There are another few changes that you may care for or pass off depending on your level of interest. You can now customize the music in the game, as well as change what fans yell and chant. For the cynical baseball fan that wants to chastise the latest player in the steroid scandal, here is your opportunity to get some revenge, at least against this player’s avatar. It’s also very cool to be able to upload whatever tunes you want to the game and make them play for your favorite player or your created player as they walk up to the plate. Let’s just say that Major League Baseball has seen an influx of death metal intros meant to frighten the competition.

Road to the Show has not seen much of an overhaul, but honestly it did not need one-if this mode were a game all by itself (granted, not for $60) I would probably shell out for it. The best change for me was the addition of batting practice, which allowed your hitter to improve their ratings in between games-this is fantastic help early on, when your player’s contact and power are so low that they may struggle to complete all of the manager’s goals. You can also concentrate on what you want to improve here-want more plate discipline? Sit tight on the pitches that are just outside of the zone, and you will see stat boosts there. Want your Vision to improve? Take a swing at those same pitches; even if you foul them off, you’ll get a boost just for making contact. Hitting flyballs deep gets you points for power as well as contact, and even groundballs can help you out with contact. You get 20 pitches, and there are a lot of improvements you can make here. Hell, if you just want to bunt the whole time when your Advancement Goal is bunting, this gives you that chance, rather than spending your accumulated points from games and goals on the categories.

SCEA also tweaked the baserunning, but this is a change I can’t get behind. It may have just been because my player was a lumbering, plodding baserunner who had no chance of stealing (until he miraculously became a speed demon after some time training) but the new system, which utilizes just the analog stick in a lean left or right/steal or retreat fashion didn’t work well. I preferred the old system with button presses, as you felt like you had more control over the player’s actions. As my created player became faster, it became easier to control, but it’s tedious at first. If you can’t get used to it at all (or don’t want to) you also have the option of turning of baserunning in Road to the Show.

One other thing about the player’s speed in Road to the Show; it would be nice if the player’s base speed was much higher than it is when you create the player, because for a game that revels in realism, having an 18-year old move like Ben Molina isn’t much fun, especially when he’s eventually nearing 30 years old and is somehow moving as well as Carl Crawford. From a realism standpoint, I would prefer that the player moves quickly when he’s younger, and you have to feed the category in order to keep your legs fresh; failing to pay attention to the category would mean a decline in speed. That way, if you want to move from average speed to a real burner, you could just throw those points in during the actual creation process. That’s how the system works now in a way, but it just doesn’t feel right for the first few seasons, unless you want to ignore your other categories in favor of the speed ones.

Graphically, this game is stunning, with high presentation values. Players look realistic, and with even more animations added to the game this year, the movements are more realistic and more varied than even before. The crowds have also seen some additions, as they are less part of the background now and more like they are there in the park with you; wait until you see a fan reaching for a home run or foul ball that your player is trying to catch near or over the wall, and you will see what I mean. Occasionally there is an awkward animation, but it happens rarely, and doesn’t detract from the overall visual package much.

I do have a complaint about the animations I would like to mention though, and it’s one that bothers me quite a bit. Instant replays are in slow motion much of the time, and they are nowhere near as fluid as the full-speed animations. Whatever level of realism the game has achieved prior to the slow-motion replay is forgotten once you see a pitcher moving his arm clunkily, or the ball just kind of falling out of his hand in a straight line-not looking like it was just thrown-or the hitter moving his bat through the zone in a way that looks much more like a video game than it does a baseball game. This isn’t a deal breaker for me or anything, but it’s something I would like to see addressed in the future. MLB ’09 The Show, graphically, is the equivalent of a stunning girl you see walking down the street, but as you get closer, you notice she has a giant zit right smack in the middle of her forehead, and you can’t look at anything but that. Also, she walks in slow motion.

Though I’ve tossed a few complaints the way of The Show, none of those things are reasons to not get the game. They are just things I would like to see addressed in the 2010 version of the game, along with whatever other major overhauls or subtle improvements the folks at SCEA have planned. In the meantime, there’s enough to love about MLB ’09 The Show that you should plop down the $60, even if you’re still content with last year’s version of the game. SCEA gives you far more than just updated rosters each year, as they make the best baseball game on the market even better each time out.

1 2

About The Author

Marc Normandin was gaming editor of Blast from 2008 to mid-2010. You can reach him via e-mail at [email protected], or follow him on Twitter @Marc_Normandin

3 Responses

Leave a Reply