MLB '09: The Show Review

[maddcatt]

Quote: Originally Posted by pbz06

it's sooooooooooooooooooooo much fun and makes for intense pitcher/batter duels (assuming you turn off pitch locator icon and strike zone) playing against a human is very satisfying, especially offline...since you get the game in it's full glory. When you go Online, it's laggy, toned down graphics, and a lot of sync issues.

Wow !! That's all I needed to hear....Thank You !! pbz06's

Looks like I'll be racking up even more credit card debt soon : (

I'd much rather play vs. a human opponent offline as opposed to vs. the computer AI without the worry of lag ruining a game.....I really think that's when all these sports games are at there best.

I really wish they would go over the human vs. human offline play during these reviews.....My brother and I have been getting together once a week for years to play each other in sports games and I'm now 42 and he's 41

This is all we have because we are both to old to be playing real sports any longer : (

[SDwinder]

I love both The Show 09 and NHL 09. I am partial to baseball as that was my passion and career for a good part of my life. But NHL 09 is as much fun as a game can get. Head to Head offline is incredible. Havent played it online yet though. I would be perfecttly fine with this game for hockey if another hockey game never came out. It is that good to me.

The Show 09 is a fantastic baseball experience out of the box. Like the reviewer stated there are numerous little bugs I have noticed playing offline, but they are minute. The additions to the gameplay over 08 really make the experience that much better. I am sure those little bugs will be fixed in the future. The online aspect though is disconcerting. In 08, it was hit and miss. With a cable connection in Southern Calif. I would have games that played great and then games which were crap due to lag. The key is the batting lag. That has to be eliminated otherwise what's the point.

While I feel NHL 09 has gotten about as good as it can get as a package, The Show 09 still has room for improvement, but even with that, they are both 9.0+ games to me. Offline play is always the most important, because without solid gameplay what is the point playing online. Other than the online play, I feel we are splitting hairs between which game is best. They are both outstanding and deserve to be recognized as such.

As for the commentary between MLB 2k9 and The Show 09, long term I prefer The Show because of the deeper, on the point commentary. I love Gary Thorne, it doenst get any better, but there is much more of a vocabulary of info in The Show. I like Matt V. a lot in The Show. He is solid. Rex Hudler is an aquired taste. I am an Angels fan and have heard him through his entire broadcasting career. Early on, he was quite the Valley guy and I used to cringe at some of his choice of words. But I always loved his energy and love for the game and appeal to kids. He has gotten MUCH better as a professional sounding broadcaster in recent years without losing his zest for the game. I think he brings a lot to the broadcast now, but if you are not used to him and his energy, he might be too much for you. Also, I dont notice a difference between his Angel broadcast quality and his performance on The Show. Very much the same.

The last year we have been blessed with some great sports games including The Show, NHL 09, Tiger Woods, FIFA, both NBA games, and Madden. There is always room for improvement, but it has been a very good sports gaming year.

[EnigmaNemesis]

Agree with pretty much everything you just said SDwinder!

[Jimbo68]

Alright, finally got a few games of The Show in this weekend. Initial thoughts are... Great game, great graphics, presentation, etc. For those who have said the batting is tough, YOU ARE CORRECT. I never play a new game on Rookie mode. I usually start on the mode right after Rookie, in this case, Veteran. And let me tell you, Veteran mode is tough. I am 0-3 in Veteran mode and 1-0 in Rookie mode.

Pros: As I stated earlier, gameplay, graphics, presentation, etc. Good pitcher vs batter confrontations, nice replays, game options, practice mode: batting cage with different pitch selections to choose from, etc.

I am older than most playing this game, with wife and child, job, so I don't have enough free time to play franchise and RTTS modes. Sad but true. I only play exhibition games and I'm fine with that.

Cons: Have seen and heard too many times that the pitch was close enough to be called a strike but wasn't. Not sure what the algorithm is that dictates the on the border pitches. But the majority seem to be called balls instead of strikes. Batting is a challenge, I try to wait early in the count, have gotten to many 2-0 counts, so I know a fastball is coming, but end up hitting into to many grounders, or shots right to an outfielder. Will continue to practice in the batting cage. The running game is still too complicated, push this stick and corresponding base to steal, push this and that to lead off, push this too send runners back, or to stop them between bases, etc. too confusing for this old time gamer. During the contests I end up letting my runners run for themselves normally, otherwise I always seem to make stupid running mistakes because I don't get the button/stick combos during the heat of the battle.

Anyways, overall a very nice game. Haven't tried online yet, so can't discuss that here. I would give this game a 9.2 overall. As for those of you debating NHL 09 vs The Show 09, give it a rest, you're comparing apples and oranges.

[RaychelSnr]

Quote: Originally Posted by ChaseB

Chris is, in fact, not Jeebus. I know some people were confused on that point though so I see why you would be too.

Touche Chase, touche

[EnigmaNemesis]

Quote: Originally Posted by Jimbo68

Cons: Have seen and heard too many times that the pitch was close enough to be called a strike but wasn't. Not sure what the algorithm is that dictates the on the border pitches.

That is due to umpire tendencies. You can turn that off in the options. They will call borderline pitches, or balls as strikes, just as they do IRL depending on umpire.

It is programmed that way so when you have that umpire calling the game, you will know his tendencies on how to pitch.

[Smokez4DAyz]

i don't mind your excitement for the game, nor do I doubt, its worth a high score, but 9.5, with annoying bugs? And constant low scoring games, and poor online connection, and its still a 9.5? I remember when game reviews had real weight, and not just a comparison to the competition's game. Furthermore, telling us "it plays like baseball" is not a reason to get a high marks...Maybe if one of these years MLB tries some new things, we can get a real critique, but this is the same game engine for 4 years now. I give credit to game designers who don't sit around just updating the rosters and the stadiums...Not a must get, if you're not a baseball fan.

[KOL]

Quote: Originally Posted by Smokez4DAyz

i don't mind your excitement for the game, nor do I doubt, its worth a high score, but 9.5, with annoying bugs? And constant low scoring games, and poor online connection, and its still a 9.5? I remember when game reviews had real weight, and not just a comparison to the competition's game. Furthermore, telling us "it plays like baseball" is not a reason to get a high marks...Maybe if one of these years MLB tries some new things, we can get a real critique, but this is the same game engine for 4 years now. I give credit to game designers who don't sit around just updating the rosters and the stadiums...Not a must get, if you're not a baseball fan.

Constant low scoring games?

This is what we wanted, personally the game for me is perfect.
As the OP said, you can't go into this game with the mindset of 'Well if I swing at everything eventually I will score'

Patience is a virtue.

And the engine why would you change something that's not broken?