MLB 10 The Show
May 24, 2010 by Andy · 5 Comments
Product Description
Welcome to The Show All-Star. The best selling and highest rated baseball franchise is back in MLB 10 The Show throwing you into an unsurpassed baseball experience where big moments come alive. It’s all here too; the All New Home Run Derby, MLB All-Star Futures Game, Movie Maker, Catcher Mode, Personalized cheers and yells and Joe Mauer, newly crowned American League MVP, as the new cover athlete. A Kind Of Magic Another One Bites The Dust Bohemian Rhapsody Breakthru Crazy Little Thing Called Love Don’t Stop Me Now Fat Bottomed Girls Hammer To Fall I Want It All I Want To Break Free Innuendo Killer Queen One Vision Play The Game Radio Ga Ga Save Me Somebody To Love The Show Must Go On These Are The Days Of Our Lives Tie Your Mother Down Under Pressure We Are The Champions We Will Rock You Who Wants To Live Forever You’re My Best FriendAmazon.com Product Description
Welcome to The Show all-star. The best selling and highest rated baseball franchise is back in MLB 10: The Show throwing you into an unsurpassed baseball experience where big moments come alive. It’s all here too. In addition to a wealth of improvements to longtime franchise features this newest release includes the return of the Home Run Derby, MLB All-Star Futures Game, Movie Maker, Catcher Mode, Personalized cheers and yells and Joe Mauer, newly crowned American League MVP, as the new cover athlete. So get ready, The Show is about to begin and you are leading off.
The Return of Home Run Derby The catcher is the brains of any defensive squad on the field, and as such MLB 10: The Show lets you test both your baseball IQ and your skills in the crouch as you call the game, one pitch at a time, from behind the plate. Available during Road to The Show, and exhibition game play options, players cultivate their rookie Minor League catcher and bring him up to the Majors where he can lay down signs to your pitcher, offer additional pitch selections if his first pitch call is shaken off and even change signs at will, all via your controller’s face buttons. Pitches are called from a unique first-person perspective, after which the camera angle changes to a standard third-person perspective affording a better view of the entire field. This new functionality defines a whole new level of strategy, demanding knowledge of pitches, opposing batters’ tendencies and the state of your own pitcher’s well-being, as well as the ability to check runners on base and handle and/or block balls that are in the dirt or wild. New Defensive Training Options No ballplayer becomes a golden glove overnight. With that in mind MLB 10: The Show includes new fielding and pitching training modes that augment the existing training functionality built into the game’s improved Road to the Show mode. Fielding drills focus both on the basics of player’s throwing arm, utilizing the new throw meter, as well as the more advanced combination of throwing and decision-making that players will need during game situations. Pitching training consists of a multi-pronged focus designed to improved control and accuracy. Training in these areas is available in isolated one-on-one battles known as “Knockout,” as well as simulated game situations, where goals are clearly defined for each drill. Key Game Features
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Buy the MLB 10 The Show
First of all, let me just say this is a fantastic representation of a high level of baseball. I am a former pro and I love the realism of this game. The pitcher/batter interface is perfect. The new gameplay cameras are outstanding. The immersion factor is just like a real game, both playing and watching it on TV. The more you understand the mental part of baseall, the better you will do, if you execute what you know. Job well done Sony!
It is a nice, solid upgrade over 09. If a few people have trouble seeing that, they need to look in the mirror. The new upgrades are definitely there, in presentation and gameplay.
I have noticed a theme in the reviews about the difficulty of hitting the ball and recognizing if the pitch is a Ball or Strike. I think it is very well done and realistic. Hitting a round baseball with a round bat has been said to be the hardest thing to do in sports, especially when its got late movement and coming in 90+ MPH In reality, getting a hit 3 out of 10 times makes you an all-star. Which means failure 70% of the time for the very best players. That is the nature of the game and it is represented very well in The Show 10.
Walks have always been difficult to come by in video baseball games, due to user imput and patience. Plus if you are good at squaring up the ball, you have less of an opportunity to see enough pitches to get a Walk. That is the nature of video baseball. However, this game will reward you greatly for your patience and achieving Count Leverage. I use the default Catcher view to hit. It is a GREAT view in this game for that purpose. The pitch physics are excellent and batter response is very quick. When you face a teams top Starting Pitchers, it is very challenging. Which is how it is in reality. I got shutout 2-0 by Zack Greinke of the Royals my last game using the Angels. It was a great game and I loved the challenge. With more discipline, I might have gotten to him, but he had nasty stuff, which he does in real life. You will chase pitches out of the strike zone against pitchers with nasty stuff, especially if you are down in the count. That is the reality of the game. It is not The Show’s fault, I didnt have the patience that was necessary at the plate to be successful against Greinke. Next time I will make the adjustments and have better success. That is how the game of baseball works. That is what I want represented in my video baseball and that is what I get with The Show 10.
This game will make you a better baseball player, if you want to have success at it. You will become more disciplined and put into play your real baseball knowledge and hand/eye coordination. One without the other will lead to a lack of success. On the other hand, if you want to blame Sony for your lack of baseball skills, both mental and physical, then you need to maybe go with MLB 2K10. It is made for the arcade crowd and people who dont really know the game of baseball, and get upset when they cant be successful the majority of the time. People who dont have the patience and makeup to look in the mirror and take responsibility for their own shortcomings might look away from The Show. The fun for me is in the realism and challenge of a real video baseball game simulator, which is what MLB 10 The Show is. Best sports game in my 25+ years of video gaming.
Rating: 5 / 5
I will come back and write a more in-depth review of this game once I have established the newer dynamics of MLB 2010: The Show. I will say this, the pitching aspect of this game is virtually the same as last year. The challenge comes on the offensive side. They have definitely made hitting more of an artform on this year’s game as opposed to last year’s version. Basically what I have noticed is you have to absolutely square a ball up to make solid contact. On last year’s this was critical as well, but in this year’s version there is no way you can pull a ball on the outside corner of the plate and expect to get a base knock unless the pitcher just throws you a floater. So far, I have played 4 games, and have yet to win playing on the Legend mode on both the hitting and pitching side of the ball. Like I said, you will not notice a great deal of difference on the pitching side, but the hitting side has definitely become more of a challenge.
Another thing I am glad they have improved is the trade aspect of the game. Now, the trades are more realistic, and it is much harder to build your team. Right now my lineup for the Florida Marlins is Coghlan, Uggla, Ramirez, Delgado, Cantu, Hunter Pence, Cody Ross, and John Baker. I obtained Hunter Pence by signing Jermaine Dye in free agency and trading him to the Astros. I also signed Delgado, but I have to get into a groove hitting with him. Another neat feature is this year’s version is if you are in the franchise mode and you get tired of playing your home games at your team’s stadium, you can change the location of the game.
One other aspect of the game that becomes challenging on the offensive side of the ball is the angles the game throws at you once you have made contact. I don’t know how many times I have already made bad baserunning decisions based on some of the angles the game has given me. It definitely makes it frustrating at times, but I think once I get use to some of these different aspects, I will enjoy this game even more. Long live MLB:The Show!
Rating: 5 / 5
I haven’t played a baseball video game since 2002. I always felt it was the same ol’ same ol’. I’ve heard about the MLB: The Show series for a while but it wasn’t until I finally picked up a slim PS3 that I considered buying a baseball video game. I’ve had this game for a week now and here are some of my thoughts.
The graphics and animation of course, are amazing. Players often resemble real life counterparts and they pitching and hitting animations looks accurate. The game takes patience to play. You can’t just swing at any pitch and expect to score a ton of runs. Yes, it is challenging but as a gamer I swallow my pride and adjust the difficulty. There are sliders that help you improve your pitching and hitting. I also changed the setting for baserunning to Auto, because I found that the controls for having the lead runner take an extra base was difficult to master. I kept either accidentally choosing the wrong runner to take an extra base or kept getting thrown out because of delays in running.
There are tons of gameplay modes to keep you busy – Quick Game, Franchise, Season, Road to the Show, Home Run Derby. After five hours of practicing I felt confident to try out Road to the Show. I was amazed that they had many pre recorded first and last names. It was pretty cool to hear your name being called. RTTS is a nice mode but I don’t think I’ll be spending a lot of my time there.
I like playing Season. Playing a game takes me about an hour to hour and a half to play. With the right difficulty, the game is not too challenging or too easy for me. My team is the Angels. I have won in a blowout (12-3, hitting 4 HRs) and I have lost only scoring 1 run. One game was pretty close, I was up 1-0 in the late innings but I left the starter in too long and ended up giving up a game tying home run. Then in the 9th my reliever gave up a 2 run homerun making it 3-1. In the bottom of the 9th I was trying to come back. With 2 outs I was able to get a single to make it 3-2. Runner on 1st & 2nd, two outs still. The controller rumbling heavy to indicate pressure. Alas, I ended up flying out to lose the game, haha. Still it was intense, just like how baseball could be. There would be moments when I’ll get out of a jam with a timely double play and I’ll be pumped up about that.
The game is not perfect of course. The announcers are pretty good most of the time, but some of their audios will get repetitive. There are some minor details that bug me, like for the Angels, the fans are dressed in either red, white or blue shirts. Nobody wears blue at an Angels game. Juan Rivera always gets a loud cheer when he comes up to bat, as if he is the fan favorite. Seriously? Tori Hunter is more of a fan favorite. The attention to detail is still overall pretty good and the production value is excellent. I tried the demo for MLB 2k10 on my Xbox 360 and the MLB 10 The Show makes MLB 2k10 look like a bargain bin game. The graphics didn’t look as nice in MLB 2k10 and animations just didn’t flow as smooth as The Show.
I don’t plan to buy another baseball game in this current generation. I just need one. I could easily see myself playing this game for over 200 hours over 3-4 years. It’s that good of a baseball game. You could always save money and buy older generations, as I had considered getting ‘08 for under twenty bones but I find that since it’s a Sony product price reductions will take a long time. With all the new stuff that ‘10 have, it was definitely worth it to get the latest version. I have had no regrets pre ordering the game (for the bonus 6 stadiums).
Rating: 5 / 5
With over 44 reviews, I’m going to take a different road in writing this review. This is dedicated for those who play “The Road To The Show exclusively. I will add online play at a later date. This is a great game that still has room for more added features and improvements. Here is a list of bugs I’ve encountered while playing as well as some improvements that would be nice to add. I’ve also included what is good.
Bugs/Improvements needed
*When you see players/umpires talk, their lips don’t move (not realistic)
*The home plate umpire only has 2 animations for “strike” call (would like to see some “replay value.” Look at all the different “types” of umpires in the real MLB. For example, the ones who scream strike one, the ones who lightly call it, the one who takes a while to call it, and the very animated ones)
*The umpires clap during the game (seems biased lol)
*The field practice sometimes deducts points when you’ve actually reacted how you should (it’s one of those minor issues where you just scratch your head in amazement)
*The fielding has gotten better but still can become a major headache (the ball slowly goes by the second baseman and the player just stands there) The out fielder goes back back back and stops; the ball flies right by them and no error called (another “what was that all about”)
*The amount of balls hit on the line drives me insane, how about you?
*See above, and in most real MLB games, 90% are actually doubles yet in RTTS, it’s a single, even for a speedy batter.
*The AI can be brutal and drive you insane to the point of destroying your controller out of disgust (I’m not ashamed to admit that I’m on my 4th controller and it’s got some “battle wounds” lol
*Sometimes when your RTTS player is dominating, the AI kicks it up a notch to “make you know your place” lol It can get very brutal…a little lightening up would be nice
*The animations are very noticeable. Show (slow) motion, which is a nice addition shows the catcher catching a ball, with his glove closed!!!!
*See above: A strike in Show motion, revealed that the strike called, was a ball that pretty much was called where your ankle meets your foot, WOW that was a low strike!
* On 2 occasions, while loading to the actual game, it stayed in perpetual loading making it feel like it crashed. Luckily I just completed a practice session, so it saved at that point; loosing nothing.
* Simulating the offseason is sooooooooooo sllloooooooooooow! I get scared when the season ends lol!
*Loading is slower than last years
* Wish list: more negotiating contracts, talking to manager/gm for that added realism
*it was weird to see in the minor league stadiums how easy the ball flies behind home plate and into the spectators. In real life, someone definitely would of gotten hurt
*The minor league stadium facing the Manhattan skyline shows no headlights on during the night on the suspension bridge. Yikes, it’s amazing you don’t see an accident when playing!
*Why can’t the cheering/booing be more pronounced and lifelike. Especially if your stats are amazing and you are not the home team. Or if your clutch is high, your team is loosing, yet the bases are loaded, with 1 out; you’re at the plate. If we can create it, why can’t some be already included.
*The broadcasters are sometimes out of touch with what is going on and are so repetitive.
*How about that if you had a bad injury or were out a long time, be sent to the minors for rehab games.
*Walking (BB’s) is a little off this year. My scouting report shows (D for control) that he needs to throw more strikes, yet the way I’m pitching, I’m throwing 80%-90% strikes with 1-2 walks. I had a pitcher who threw for 150 innings but only walked 3 batters total even though his rating for control was “D”
* This one kills me! A ball is hit into the outfield and the CPU fielder lines up but misplays the ball (by misplay, I mean he stands there, and if it were real, he would of gotten hit on the head). It rolls to the warning track while the fielder just stands there. Inside the park homerun!
* You can get hit by the ball on the knee, shoulder, or leg by a comebacker (if you’re a pitcher) but the manager doesn’t even check to see how you are. You don’t get to throw some pitches to make sure nothing is hurting. It seems also that the hardest of comebackers seem to bounce off you. Not very realistic.
Good points:
*Added field/pitching practice is a very nice touch
*The fielding got a little better (but see above in quirks)
*The AI didn’t get tougher (in ‘09, it was tough) but lets you know it can “take it up a notch” For those who like a challenge, it’s not overbearing
*Takes a longer to develop your RTTS player which is more realistic.
*The controls stayed the same, which is good: don’t fix what was not broken!
*The faces look so real
*It’s funny to see the spectators try to get the ball hit out of play
*The added practice toss/hitting is a nice touch
*A lot was left untouched, which is great because ‘09 was a great game
*If you walk a batter, the 90% chance of them scoring, is gone. Walking is more realistic yet the stat for its possibility is way off
*Show motion is fantastic (one problem though, it exposes some quirks…see above)
*Good amount of types of pitches for a pitcher
Rating: 4 / 5
MLB 10 The Show is the best baseball game and possible the best sport game ever. The detail is rich and deep than put every sport games to shame. And every year this franchise keep getting better and better. If you like baseball, this games is for you, if you have not play baseball game before, this game is will hook you up.
Rating: 5 / 5