Finally, America's favourite pastime has come back to New Zealand.
Major League Baseball 2K11
From: 2K Sports
For: Xbox 360
I don't mind admitting my heart jumped just a little when I heard we were getting a proper baseball game this year.
You can't really count The Bigs 2 (2009) because it was souped-up arcade stuff.
It might have been as long as eight years since we have had a genuine baseball simulation game.
It's always seemed strange to me.
We get American football games, we get ice hockey games, tennis, basketball, golf.
Is baseball that strange to us?
Happily, 2K Sports has come to the rescue of those of us who know what a "dinger" a "ribby" and an "Arizona Diamondback" are, and while I don't have anything to compare it to, MLB 2K11 seems pretty darn good.
Like most sports games, it features a comprehensive franchise mode, where you take control of a team and play/simulate a full season (162 games!), dipping into the off-field business of running a sports team at your leisure.
There is also a My Player mode, also now standard in sports games, where you create a fresh-faced rookie and try to guide him through the minor leagues and into the show.
There are plenty of options for online play, and also a link to the real MLB season (starting any day), which will affect the performances of players in the game.
Everything's licensed, so Albert Pujols and Derek Jeter and cover star Roy Halladay and all their colleagues and stadiums are reproduced superbly.
I note American reviewers have been criticising the level of detail in 2K11 compared to its competitor, but it sure looks pretty impressive to these eyes.
There are three main areas of baseball gameplay: pitching, batting and fielding.
The first two can be controlled with the right stick, but I felt much more comfortable using classic button controls.
Unlike cricket, where the bowlers have been pushed into the shadows by the big hitters, the kings of baseball are the pitchers.
In the game, pitching is an absorbing challenge.
You have a variety of pitches to choose from - you have to adjust your target and then you work out how much power to apply.
You must keep an eye on your man's pitch count, because he will lose his control if he gets tired or under pressure.
Batting, reflecting the real-life difficulty of connecting with a tiny ball being thrown at 160kmh with a piece of wood, is a lot tougher.
There is a very small amount of time to work out if the ball coming towards you should be hit or left alone, and miscues are frequent.
Fielding is relatively simple but you have to get your head around the buttons relating to the different bases.
I'm forever throwing to third instead of second.
Baseball games - like baseball - take time.
But the rewards are plentiful, and it's very nice to be back on the virtual diamond.
