MLB ‘09 The Show
Publisher: Sony Entertainment
Genre: Sports
Platform: Playstation 3
If you spent any time at all with last year’s MLB ’08, you already know how good this game is. So with the release of MLB ’09, is it possible that this year’s edition is even better than its predecessor? Well, after spending a huge amount of time playing MLB ’09 — the answer is a resounding yes. If MLB ’08 was damn near perfect, then MLB ’09, dare we say it, is perfect. Adhering to the old adage, “if ain’t broke, don’t fix it,” the folks at Sony have managed to keep the excellent core game mechanics intact, yet add enough enhancements and tweaks to take MLB ’09 to the next level. For too long most console baseball would always get it wrong. Sure they would look good, but when it came to game mechanics, otherwise known as realism, most would fail miserably.
With MLB ’09, gamers no longer have to compromise. The game is absolutely gorgeous. The stadiums and player modeling is at times jaw-dropping. But it’s not until you notice things like outfielders actually fielding the ball intelligently, the crowd cheering, umpires having their own calling tendencies, or that you can actually get involved in some real intense pitcher-batter battles, that you realize that MLB ’09 is the best at recreating the entire baseball experience. You can play MLB ’09 a hundred times and you will probably see something new each time. But for our money, the one thing that puts MLB ’09 over the top is the Road to the Show game mode. Here you get to create your own player, right down to facial characteristics and batting stance, choose his position and then proceed to take him from the minors all the way to the big league. Interacting with your manager, negotiating your salary or upgrading your player‘s abilities, it’s all there in the Road to the Show. If you want realism, then MLB ’09 is your game. –dark abyss
