MLB The Show 09: Why I'm excited after reading ESPN Video games' hands on preview - thescoop's Blog

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MLB The Show 09: Why I'm excited after reading ESPN Video games' hands on preview Stuck

Posted on December 21, 2008 at 11:17 AM.

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After reading their preview, which is posted on this website, I found myself wishing this game would be under the Christmas tree for me on Thursday morning.

Really, I can't wait till March. This is one of those must buy title for me in 09. I was first introduced to MLB The Show in May shortly after getting my PS3. A week later I traded in my copy of the uber buggy 2k8 on the 360 and a new fan of The Show was born.

Still, it was missing many things I've wanted in my baseball games, but was good enough for me to not care. Now that I've read the first preview I'm pretty pumped, as I've already stated.

First off, Sony promises over 700 new gameplay animations, more than 150 new personalized pitcher and batter routines, and another 400 new presentation animations. But that's only just the start as the producers of the game have also added dusk to night lighting transitions, wear and tear to the field, Jumbotron animations, and a crowd that even features weather-appropriate clothing. That's right, if it is a cold game, the fans will be dressed for a cold game. I'm only hoping that means weather condition will vary.

They also are going to allow us to record our own chants and taunts. I remember when 2k first announced that you'd be able to create your own chants for College Hoops 2k8 and I was really hoping for something like what Sony is promising here. Yeah this is fluff feature, but it has me pretty pumped up cause if it is done right, it will be fun to play with. I'm just hoping we are able to upload our custom chants and share with all of the PSN world.

Next maybe another fluff feature, but after having it in MLB 2k8, it was the one thing I missed once I got the better game. That feature is custom stadium music. I want to be able to choose what the batters walk up to and music to play at certian times. Just please allow me to choose my seventh inning stretch so I can bring Harry Carrey back from the dead to sing my stretch. This feature really does add a lot to the realism feel of the game.

Now for a little more meat: Sony has added a lot of little details that the hard-core MLB fans have been shouting for, including salary arbitration, waiver transactions, September call-ups, and the 40-man roster. Player personality will also come into play as gamers try to juggle the needs of the franchise versus the needs of their star players. 40 man rosters have me really excited as well as the September call ups. Then you give me salary arbitration, waiver transactions and I get more pumped. Still a little disappointed to see no Rule V draft mention, but I'll hold out hope for now until it is confirmed not there. Even if it isn't, this is at least a huge leap in the right direction.

Multi-Branch Fielding -- Branch Point Technology goes to a new level as gamers you can now take full control of fielders and break out of any animation in the process. Change a fielding decision and branch out of any animation after the first branch point. This is a much needed change that will make the game even more enjoyable.

I also loved reading about the Adaptive Pitching Intelligence (API) and how it relates to catchers. I've loved the fact that almost all recent baseball titles have had the catchers call the game, but now it seems like Sony is going to take it to the next level. I'm going to love to see how this feature shakes out.

Pitch Command System (PCS), Release Point Pitching, Pitching Confidence Meter all appear to be something to make pitching more realistic and challenging all at the same time. Looking forward to seeing more on how each feature will work.

Revamped Umpire Personalities -- Each umpire will have his own definition of the strike zone, and it's up to the gamer to figure out if the umpire is calling the zone high, low, or giving the corners. I love this. No two Umpires call the game the same way and I love the fact I may have to change my steal, depending on who is calling the game.

Downloading and uploading sliders is welcome edition. Our friends here at OS do a lot of hard work and then post each slider. Now they can just share them with the world. Another homerun edition to the game.

Progressive Batting Performance -- Reward players for superior performance and penalize them for hitting slumps. Specific to each individual batter, players are rewarded with contact bonuses for each batter that performs beyond his "natural ability" while under user control. Conversely, the user will be punished with slight decreases in contact for each batter that performs below his natural ability. I like the fact if I'm hot with a player I'm rewarded for it, but by the same time I do like the fact I can be punished for under-performing. Another cool idea for this hopefully soon to be classic.

PlayMaker Fielding sounds like it too will be cool idea. Instead of having a great fielder field the ball just like an average or below average one, we'll see a bigger difference. So you A+ rated cf is hurt and you have to go to a rookie with a D or something, you might start hunting a trade to fill that hole more than you would have in the past. Could be a great edition to the game.

Here we are in late December and the first preview is out. I know this has me counting the days until March is here. If only Santa would deliever me an early copy of this game.

Anyway, with baseball games being among my very favorite sports titles, expect more from me on this title as we hear more. As for now, with no news on 2k9, this game is surely shaping up to be the baseball event of 09. I know it is the one I'm picking up, but I'll be keeping an eye on 2k9 as well once we get some news.

MLB The Show 09 is months away, but if it delievers on some of the features then we'll have an early front runner for the 2009 game of the year.

Comments

# 1 rspencer86 @ Dec 24

After reading that preview, it's going to be very hard for me to stick to my rule of buying sports games every other year. Sounds like it's going to be a great year for baseball gamers who happen to have a PS3.