MLB ‘09: The Show is full of your
favorite players, teams, coaches, and everything you could want as a Major League
Baseball fan. The game is full of things to do and modes to play, and this game
is one of the best baseball games I’ve played in a long time. So, without
further adieu, let’s start with a description of the gameplay.
As soon as you turn the game
on, you have got to watch the introduction. It shows the old legendary players,
and then compares them with current players that are making a name for
themselves. It’s not often I refer to an introduction as great, but I
am and you should take the time to watch it. After the introduction plays or you hit the
start button, a menu will pop up which gives you a lot of different options to
play the game. There are a ton of different modes, and I’m going to try and hit
a little on each of them. First, there is your usual Exhibition game which lets you play a quick pick-up game by yourself or with one other
player. Then there is the season mode, which lets you play a season with your
favorite team. There is also Manager mode, which lets your team play, but you
get to decide what they do whether it be to swing away or bunt for a hit, et cetera.
In Franchise mode you pick a team, and try to make
it into the championship franchise you’ve always dreamed of. And last but not
least there is Road to the Show, which allows you to create your own player,
give him a position, and give him attribute points to make him better and become
a star. As for the rest of the game, obviously it’s baseball, and you will be
playing the “usual” baseball game. You hit with every player, you pitch with
the pitcher you chose. It’s baseball at its finest.
This game really doesn’t fall short
on anything. Great gameplay, great controls, great sound, everything makes the
game a great experience for baseball fans and possibly a new generation of
people. The game’s graphics look fantastic for the PS2. Of course, they aren’t
the high definition graphics the PS3 or Xbox 360 might have, but considering the
hardware, the graphics are beautiful. The gameplay
is also fantastic. You can swing for contact, swing for power, bunt, throw,
pitch – you can do everything with ease and it is fun. There are all kinds of
pitches that MLB ‘09 offers, and it’s easy to throw them. You can play with all
the MLB teams, all your favorite players, and all the stadiums are included as
well. The controls are perfect. Tips come up during the game, and they tell you
exactly how to control different aspects of the game. The tips act as tutorials
to teach you how to pitch, hit, field, steal, and anything else you can think
of. The addition of this really helps the player and helped earn a
high score for controls.
The sound is great for what it is.
Usually, you don’t think of a baseball game as a game with a wonderful
soundtrack, but MLB ‘09 The Show brings a soundtrack that works well for the
game. The soundtrack is mostly just songs for your enjoyment as you
pick what you want to do. Mostly pop and rock music rule the soundtrack. The
sound effects are great as well. It will really make you feel like you are in a
Major League Baseball game. The multiplayer is great, but you want to make sure
the person you are playing has a good connection. I played a few games online,
and there seemed to be connection problems at times. This becomes frustrating
when you are in the 8th inning, up by two runs, and the connection is
lost. I hate it when that happens, but other than the connection problems,
it works great online. I would definitely suggest it for you guys who are just
hammering the computer teams, and need some real competition. The concept of
this game isn’t held back either. Yeah, baseball games have been around since
the beginning of video-games, but this game’s goal was to be the most realistic
baseball game out there, and I think it does that. That’s coming from a baseball
fan of 15 years.
Overall, MLB 09: The Show is one of the
best baseball games I’ve played in recent years. It has all your favorite
players, stadiums, and teams, and you could not ask for more in a baseball video-game. If you are a baseball fan, or someone looking to get into baseball, I
would definitely say give MLB ‘09: The Show a chance. I think it’ll be a HIT,
pun intended.
Gameplay: 9.0
The gameplay is so realistic that it reminds me of my days playing baseball.
Graphics: 8.0
The PS2 limits how great the graphics could be for this game, but all that
considered it still delivers great visuals to a last-gen system.
Sound: 8.5
It has great sound effects, and a solid song list that works even when just
browsing through menus and choosing games.
Difficulty: Medium
Concept: 8.5
The concept was to come out and be the most realistic baseball game
the video-game world has ever seen, and I believe the game does just that.
Multiplayer: 7.5
Multiplayer is great except for a few connection problems I had with a few
games, which lowered the score a little bit.
Overall: 8.7
This game is a great baseball game that fans would and should get. One of the
better baseball games I’ve played dating back to the NES.
