini-game has ten challenges with five difficulty levels. The games themselves are as follows:

Bat & Switch: basic hitting practice sprinkled with UFO’s

Cage Match: batting cage with a wide variety of pitches

Drop & Pop: reflex practice with falling tires

Volley Bats: volleying baseballs between batters

Quick Catch: using motion controls to catch line drives.

Feel the Glove: using motion controls to catch fly balls and grounders

The Aim Game: throwing and batting toward targets

Make the Call: umpiring

Gear Games: miscellaneous games with gloves and bats

Bat Master: creating your own bats

Each game also has two Hi-Score Derby modes. If you’re good enough to earn an A+ gold medal in a derby, you can unlock another outfit for your Mii avatar. There really isn’t much else to say about the mini-games themselves. Pretty straight-forward, right? Each task completed will earn you a few stamps in your stamp book. Fill it with more and more stamps and you will unlock items. Like coupons. And donuts. And nose hair trimmers. And a wig.

 

Take those donuts and other doodads back to Rusty’s shop. He’ll try to urge you to buy a game or two. You can buy each mini-game from a base price of $4USD (prices and tax probably vary by region). That’s real life cash. Like Nintendo eShop funds. Should you take the chance to talk to Rusty, though, he will present you with a problem that he’s facing in his personal life. Based on his personal insecurity at the moment (nose hair, inability to cook, regret in his marriage), you can present him with an item that will help him turn his life around.

As you help old Rusty get his life together and take some responsibility for once, the dog will give you discounts on these mini-games. It definitely takes some steady haggling. A successful haggle might lower your four dollar price tag by a dollar or more, but it’s really the interaction that’s important. When I play a full, non-demo mini-game, I feel like I’ve earned it by helping a cartoon dog turn over a new leaf. Does that sound ridiculous?

At its core, Rusty’s Real Deal Baseball is a baseball game ripped from Wii Sports and wrapped up in a funny and entertaining story of a cartoon character getting his act together. That’s what makes it just more than a list of sports-related game modes. It’s clever and unique. And best of all, this use of micro-transactions isn’t an abusive scam. Appreciate the little things. In a day and age with Candy Crushes, it’s hard to trust a lot of free-to-play titles out there. What other game lets you haggle with a dog for real world money?

4/5
Decent fun

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