I've made no illusion about my love for The Bigs 2, but up until now, I've discussed only a small sliver of what the game offers. Home Run Pinball is great and something to play with your buddies, but everything ages in this world. The Bigs 2 has a bunch of extra game modes, and the one I'm going to discuss is Pick Up Mode.
Pick Up starts with an 18 person draft. 2 players are randomly chosen for each position. Sometimes it will be choice between David Wright and Casey Blake at 3rd and Fernando Tatis and Ryan Howard at 1st. You want to choose the most disparate picks as quickly as possible. If two players at any one position are evenly match, you save those for last.
After you've drafted your team, you're set to play. The computer fills in the bench and gives a 3 relievers in case you need them. The line up is generated for you (which isn't my favorite) and then you start the game.
The idea behind this mode is simple, you have less to complain about in a exhibition. You chose the best players available at the time. What you do with it is up to you.
Just that little tweak and the randomly picked players make the mode consistently fresh and interesting. So you can pick your line up, an admittedly odd decision for a mode that let's you pick your team, is that really all that much of a concern? Games take 20-25 minutes to play. If you don't win the first, you can win the next or the one after that.
