MLB 07: The Show

"The Show Must Go On"

MLB 07: The Show is the new entry, in the best baseball game series, to ever be on the PS2. Sony welcomes back the franchise, with the Mets 3rd Baseman, David Wright on the cover.

Gameplay:

An essential to any great baseball games. The last few games were plagued by glitches in the field. Such as balls going through fielders, or the ball just disappears. MLB 07: The Show fixes that and some. It's refreshing to play a game that's not constantly plagued with glitches. When something bad happens, it's completely your fault. The biggest change in MLB 07, is that it tweaks its gameplay to make everything seem useful and helpful. The biggest improvement is the pitcher-catcher relationship. Your catcher will suggest pitches and where to put them in the zone. You being the pitcher, can shake off pitches, and throw your own. However, another tweak they have made, was Pitcher Confidence. You may want to finish off a batter with a nasty change-up, but if the hitters have been looking for it, and have crushed it all day, your confidence goes down. This means, you could lose accuracy and speed.

The biggest feature that you should look at, is the Road to the Show mode. The mode which takes the old career modes, and one ups it. In this mode, you'll start off as a spring training invitee and have to prove you have the skills to make it to “The Show,” which is the Major Leagues. Nine out of Ten times, you will not make it out of Spring Training. You will be offered a small deal to play in the minors. During this, you'll have goals from your manager and if you attain them you earn points which you can then use to improve your attributes and make you a better player. For Example, you pitch badly in a game, your manager takes you out. But the next game, you start to pitch better, and he still takes you out. You have the option of complaining. Complaining might make him mad, and bench you. Or, your point will have been made, and he will think twice next time.

These new aspects completely change the game, and provides it with an outstanding base, for future MLB games.

10/10

Graphics:

One of the main flaws with the game. Not overall bad, but a few glitches here and there. It looks like the developers had their hands full with the graphics of the PS3 version. Very few changes have been made since the last year's edition. But at least the developers fixed most of the glitches, with fielding. But me and most fans agree, that they should have done more. Especially, the one glitch of the first baseman, that he throws the ball through the shortstops chest, every single play.

8/10

Sound:

In the sound department, we are treated to the three-man team of announcers that once again include Rex Hudler, Matt Vasgersian and Dave Campbell And they are nothing short of spectacular. The 3 man commentary is as good as turning on ESPN and watching a game. The sounds around the stadium, are also both random and amazing. You can hear the hot dog vendor, selling hot dogs for 6 dollars a pop, and even fans complaining about the prices. You can practically smell the beer, popcorn, and the grass from the field. However, the soundtrack is very lackluster. Instead of playing the songs of the good old boys of summer like AC/DC, and some good classic rock bands. They play bands like My Chemical Romance which have you, more often than not, shutting the music off.

9/10

Replay Value:

Extremely High. Play online and compete against people from all over the world. Or just plug in another controller, and face off against your friend. From franchise mode, to Road to the Show to Online Play, you'll want to play over and over.

10/10

Summary

The best baseball game you will play, on the market. The PS3 one might look better, but this is the one you will always remember. You will remember this game for a long time, and will always look forward to the next one, which will only get better over time.

9/10

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 08/21/07