MLB 09: The Show
MLB The Show is the longest running MLB licensed franchises to date. It has accomplished this not purely out of luck, but on the basis that it delivers an incredibly realistic simulation of professional baseball and MLB 09: The Show is no exception. MLB 09 has promised to deliver the most realistic baseball experience to date and has certainly accomplished that. Not to get a head of myself here, but the presentation is outstanding. Forget about the amazing graphics, fluid character animations and incredible sound as amazing individual accomplishments. what's truly amazing is how everything comes together to create an completely authentic atmosphere that is unparalleled and unrivaled.
What can be said about this title that followers of the franchise don't already know? To provide a brief recap, MLB 09: The Show is detailed to the max. The game is tricked out for all your Baseball needs. Everything from the players, umpires and stadiums have come to life in a silky smooth representation of the great American pass time. All of the MLB teams along with the majority of Double A and Triple A franchises are available with up-to-date rosters and every statistic imaginable. The same old game modes are back to no surprise but Road to the Show is new to the series. In Road to the Show, you start off in the minors and eventually work your way up to the big league. This mode was pretty interesting. You essentially called to action 5 or 6 times during a game when it is your time to do something. If your character is a second baseman, you'll only really play when you are involved in a particular play. You also bat as well. it's a long trip but is still a pretty cool to see your character get better as time goes on.
The upgrades in the graphical department are pretty slick. There are new animation that are automatically enabled when performing exceptional fielding plays or even when you're standing around in the field. The presentation in the game is above and beyond anything I have seen before. its just so incredible detailed and believable. This is truly the closest thing to a real baseball game you will ever find in a video game. The crowd will even change what they are wearing depending on what time of the season you're currently playing. This game is jam packed with everything an authentic baseball fan could conceive of doing. From salary arbitration to playing the role of a real GM you can't come any closer to a perfect presentation than what MLB 09: The Show has to offer.
Game play is incredibly accurate as well. Pitching mechanics and the physics involved are flawless providing an experience that can only be described as painfully realistic. Pitching is accurately displayed while being released from the pitchers hand with 17 different pitch types available depending on the particular pitcher. Be warned that this game is not for the causal user. A baseball mentality is essential at all times and it is a huge benefit to be an avid fan of the game. This game works like it would if you were actually out there on the field or in the batter's box. You have to take the pitching count into concideration along with the players true to life attributes as well. At times you can catch a batter swinging but more often than not, you'll be in a dig em out style battle that may go for on for over 10 pitches. At this point, depending on the outcome of the battle, your pitcher may lose stamina or feel the pinch and get stressed after having a 3 run home run belted out of the park on your behalf. Everything is well thought out and events play out in true to life fashion.
The sounds of the game are equally impressive from the random chants or comments from the peanut gallery to the umpires and commentators. Commentaries are extremely well done dishing out stats for every player, real time analysis of player and team progression and everything in between. Make a bad play or the wrong move and they'll let you know about it. They can be ruthless at times but this only encourages you to play the game better. There's a pretty steep learning curve involved at first for new comers but the reward is worth it once you're battling it out in a close score towards the end of the game. I didn't get a win for my first 10 games but that didn't deter me what-so-ever. It just compelled me to play more and to tighten up the sloppy mistakes I was making.
I could go on and on about the seemingly never ending game play modes, options, stats and all the other finely tuned bells and whistles but I think you all get the gist of what I'm trying to say here. MLB 09: The Show offers the most realistic baseball experience to date and is a must have for fans of the series. The ability to track your every stat in Road to the Show along with new features such as the batting cage, API (Adaptive Pitching Intelligence), custom boo's and chants and online play will keep you coming back more while refining your skills. MLB 09: The Show is the best Baseball simulation available so if you own a PS3 and love Baseball, this is really a no brainer. Definitely worth every penny and highly recommended.
