The Show 09 Demo Impressions - jmik58's Blog

jmik58's Blog

The Show 09 Demo Impressions

Posted on February 6, 2009 at 10:30 AM.

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Knowing that this is just a demo build I will try to keep the comments concentrated on the most notable aspects that I would consider "need to know" for anyone who has or hasn't played The Show before.

I played three games of the demo last night at around 2 A.M. so I'm trying my hardest to recall and as I remember things throughout the day I'll come back and add to the list.

I played one game on Legend with Philly and lost 9-0. I played other games as well with Philly on All-Star mode (most realistic sim experience for me) and won both. One of them on an Utley 3-run walkoff.

Record Your Replays -- The first tip that popped up in-game was showing how to save video of any replay in the replay vault (every play is saved throughout the game for viewing at any time during the game). This may not be big to most but for us at Dynastymanager.com it opens up a lot of possibilities for our pages. The impression I got was that this would be extracted using a flash drive, unlike any upload feature to an SCEA server.
Legend Mode -- In my opinion, it should be called "Arcade Mode." The CPU results are all-or-nothing in this mode offensively. Either they hit a HR or a wall scraping double, or they strike out. Offensively you might get a couple solid hits throughout the game, but this mode is all about the challenge. Do NOT be the guy who tries to play an entire season on Legend Mode. It's all about pride and bragging rights, but it does not produce realistic baseball results if you are going for the sim feel. A fun side feature, yes. Really that big of a deal, no way.
Lighting -- No words to explain it. You have to see it. Lighting and shadows are what makes things come to life. Close-ups (try pitching from the "pitcher" camera without asking for the batter's autograph) look like the real thing. This is what next-gen graphics were meant to be in sports gaming.
Fielder routes -- My #1 gripe from last year. Fixed. Again, you have to see it to appreciate it. Even the human outfielders take adjusted routes to the ball by going into fielding animations that keep it real.
Timing at the plate -- If you played The Show before, this is really going to twist you in knots. In the past you practically had to swing as the ball left the pitcher's hand. The swing timing is much more realistic now as it is almost an instantaneous button-to-swing reaction. Yes for realism. Oh crap for those of us who have to un-train ourselves.
Swing feedback -- A subtle feature for those of us who use the plate coverage indicator (Yellow Oval) when we bat. After each swing you can push L3 and a small window will pop up. The window displays the strike zone, shows where your P.C.I. was located for the swing, and shows a red dot where the ball went through the zone. Oh we're not done yet. It then goes on to tell you if you were very early, early, good, in the wheelhouse, late, very late, reaching, jammed, etc. This is crucial to adjust your skills at the plate.
Field/Crowd improvements -- The crowd does move around more and they REALLY set the atmosphere when clutch moments arise. The field wears down and dust clouds kick up. Chalk lines deteriorate. You can see footprints!
Fielder Urgency -- I didn't see a throw to second for the final out of the inning, but the 2nd basemen was johnny on the spot in case I wanted to. The fielders had the appropriate body language and throw strength for each and every individual play.
Pitching Meter -- It is smaller at the top and widens back out towards the stopping point. I didn't see any difficulty in using the meter so no sweat there.
CPU Stole a base -- Awesome!
Slider Detail -- They literally have a paragraph to describe what each slider does. Very nice!

Again, there are things I'm leaving out, but part of that is so that you all can ask questions as well.

I'll check the thread periodically if anyone has any questions or anything they want me to check out on the demo.