Playstation 3
Released in 2007 by Sony Computer Entertainment
Grade: A-
Here’s some super solid simulation baseball that begs you to stick with it and improve your skills. It’s got deep pitching-batting logic and realistic action in the field. It comes with a gazillion bells, whistles, and settings, yet it’s easy to sort through them.
Where it falls in the series
This is the first version on PS3. As good as this game is, there’s not much reason to play it for the average gamer, since the series seemed to get better every year. I just wanted to see what the first PS3 installment was like.
Praises
The Show uses a dynamic and intuitive pitching meter. After choosing a pitch and location, two button presses determine power and accuracy. With some practice, you’ll learn to change speeds and purposely misfire so that you can throw a wide range of pitches with subtle differences.
The game logic makes the intense pitching system worth it. Realistic pitching strategies work well, and batters need to hone their eye for the ball while computing many strategic considerations. While at the plate, you can see how different pitches behave. A pitcher can throw his curveball a few different ways, and the next pitcher will have his own distinct curveball variants.
The action in the field is superb. Fielding is intuitive, and baserunning is a cinch. It’s exciting to control and feels like real MLB action.
There’s a fast mode, which cuts down time between pitches, as well about a million other options to customize your experience.
Gripes
The graphics are great in a vacuum, but they’re dated and don’t measure up to later versions of the series.
Batting has a simple one-button system. Later versions bumped it up to two (normal and power), and then three (contact, normal, and power), which are both preferable systems, adding some realistic and effective dynamics to batting.
When pitching, the little location icon doesn’t show you where the pitch will end up, it shows you where you’re throwing to. So a sinker will actually end up well below your target. You can argue that it adds a challenging, realistic wrinkle, but I much prefer pitching in later versions, where a set of arrows will show the intended break on a pitch.