MLB 10: The Show Review

MLB 10: The Show Review
I would give this game a 9.5. Simply unbelieveable!
www.ign.com
March 3, 2010 - It's all about the details. At least, that's what separates a good baseball game from a great one for me. You can have solid gameplay and cool features, but if it doesn't have the look and feel of a real baseball game, it hasn't done its job. MLB '10: The Show gets many of the details right to the point that this is easily the most realistic console baseball game I've ever played.
Give up a home run in a critical situation and you may see your catcher toss off his mask in disgust as the batter rounds the bases. Smoke a ball towards the gap only to have the centerfielder dive and snag it from out of nowhere and your batter might kick the dirt on the basepath to show his displeasure. Take off for second on a hit and run only to have the batter foul the ball off and the baserunner may readjust the rim of his batting helmet as he walks back to first base. There are many small, easy-to-miss visual moments like this that, when added together, make up a baseball game. And Sony got them right.
Even many of the faces, often a bane of baseball games, have been given attention. You can see the look of determination on a slugger's face or the disappointment for a player who failed. And it's surprising some of the players who were rendered correctly. I'm an A's fan and have been my entire life. But I wouldn't expect anyone to get Mark Ellis' face right. Why would they? And yet, there he is, easily recognizable to anyone who's watched the A's for the past five years. That's not to say every player on every team is exact, but there are definitely enough to make baseball enthusiasts happy.
When you couple these realistic actions and great player faces with a lifelike crowd, perfectly recreated stadiums, solid animations and good lighting, you have a real stunner of a game. The only graphical issue is the occasional slowdown, which tends to happen when balls are thrown in from the outfield.
Baseball isn't just a visual experience, though. Sound is almost as important and, for the most part, MLB 10 delivers. When you're in Yankee Stadium, it feels like it. The crowd is loud and gets up for any big Yankee play. And when you're at the Coliseum in Oakland, well, it's louder than it should be, but it still has its own distinct feel. If you want that one loud guy in the bleachers shouting "Yuck the Fankees!" you can add him yourself. Record your own taunts and crowd chants by connecting a USB mic to your PS3. It can sound a little goofy, but it's a nice option to have.
You can't, however, record your own commentating. That means you'll be stuck listening to the returning trio of Matt Vasgersian, Dave "Soup" Campbell and Rex Hudler. While Vasgersian is a fine play-by-play man, Soup and Hudler offer nothing but repetitive and bland commentary. Campbell is a solid analyst in real life, but he is more annoying than anything else in MLB 10 and Hudler often comes off like he just returned from the bathroom and wants to remind people how his voice sounds. It's a bad combo that needs to be refreshed for next year.
The Cardinals' big slugger is still king of the diamond in 2010.Of course, all the little details and the good ambient audio mean nothing if the game itself plays poorly. Fortunately, MLB 10: The Show continues the series' tradition of stellar gameplay. The batting and pitching interfaces haven't seen much of an overhaul from last year, which is just fine. Both worked well in '09 and continue to work well. In fact, it seems so similar, there's little to talk about.
Batting is fairly simple. You aim with the left stick, trying to track the ball with your eyes and hit it in the right zone. You can have a slight influence on whether you hit a fly ball or grounder by flicking the right thumbstick up or down prior to the pitch, but it's mostly based on timing. As with last year's version, you can guess the pitch location and pitch type to increase your chances of getting good wood on the ball. Like I said, not much has changed, but it didn't need to.
Pitching is also pretty much the same as last year. Select your pitch and location and then execute a little mini-game to determine the pitch power and accuracy. The better control your pitcher has, the easier it will be to hit your spots. As your pitcher tires (or if he starts giving up hits and loses confidence) the sweet spot for control shrinks and even disappears making it tougher to dictate where the ball will strike the glove.
The one aspect that has seen an upgrade is in the pickoff game. You now have control over how you attempt a pickoff. Hold L2 and tap the base for a casual toss back to remind the baserunner that you're aware of him; hold L2 and double-tap the base icon for a quick pickoff attempt; or hold L2 and hold the base icon to attempt to deceive the runner into thinking you are going to the plate before firing it towards the bag.
The batter/pitcher duels can be pretty epic. This is the single most important aspect of baseball and MLB 10 gets it right. Guessing pitch location or type can give you a huge advantage, which means that pitchers must change speeds, move inside and outside and keep the batter off-balance.



The AI in these duels is pretty good. But AI is an issue on the field in other situations. Baserunners tend to be overly aggressive, often at times that don't make a whole lot of sense. Outfielders tend to throw to a cutoff man -- even someone with a cannon like Vlad Guerrero will throw to the cutoff man rather than lasering the ball in to third to attempt to gun down a runner. Managers occasionally leave pitchers in too long and sometimes wait forever to put anyone in the bullpen to warm up. See a game or two and you might not notice these things, but over the long course of a season, the AI issues add up. There is always a difficult balance for these things, but MLB 10 didn't strike the right one for me.
There are three main game modes in MLB 10 to compliment some nice bonus offerings like the new Home Run Derby and the returning Rivalry and Manager modes. Franchise, Road to the Show and online play are what will consume most of your time and all three are strong this year.
Franchise mode offers control of all 30 teams if you want your dorm to have a full season experience. There's a lot of depth in Franchise, including a robust set of injury management tools and the option to use just about every Major League rule that an owner and GM must deal with. That includes the Rule 5 Draft, limited Minor League options for players, the waiver wire and even rules on salary reduction for players. There's a helpful transaction handbook for those who don't know their baseball rules inside and out. For those who are owners at heart, there's a full set of ownership tools included. Set ticket prices, offer promotions to get more fans in seats and maintain/upgrade your stadium to make it the best place to play in all of baseball.
While most of Franchise mode is excellent (I love the robust stat-tracking), I did run into a few issues. First off, how can a game have so much depth and yet still only allow for two-team trades? That's hardly how baseball works. But more importantly, the AI trade choices are bizarre. There are some players that have to be off the market no matter what. Derek Jeter is not going to be traded in 2010 from the Yankees. But in the first year of my franchise, the Oakland A's acquired Derek Jeter through the waiver wire. What?!
All-Star Weekend is a highlight of Franchise mode.The trade AI is the single biggest blemish on MLB 10. The trades made between AI-controlled teams often make little sense and, as you can see from the Jeter example, some of the moves will infuriate baseball diehards. There is also a trade bug that will have trades rejected during Spring Training if you have the quick trades option turned off. This has been fixed with a patch, but if you don't have online access, then it will still affect you.
For me, Franchise mode is about building a club and seeing how the League changes over the course of several years. But that requires the AI-controlled teams to be smart. And these teams just aren't smart enough to create a realistic experience. I'm still going to play the heck out of the Franchise mode because the on-field gameplay is so solid, but if there's any area that needs attention in MLB 11, this is it.

Road to the Show is back again, now in its fourth year. Your created character starts off in Double-A and your goal is to work up to the Majors. This year's additions include being able to call the game as a catcher. When behind the plate, you select the pitch and location and hope the guy on the mound can deliver. It's basically like pitching, except you don't have to use the power/control meter to determine if the pitch is successful. Instead you rely on the stats of the man on the mound. That forces you to be aware of the pitcher's stamina, control and most effective pitches. And, at least on higher difficulties, you'll want to be aware of the batter's hitting tendencies. Do they pull the ball a lot? You can use that against them in your pitch and location selections.
RTTS also adds new fielding and pitching drills to help improve your players. While these drills are fun, they only come every few weeks and don't add much to your stats. Speaking of stats, your good and bad choices on the field are now tracked through the season. Cover or throw to the wrong base and you get dinged. Master the fundamentals, however, and you'll be rewarded with bonus experience points to spend improving your attributes and in general bettering your player.




Like the Franchise mode, the bulk of RTTS is great, but there are issues. And again it comes down to the AI behind the scenes. In his third year, my pitcher Nuke LaLoosh spent the entire season in the majors as a starter for the Cincinnati Reds. His record during the regular season was 23-3. Yet he remained the fifth starter for some reason. The next best pitcher on the team was 10-8 with a 3.93 ERA. Somehow we made the playoffs. In fact, we won the World Series. But Nuke LaLoosh never pitched an inning. Not through the entire playoffs. He was on the roster. He was the Rookie of the Year, Cy Young winner and MVP. But he wasn't good enough to pitch even an inning of relief for the World Champion Reds. The long journey to reaching the majors was tarnished by a bad AI script that didn't see the value in using the League's best pitcher in the playoffs.
Online has seen a very big change with the addition of Season Leagues. You can now play a full season online that saves all stats, allows for trades and includes a 40-man roster. This is as close to being in the majors as you will get in an online game. Last year, I had some real issues with slowdown. However, in the games I played, things ran perfectly. I'm not sure what Sony did to improve its net code, but it definitely worked.

Closing Comments
On the field, The Show is top-notch. I absolutely love the mechanics and the battles between pitcher and batter. Little was changed, but really, little needed to be changed. Visually, this is a real stunner. Great animations, nice stadiums, the player's look and feel right. And this is as full a feature set as anyone could ask of a baseball game from the deep and engrossing Road to the Show to a ridiculously in-depth Franchise mode to Online Season Leagues. MLB 10 has it all! But it also has some issues. It's impossible to look past the poor trade AI or the odd decisions from your manager that weaken Road to the Show.
MLB 10 edges very close to being the best console baseball game ever made. But it doesn't quite make it there. It's still great, just not baseball perfection.


IGN Ratings for MLB '10: The Show (PS3)Rating Description
out of 10 click here for ratings guide
9.0 Presentation
There are a ton of nice little touches, like a catcher tossing aside his mask to field a pop fly or an infielder looking restless between pitches. Broadcast quality all around.
9.0 Graphics
Nice animations, good-looking crowds and excellent facial renders make for one pretty baseball game. The framerate dips from time-to-time, but this is otherwise a great-looking game.
8.0 Sound
Good crowd sounds and lots of customization options from walk-up music to fan cheers. The announcers drag things down quite a bit.
8.5 Gameplay
The on-field mechanics are rock solid, even if the AI makes some questionable choices. But Road to the Show and Franchise mode are also part of the gameplay experience and those need some work.
9.5 Lasting Appeal
Online leagues and several different ways to experience your MLB career make this one of the most robust baseball offerings ever.
8.9

Great OVERALL
(out of 10 / not an average)



MLB 10: The Show Review
In March, A World Series Champion Is Already Crowned
Review by Andrew Reiner www.gameinformer.com
The only thing missing from MLB 10: The Show’s presentation is a shot of a coach nodding in and out of sleep on the dugout bench. Outside of this miniscule detail, Sony has created the most realistic simulation in video games. If someone ran a feed of this game on one of the many screens in a sports bar, I wouldn’t be surprised if the patrons thought it was a live broadcast. The camerawork, statistical overlays, and attention to detail on the field make The Show as much fun to watch as it is to play.
Fans lunge for foul balls. Base coaches chat it up with fielders between innings. You’ll even see a catcher accentuate the importance of keeping a pitch down with an aggressive hand gesture. These details are purely visual, but touches like a fielder slowing to make a catch in front of the left field wall, or a catcher scrambling to secure a passed ball, enhance the gameplay. I never ran into a play where I thought a player should have reacted differently. The paths players take to field balls don’t come across as artificial or gamey. Players accurately read ball bounce and spin, and above all, believably portray their position.
The realism captured in the player movements also affects gameplay. Fluid pitching animations deliver violent arm snaps and accurate velocity to match. Pitching and batting mechanics remain the same, but the AI for both sides is vastly improved. If a rival pitcher has you 0-2, you become their plaything. If the computer is controlling the batting champ at the plate, they’ll make you pay for mistakes. Unlike rival Major League Baseball 2K10, fielding never induces headaches. The ball physics are easy to read, and fielders react the way you want them to. From the batter’s box to the warning track dirt, MLB 10: The Show’s gameplay delivers an all-star caliber performance.
The one area where this series loses a bit of its allure is in the mode selection. With the debut of My Player in MLB 2K10, the Road to the Show mode is now antiquated to a certain degree. Being able to call the game as a catcher is a cool touch, and I love the new pitching exercises, but the weekly goal format could use a shot of the realism that the rest of the game exhibits. Having my pitcher work on improving his bunting ability before his fastball is an odd thing for a manager to ask. Don’t get me wrong; Road to the Show remains a blast, but it’s mostly the same song and dance as last season’s game. Franchise mode allows players to manually set player injuries (I guess this is cool if you want your Franchise to sync up with the actual MLB season). CPU logic for trades and sim roster management is also much better this year.
Most of the other changes are minor, but do open the doors for a high level of customization. You can now assign audio for your team’s home games, such as inning specific songs or sound effects for game changing situations. You can now record the game ending highlight reel, or create your own. Online leagues have been fleshed out with most of the managerial options found in Franchise mode, such as 40-man roster management, league trading, and lineup/rotation tweaking. Baseball nuts with tons of time on their hands can also commission two online leagues at once.
When you find yourself wondering which player messed up the batters box chalk the most, you know that Sony’s years of iteration has paid off. The little details are in place to fool your eye into thinking it’s a real broadcast, and push your skills to play the game the way it’s meant to be played. No baseball game has come close to delivering a complete package like this game does.


The most realistic baseball simulation to date 9.50
Graphics:
Everything, right down to the tiniest details like the stitching on the jerseys, is beautifully rendered. The animations (outside of the arm clipping on catchers) are among the best in gaming
Sound:
The commentary team is dry and often oblivious to the action on the field. Thankfully, users can input their own sound and music
Playability:
The mechanics haven’t changed, but a year’s worth of tuning makes a hell of a difference
Entertainment:
This year’s Show makes me feel bad for other sports games. The bar has officially been raised
Replay:
High


Chris' MLB '10: The Show Review
www.operationsports.com
Posted on March 3, 2010 at 11:44 AM. (19) Starting with the baseball games, I am going to review every major release on my blog in a short form fashion with a 1-5 star rating scale for each game. Star ratings do not correspond to number ratings, so to find out what the stars mean check out my guide. These reviews will be meant to supplement our already off-the-charts awesome reviews we publish with each game. The official reviews for both baseball games are coming later in the week. Now onto my review:
And then there was MLB '10: The Show.
Last year, I thought The Show was the pinnacle of our genre. It represented the sport of baseball better than any game had before it, it was oozing with atmosphere, and despite a few minor flaws, the game was simply amazing.
That whole experience is even better this year. No game has ever simulated the sport of baseball nearly as well as MLB '10: The Show simulates the sport, it is simply a must own for anyone who even remotely considers themselves a baseball fan.
When a sport's game becomes realistic enough that you have to use real sport logic in order to win, you know it's gotten somewhere. Case in point: I was being fed fastballs through the first run of my lineup in a game against the Blue Jays. The second time through, I rarely saw a fastball. That's textbook starting pitching.
You'll find these baseball moments in every game of The Show.
The fielding seems to be much better as well, and the whole experience is just smooth. As far as the looks go: play the game in 1080p real time, let your jaw drop, then keep playing. There is no other game on the market which looks as good as MLB '10: The Show.

There are numerous minor bugs, and the commentary team does have some issues from time to time still, but those issues are nothingburgers when you consider everything the game has going for it -- and when you consider most will be patched very soon. It's hard to find much wrong with the experience you can have in The Show.
Simply put, after playing MLB 2K10 I thought the gap might have closed between the games a bit. However, it is readily apparent MLB 2K is still at least two years behind The Show. If you consider yourself even a remote fan of the game of baseball, and if you own a PS3, you owe it to yourself to pick up The Show. It's just that good.

Chris' MLB '10: The Show Rating: 5/5 Stars