Developer: SCEA

Publisher: SCEA

Release Date: March 3, 2009

Systems: PS3 (reviewed), PS2, PSP

ESRB Rating: E

Official Web site

0:00 Apparently I didn't like MLB 07 but did like MLB 08 when I played them for an hour. This could be because of the many (read: few) differences between the versions, but more likely relates to my mood at the time of playing.

0:01 The intro video has a "then & now" theme. "He anchors the front of the rotation. He's an All-Star. A Hall-of-Famer. He's the guy you count on to start the season, to stop a losing streak, to start a post-season series. They deliver the strikeouts, they deliver the wins, and most of all, they deliver the glory." He's ... the pitcher, I guess? "THE TRADITION CONTINUES!" the screen blares. Title screen! OK then!

0:02 "The game requires data to be cached to the HDD. This process will take 6-7 minutes." Of course it does...

0:04 Just as a warning: It's roughly 5 degrees Kelvin outside in Pittsburgh today, so I'm not really in the mood for baseball...

0:06 During the HDD preloading process I get to stare at an HD image of some screaming Red Sox player. If I were a better baseball fan I'd probably know who he is...

0:10 OK, here we go. "Would you like to create a user profile?" I guess so...? In the background we hear the announcer's call from Ken Griffey Jr.'s 600th homer. Nice touch.

0:11 The game seems to remember my Orioles affiliation from last time. Nice, but I think I should change over to the awful Pirates, since I'm in Pittsburgh now, right?

0:12 Look at all those modes. I have no idea what the differences are between "Road to the Show," "Franchise," "Season" and "Manager" modes. "Rivalry" is intriguing, though ... let's dive in there.

0:13 Man, the Pirates' highest ranking is 19th in the league, for speed. Everything else -- batting, pitching, etc. -- is 25th or below. They are SO AWFUL!

0:14 Apparently my default rival is the Tampa Bay Devil Rays? That ... doesn't sound right. Anyway, I can set it up to play 7, 15, 29, 45 or 83 GAMES! I don't have time for all that. Let's back up to Quick Play.

0:16 I choose to play as the Silver Era All-Stars, because I need all the help I can get. Nolan Ryan is my pitcher. He looks a bit jaundiced as I stare at his polygonal face during the loading screen.

0:17 "MLB: The Show coverage is on the air as we're under the lights in Shea Stadium in New York for this edition of Major League Baseball," says Matt Vaskejian, who's there along with Dave Campbell to bring us the call. "Let's see, why don't we schedule a game against the best players of all time!" Campbell says, doing his best imitation of the Devil Rays manager. Hey, I'd do it if I could!

0:19 My first pitch is just like I remember -- I hold my aim with the analog stick, choose my pitch with the face buttons, use a timing meter for power/accuracy, and throw. A catcher's mitt appears in the strike zone just before I throw ... I guess that's where the catcher wants me to put the pitch? The first pitch is an easy grounder to the shortstop. After the play, the announcers start talking about the game's umpires. THE UMPIRES! Now that's realism.

0:21 A foul down the first base line shows the amazing lighting on the stands. This is the first baseball game I've played in HD, and I am quite impressed with the imagery so far.

0:22 B.J. Upton grounds out to second, two down. As Crawford comes up, I see the detail on the fans in the stands. I can pick out individual people milling about, some paying attention, others talking to each other. This seems unnecessary but also a nice touch. The little things matter!

0:23 I chase down an easy pop-up by running toward the large landing zone that appears on the ground. "Nothing better for a pitcher to start with than a 1-2-3 inning," says Campbell. By definition...

0:24 Joe Morgan is my first batter. He played from 1963 to 1984, apparently, but doesn't look any worse for wear here. I take three balls, then correctly guess the pitch type and location for the fourth pitch. This lets me make a perfectly timed swing that shoots a beautiful grounder past the shortstop. Whoo!

0:26 Tony Gwynn strikes out, complete with a slow-motion replay that shows the ball's position as it curves through the air. "That was in a great spot and he couldn't make contact." Tell me about it.

0:28 Harmon Killebrew smacks his first pitch out over the left field fence. 400 feet. Am I getting good at this, or is it the All Star team I've chosen? I don't know and I don't care, I'm WINNING!

0:30 Another swinging strikeout for Winfield after a few fouls. Mike Schmidt comes up next, standing with a distinctive oblique stance. I'm loving all these little details!

0:31 I guess correctly that the pitch will be outside, but it ends up WAY outside, and I end up chasing it for the third strikeout.

0:32 As Evan Longoria comes up, the crowd stands and boos a bit. The camera pans over to the stands, where I notice that there are only a dozen or so models, repeated endlessly and moving in sync. It's identical twins at the ball park, apparently.

0:33 Longoria gives the umpire a long, hard look while walking away from his third strike. "Just a perfect location right there." I could get used to this.

0:35 A line-drive single down the center gets followed by a warning track fly ball on the very next pitch. I initially think I'm controlling the right fielder, but it seems I'm actually controlling the center fielder and making him accidentally run away from the ball. D'oh. The computer-controlled right fielder makes a dive but misses. Runners on second and third now with one out. Gulp!

0:36 The organist just played a bit of "What Do You Do With a Drunken Sailor." Cute.

0:38 A broken bat pop-up gets caught easily by the catcher. I believe this is the first broken bat I've ever seen in a baseball game. Not that I play SO so many baseball games, but I have played a few...

0:39 Apparently, the Replay Vault keeps track of every play through the whole game, to be viewed whenever I want. Nice!

0:40 I like the little swing analysis button that shows me where I swung compared to where I should have. Also tells me whether I swung too early or too late after the fact. Helps take the guesswork out of my game.

0:41 The first base coach actually dashed out of the way to let the first baseman catch a foul ball. The attention to detail continues to amaze me.

0:43 I need some decent reaction time to nab a few line drives out of the air, but the responsive controls make it all feel incredibly natural. Another inning down.

0:45 The crowd boos as a low inside fastball almost hits my batter in the shins. Yeah, BOO!

0:46 Tony Gwynn gets beaned in the hip on the first pitch of his second at bat. He has words for the umpires. Quick, where's the "rush the mound" button?

0:48 Pitching again. Vaskerjian comments on "one of the rare times [Nolan Ryan] has not started a hitter with strike one." Wow ... I'm amazed the game knows enough to say something like this. Again, that attention to detail.

0:49 You can really see the frustration on Longoria's face as he gets jammed on an inside fastball. If you had told me 10 years ago that baseball games would look this good in just a decade, I'd have called you a liar.

0:50 After retiring seven batters in a row, the yellow timing area for my pitch accuracy has gotten bigger and easier to hit. Despite this I let a grounder through the middle because I don't know what button to use to make the second baseman dive. Luckily, a tip pops up telling me right afterward. Whoo!

0:52 Another homer on a perfectly timed swing at a down-the-middle fastball. A novelty big apple pops up behind the fence. Three-nothing!

0:53 "With some of these guys, it's like an 0-2 count before they even get to the plate." I think that's the game's way of telling me I should stop swinging at so many awful pitches.

0:54 "He looked like a caveman swinging a club on that one." "My goodness ... that thing almost hit him. Why is he swinging?" OK, OK, I GET IT!

0:55 A double down the left field line is followed by a misplayed grounder up the center. Now it's first and third with no outs. My pitches are getting harder to aim the longer the inning goes, it seems.

0:57 "He's got the back-to-back thing going for him now ... back-to-back hits to start the inning, and back-to-back strikeouts to follow it up." The fact that someone thought to write and record that particular line just blows my mind.

0:58 Out of time, I choose to fast-forward to the end of the game. We win 6-2 with 13 hits in the simulated end. Vaskerjian signs off as I'm shown replays of the most important plays of the game ... my two homers. On the last one I notice that the jumping right fielder shakes his glove in frustration after letting the ball go over the fence. Wow.

Would I play this game for more than an hour? Yes.


Why? Unfailing realism combined with simple playability has reawakened my love of our nation's pastime.

This column is based on a retail copy of the game provided by the publisher.



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