There have been rumors floating around since last year about a sequel to the glorious zombie kill fest that was Dead Rising but nothing truly solid.... until today. Eurogamer was able to dig up some dirt on the matter thanks to a source close to Canadian developer, Blue Castle. The dead * will* be rising again.

  

As if there weren't enough smashed TV sets because of Wii Sports baseball, who's to say that the Wii console isn't big enough for the likes of The BIGS? Hey, as long as it's a sports games, you're bound to hit a homerun somewhere. This title from 2K Sports and Blue Castle Games is actually getting a multi-platform release, but what we have today are a batch of screens specifically from the Wii version.

   

Keep your eyes peeled for the Albert Pujols box on retail shelves come next month when the game gets released on June 25.

It was back in October 2006 when 2K Sports first took the lid off their baseball game title, The BIGS (Wii, Xbox 360, PS3, PSP). Fast forward to today, the game now has a cover athlete and some of its features have also been divulged, now may be the best time to report an interview.

Over at Gamespot, they had a short chit-chat with Blue Castle Games' Jason Leigh. He talked about the game's development (which is going really well or so he says) and how they are creating an over-the-top arcade baseball game while still being true to a sport that is rich with tradition thanks to Lou Gehrig and Babe Ruth among many others. To that, Jason said that:

Baseball is already an exciting game, so our focus was how to make the coolest stuff happen all the time. The BIGS is very much a solid representation of baseball, but taken to an entirely new level. The first thing that you'll notice with The BIGS is that it has a really cool arcade pace. There is minimal downtime, and everything feels faster and snappier. We put a lot of effort into our animation system to make sure that there is a lot of style and athleticism with the catches and throws. The players really do feel more heroic, even when pulling off routine plays. When they start to pull off the big moves--diving catches, double plays, wall catches, etc.--we really made sure to pay that off with bigger animations, audio, and presentation.

He also discussed the game's league challenge mode (which has now been renamed as "rookie challenge"). Basically, this mode will let you in on the usual "zero-to-hero journey" - you're in charge of harnessing a rookie player's talents, from spring training to being the World Series MVP. Spring training would include building your player's skills by using minigames as their training ground.

Once you've proven your mettle, you'll earn your playoff spot and all of a sudden your rookie would be carrying his team on and to the World Series. It's a long way to the top, so it's nice to note that there are some unlockable rewards - sunglasses, batter ditties, bat graphics, tattoos, and you can choose your rookie's nickname or moniker.

The BIGS on the Wii would use both the Wiimote and Nunchuk - and of course, you get to swing it like a bat and throw it like you would a baseball. Leigh also said that they are already in the final stages of refining the control scheme. Xbox Live Achievements like "get X strikeouts, get X home runs in a game...and pitch a perfect game" would also be put in place. Unfortunately, The BIGS won't be in the PS3 Home online service...well, "not this year" says Jason.

You can check out the full interview by clicking on our read link below.

Not set to be another MLB game, The BIGS from 2K Sports and Blue Castle Games (PS3, Xbox360, Wii, and PSP) is bent to set itself apart from all the other baseball titles. With outrageous power-ups, and special effects for fielding, pitching and batting, the upcoming title is shaping up to blaze up the charts.

2K Sports' president of visual concepts, Greg Thomas had this to say about the title:

With The BIGS, we want to take the baseball genre to new heights and redefine what a baseball video game can be. The BIGS has the fast learning curve of an arcade game coupled with deep play mechanics, amazing visuals, and hero-like presentation of real MLB players that will keep gamers coming back for more. The BIGS will showcase dramatic highlight reel moments at every at-bat, creating a truly epic baseball title.

We'll see how the visuals go in this baseball multi-platform videogame, hopefully when 2K decides to give us more than screenshots (*cough* videos *cough*). The BIGS screens today feature the different MLB stadiums - fans should recognize some landmarks on them - and the players. Anyway, there hasn't been any news of the exact release date but we'll keep you posted. For the meantime, check out the screenshots.

The rest of the screens right after the jump!

The lone screenshot from last November was the first look we had of 2K Sports' newest major league baseball game The BIGS. This time we've got the newest batch of screens for your eyes only.

The BIGS, aka MLB: The BIGS, is a multiplatform (Xbox360, PS3, PS2, PSP, and Wii) sports title developed by Blue Castle Games. It features online capabilities for up to four players, minigames to train the players (we imagine it might be like Virtua Tennis), and power ups. As far as the visuals go, we really can't complain. We're intrigued as to what the batter and pitcher are doing in the middle of a busy city street but we've yet to see those outrageous special effects.

We'll quit with the prattle now and keep our noses peeled for more info on this. The BIGS is slated to slide on the shelves in June 25 (according to Wikipedia). Check out the screens for now.

More screenshots come after the jump!

Talking to Gamespot about the multiplatform arcade baseball title The BIGS, Blue Castle GM Dan Brady explains the reasoning behind naming their 2K Sports baby "The BIGS." Key words: Arcade. Spectacular. Heroes. Big Play. King. This isn't EA's MVP Baseball series - of which Dan ironically served as technical director - or MLB 2K.

The BIGS is a brand-new take on arcade baseball. In The BIGS, you are going to see all of what makes baseball spectacular, all the time. Our goal is to make the major league players look like heroes when they make the big play, and to make you feel like a king while doing it.

And how? In the main game, you play the game, train the players with action-oriented mini-games, earn powerups, and struggle to win the World Series. Did you just say "powerups," Dan? Yes, he said "powerups." Here's an example: on the pitcher's mound, activate a wind-based powerup that pumps out a gale-force headwind against the batter. Let's see him try to hit a ball out of the park with that wind!

Another difference between this "arcade" baseball title and MLB 2K - or MVP Baseball for that matter. Dan says that unlike those other two titles, The BIGS will be heavy on twitch-based controls. And don't forget you're talking about a game that will have to use the Xbox 360's controller, the PS3's SIXAXIS, and the Wiimote. It's too early for Dan to reveal any details, though.

And finally, expect to see over-the-top baseball moments and healthy exaggeration play out on the diamond. As though arcade powerups in baseball isn't over-the-top enough. (No, none of these will involve the use of steroids. Using them makes you more likely to crush the Wiimote by accident, anyway).

We'll see more of Blue Castle and 2K's The BIGS in the coming months.