Out of the Park Baseball (OOTP) 13 Review

From a veteran of Out of the Park Baseball and someone who has been playing OOTP since 2004, I can safely say that Out of the Park Baseball 13 is easily the best version yet.

What is Out of the Park Baseball?

For those of you who are unfamiliar with the game, it is a baseball simulation. You take control of a manager or GM in an incredibly customizeable universe in which you create. The options in which you play the game are pretty much endless.

You first decide what sort of universe you want to play in. You can start in 2012 in the Major Leagues or you can create a historical replay. Want to start in 1927 and see if you can beat the Gehrig and Ruth Yankees? You can do this all while replaying as many historical seasons as you want. And no results are ever the same. You can also create your own fictional universe. This is where the fun really comes in. You can customize to your hearts content. Team Names, Locations, Uniforms, you name it. It’s all customizeable. Want this universe to run parallel to actual Major League Baseball? You can do that too. And even have your players move from league to league if you so desire. LIke I said, there are so many ways to play OOTP, it’s possible to have multiple saved game files going at once. I’ve done that several times myself!

Once you get the universe set up, you can set all of your own rules. Don’t like the DH? No problem. Want trades disabled? You can do that too. Once again, customization is endless.
Finally… You decide how you want to play. Do you want to play as the manager of a minor league team, and hope you get a great job offer down the road? Feel free. Or do you want to play as The commissioner? Basically just watching things as they develop and enjoy the show.

How do you play?

Well like I said above, you can really play however you want. Once you’ve decided what your role is in the universe, you get to play the games. You don’t have to simulate if you don’t want to. OOTP gives you the option to play each game out with the fantastic in game engine. Call pitch-outs, insert pinch runners, you name it. Or you can simulate as much as you want and look at the results. Want to simulate the entire season while watching your favorite team on TV? Go for it. When the season ends pour through the hundreds of stats at your disposal and see exactly what happened. Or you can sim a month or a week at a time. It’s entirely up to you.

The game models the offseason and the amateur draft true to life. For some people, drafting and watching prospects develop is their favorite part. And of course there is free agency with a robust financial engine. Building a team, succeeding and continuing to succeed are difficult at best.