R.B.I. Baseball 14 Hands-On Preview (Polygon, Sports on Earth)

Unlike most sports titles from the past two decades, R.B.I. 14 doesn't provide any ratings for players or teams. Until they jump into a game, a casual baseball fan would have no way of knowing whether the Detroit Tigers are better than the Houston Astros (they are), or whether Aroldis Chapman's fastball is faster than C.C. Sabathia's (it is). There's no bullpen management in R.B.I. 14 — you just bring in a new pitcher, no warm-up needed.

Once players get into a game of R.B.I. 14, they'll find a simplified experience that still leaves room for experienced players to put their skills to good use. All hurlers have three types of pitches at their disposal: normal, fast and off-speed, with the latter having the potential to dive into the dirt for certain pitchers. As in the original R.B.I. Baseball titles, you'll be able to curve the ball from side to side after it's out of the pitcher's hand; better pitchers will have more control here, and slow pitches are more movable than fastballs.

Same three body types: Skinny, normal and fat. The fat guys look a little less fat than on the original, partly because of improved graphics and mostly, I suspect, because of player vanity. There are five different facial hair styles, but they're purposefully imprecise. The best way to put it: David Ortiz sort of looks like Common.

No stats. This is not a simulation: You won't be keeping season stats, which is good, because I'm pretty sure Miguel Cabrera would end up with 194 home runs. You can play full seasons though -- 162 games, 81, or 52 -- as well as the postseason.