While MLB Manager is a fun game and does fill a huge hole in my personal gaming wishlist (I’ve been a fan of OOTP for years,) it does leave a lot to be desired.
There is a lot to love about this game:
- It has accurate rosters for both the majors and minor leagues (I’m pretty sure down to rookie ball!)
- Stats are calculated using the same engine as OOTP
- In fact, everything is pretty much OOTP Pocket Edition
There is also a lot to not love
- Even on a team with a large market, like the Cardinals, it is extremely difficult to extend contracts because of the low amount of money you receive in your budget
- The UI is like a clunkier version of OOTP, very hard to navigate if you’re inexperienced
- Building a decent team is EXTREMELY hard, though that just may be me
- The touch controls are just slightly off, which makes doing everything slower
- The game moves SUPER slowly
Like I said, this game is like a pocket version of OOTP (minus some features). It even includes the full broadcast simulation style. Where OOTP falls short, this game just falls a little bit shorter. The cluttered, awkward UI and bad touch controls don’t help. In all honesty, I’m thinking about getting a Windows tablet so I can just play a full copy of OOTP on the go. Even with it’s shortcomings, this is still a good game, and I’m looking forward to the improvements in the next version.