… or as I call it, “The Simple Show”
PlayStation 2
Released in 2004 by 989 Sports
Grade: B-
This game came out a year before Sony removed the 989 Sports branding from its baseball series, two years before the series was named “The Show.” For a sports gaming nut like me, it’s a fun snapshot of an early stage of the series’ evolution.
Where it falls in the series
This is the second of nine games in the series on PS2, followed by MLB 2006, then followed by MLB 06: The Show, when Sony ditched the “one-year-ahead” naming convention. See MLB Pennant Race on PS1 to see Sony’s first crack at baseball, and see MLB 10: The Show to see how well the series grew up during its PS2 days.
Praises and gripes
One key element that this game nails is the batting experience. With a comfortable behind-the-plate viewpoint and realistic ball physics, the ball comes to the plate in a way that feels natural as you get ready to swing. It’s the element that The Show got right, and what so many other games didn’t.
You do need to aim the swing, but you don’t see any indicator of your aim. While other games show an icon for the pitch location, an icon for the bat, and sometimes a stupid third icon, this game allows you to simply keep your eye on the ball. The screen is free from distractions.
On the “fast play” setting, the screen is so wide open that you aren’t even shown the name of the batter. Fast play sure moves along swiftly, which I love, but it would be nice to know who’s in the box.
Pitching is nice and simple. Choose a pitch, choose your location, and tap or hold the button for a slow or fast pitch. CPU-controlled batters are cleverly programmed to respond realistically to your pitching strategies, making it worth your while to learn what the hell you’re doing up there.
One difficult wrinkle is that the ball icon doesn’t show you how your pitches break. You need to aim where the ball goes before the break, not where it’ll end up. Aim high for a curveball, to the side for a slider, slightly off for a 2-seamer.
In the field, the ball moves naturally and the fielders move fast. The helpful “fielding aid” is on by default, giving your fielders an automatic first step toward the ball before your controls take over. This game definitely feels more user-friendly than most other baseball games of its time. It’s reasonably deep without unneeded agitation.
Even the commentary, provided by legendary Dodgers play-by-play man Vin Scully along with former Padres infielder Dave Campbell, is easy on the ears, making this one of the few games where I don’t immediately turn off the announcers.
But as I said at the top, this game is just an early peek into The Show’s brilliance … it’s not quite The Show. What doesn’t it do so well?
The beloved pitching meter didn’t come until the next installment, so pitching is simple by comparison. Pitchers don’t have an energy meter or confidence meter or any indication that it’s time to put in a reliever. There’s just one type of swing, no contact swing or power swing that the series added later.
I don’t like the camera views once the ball is put into play; they’re too close and low. The graphics in general are bland, particularly the cardboard cutout crowd and sterile ballpark atmosphere. The fielding animations are occasionally awkward. The action sounds are lacking those delicious baseball “thwacks” and “cracks.”
The baserunning control is tricky. There are just three difficulty settings, without the option to adjust each aspect of the game separately. CPU pitchers have an uncanny ability to throw breaking pitches that nick the edge of the strike zone. The game doesn’t have nearly the breadth of helpful stat displays and swing diagrams The Show eventually incorporated.
What you end up with is a sort of primitive, simple version of The Show. I wouldn’t recommend it to the average gamer, but being a long-time fan of several different Show installments, I enjoyed going back to this game. It’s a nice combination of old-school, up-tempo action, with baseball smarts under the hood, but without the tedium, detail, and intensiveness of more modern baseball games.
Published July 14, 2024