Hm. Well, as your resident number nerd, it shouldn't be surprising that I have an addiction to the gaming world as well. So first, a lowdown on what in the world this game is (and where you can get it!).
Hopefully you know this is a game across the PLAYSTATION brand (Psst, that's the PSP, PS2, and PS3). Unfortunately, I'm not endowed with a boatload of money, so a PS3 is not in my collection. However, I do own a PSP, and that's what this review is going to be based on.
This game is the "best-selling" and "most realistic" baseball simulation available! AND that it gives you the "closest experience possible next to actually playing in the Majors", awesome. AND most importantly, keep in mind that this game has been out for about a month now, so... should you want it you can most certainly get it.
Alrighty. Now that the introduction is out of the way, hit the jump to read the entirety of this article. I promise it'll be awesome. (Well, that and you'll have to read a sizable amount of text...)
Welcome... to the inside. This is where I actually talk about the game play
itself, and how much it (possibly...) impressed me and my recommendation about
it.
Sooo... lets begin. Wait. First, let me warn you that I have not played any
of the previous MLB '0x series so... I'm going into this fresh and cannot
comment on "improvements from 07 to 08, so... keep that in mind while I
truck along.
First let’s address the pitching. It's a pretty interesting system. Instead
of the general, pick your pitch then have a cursor point at the location and
twiddle some buttons to change it slightly (from what I remember last of how
pitching worked...). There's a power-gauge that comes up. First to gauge the
power, then swinging back for the accuracy. Pretty nicely done I must say. I
was also impressed how when a pitcher got progressively in a jam that the gauge
would go at a much faster pace. Mimicking what must be panic / frustration that
would normally be building up in an actual pitcher. [You can revert to the old
school point and release version though! So for those who fear change, you are
saved. But really do try this version out, it's pretty nicely done]
The "assist location" feature (which is stated as being your 'own
personal catcher' for you) is helpful... though usually ended up botching it
(as not hitting perfectly on the gauge causes the ball to veer off in
undesirable, hittable areas... I’m still not that good at it...)
Batting is real nice too. You have the classic guess pitch and guess
location option. Pick right and you get a nice satisfying red pulse to show you
that you've got a leg up (and you better not mess it up!!). Then comes the
eventual base running. I'll be honest. I absolutely stink at it. I can't
leadoff for the life of me (I've gotten picked off so many times it's not even
funny). But whatever, always takes me an age and a half to finally get the base
running down...
Now for THE most fun part of the game, the "ROAD TO THE
SHOW" (RTTS) Mode. Which as I stated earlier was described as giving you
the "closest experience possible next to actually playing in the
Majors". It's pretty sweet. You create your own character (5'6" 185
pounder Asian LF/C (what?) combo!) and then get a spring-training invite and
work your way through the system! You only play when *you* are part of the
action [Though, it gets annoying when the only part of the action is you
watching a HR ball sail over your head. Or you make it on base and wait around
only to have the batter K] There are specific goals that you may need to
achieve on an at bat (drive the run in, reach safely, don't strike out...) and
you get ability points in return. Fail and you'll lose points. (Though at the
end of the game you won't end up with a negative score). Use these points to enhance
your abilities and become a better player! Right now I'm in the AAs slowly
trudging through... but it's a damn good time! [It's the reason this wasn't up
earlier, just wanted to keep playing mooooore]
There are also nifty side features like the Home run
Oh, but it's not without flaws, I'm sure if I had the power that I'd be half
bald by now because of the load-times. Ohhh man, those load times are killer. I
understand that there must be a whole bunch to load but I'm still complaining.
It takes a while to looooad. If it weren't for my multitasking nature of having
the TV going and the laptop fired up... well. Yeah. Maybe I wouldn't be as
enthusiastic. Perhaps if you're a graphic-connoisseur (I could use another
word, but I guess I’ll pass), you may have some complaints, but it's not
eye-killing. Meh meh.
So... if you just want the gist here is... The Bottom Line
This is a pretty darn good game. And if you're an avid baseball fan and
need a game this seems like the game of choice. I haven't seen the opposition,
but popular opinion from my group of gaming buddies point to this game. It's
been a while since I've had a baseball game capture my attention like this...
not since MLB Power Pros (PS2/Wii). So it's an impressive feat to have caught
my attention for so long! If you don't like baseball games... uhhh. 1) Why are
you reading this, 2) If the answer is 'because you're so cool' then get bust a
friend to get it for you and try it out. Because it's worth at least a
try. The fact you can pause/save on-the-go makes this game playable in chunks
(cause a single game isn't a quick task).
Rejoice that there is a quality game for the handhelds (or console if you
have the dinero) and you can play endless hours, only to realize, aw damnit is
it really 11?! [Just, be able to deal with the load times...]
FANS: BUY IT! It's the baseball game to have
NONFANS: RENT & TRY! Worth it to play around with the buddies!
(Did you really read all this? I thank you... for having to deal with this.
I'm an EECS Major, I'm not used to this 'coherent writing' thing.)
1 recs | 9 comments
Big Thanks
to Sony for sending Halos Heaven free MLB08 games to review.
Rev Halofan - April 21, 2008
I played this one for a bit
and am going on to MLB2K8 this week. I’ll let you know which I prefer. Having said that, the MLB 0X have always been better in the past.
ineptituderunsamok - April 21, 2008
I had the best baseball game around
Well…...at least in 1983 I did. Then again, I think the last time I was considered “cool” was 1983.
Fan Since 1981 - April 21, 2008
POOR
i dont have a ps3 either so i am stuck on playing the ps2 version, im pretty impressed besides the occasional odd trades. being on the ps2 i cant easily update my rosters either. In Fact, Kosuke Fukudome is called Tom Jung and you have to manually activate him on the cubs roster on version 1. im sure the playstation 3’s graphics and easily updated roster is quite nice though
ANewFoundThrice - April 21, 2008
Load times
I’ve got mlb 07 (waiting til I get to the States in June to buy 08) and you can download the iso of the game (obviously only download games you own) onto your memory stick and it loads about twice as fast. I love my psp, but those load times are killer.
The road to the show is a great feature, I’ve only played the King of the Diamond feature once and that’s it. I got up to the majors with the Angels, then got cut and I’m now flitting between AAA and the bigs with the Jays as a ss/3b
Matt UK - April 22, 2008
The Show
I have the Show and MLB (both ps3 baseball games). I think the Show has much better graphics and is much more fun to play, but for people like me that love to do the dynasty the Show has some MAJOR flaws:
1- There is no way to track career stats. The player cards only keep stats for a few catagories and only go back 5-6 years. You can’t go back and look to see how many complete games Greg Maddux threw in 1991 because it doesn’t keep track on CGs and doesn’t go back that far in stats. This is terrible for a stat driven game like baseball. 2- Stolen base totals are f-cking ridiculous. Chone Figgins, Jose Reyes, Carl Crwaford steal 100+ bases every year! 3- You cannot edit minor league players and rosters like you can for MLB 08.I have both games, and play the MLB 08 franchise because its much more realistic and keeps better stats, but when I want to battle my friends I play Show because the graphics are much better and its a smoother game to play
ScottAZ - April 22, 2008
Addicted to MLB08 The Show...
It seems like I’ve been playing it almost non-stop since it came out. The Road To The Show is a lot of fun and I have already relegated Casey Kotchman to DH status. If not for this pesky job, I’d be at home playing now. As it is, my fiance probably left work early and is probably at home with my PS3, a can of gasoline, and a match. LOL
thetooth - April 22, 2008
I'll rec this
despite the fact that I not only own an xbox360, have not owned a sony product since the PS1, and am infuriated that this product was PS3 exclusive.
Also, it could use some pictures.
shiftyeyedgoat - April 22, 2008
Road to the Show
RTTS is such an addictive feature. I dont have 08; I’m still playing 07 but its a lot of fun. You really feel like the player, whether it’s trying to figure out how to work the count against the pitcher, guessing what pitch he’ll throw next or seeing when you can get a jump on the pitcher to maybe steal a base.
Pitching is a lot of fun too, very cerebral thinking about what pitch sequence and what locations you want to use to get each batter out, havign to take into consideration which pitches seem to be working for you that day, and which ones are just off. I like doing the stuff you don’t typically think about in baseball games, like having to run to cover home on a passed ball or back up the play at third on a throw from the outfield.
mhatter106 - May 2, 2008
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