A grand slam.
PlayStation 3
Released in 2013 by Sony Computer Entertainment
Grade: A+
While it’s only a marginal improvement over previous versions, The Show 13 blends all its ingredients into a wonderful dish of baseball goodness.
Where it falls in the series
On PS3, the series goes from 07 to 16, and PS4 editions start with 14.
Praises and gripes
It’s tough to spot improvements year to year, but comparing this to say, The Show 09, it’s a clear step up. The game looks fantastic, with gorgeous ballparks, great lighting effects, and humanlike players. The action moves just a bit more fluidly than before. There are still blemishes, like weird-looking shoes and a lack of collision detection between fielders and runners, but I can forgive them.
The baseball logic is strong as usual. The default settings are tweaked and result in realistic outcomes. The most obvious change is that pitchers don’t completely lose their confidence after giving up a few hits like they did in years past.
There a few different ways to play. On the mound, you can do analog pitching, which I find laborious and tricky, you can do pulse pitching, which is too simple yet also difficult, and the tried-and-true pitching meter, still my favorite. There’s also the classic setting, where you just fire away with a single press, and that’s lame.
In the field and in the batter’s box, you can choose analog or simple button presses, and they’re all fine. I like how the game gives you total control of how you play and the difficulty of each aspect of the game. You can always set the dials to your specific skills.
Also, the “fast play” option is repaired from last year, so there aren’t unnecessary cutscenes.
The game is a joy to play if you truly appreciate baseball in all its depth and tedium. I love the feeling of honing my batting over time, gaining a feel for fielding and base running, and learning new strategies on the mound. I like how after each pitch, you get a display showing where the ball ended up and how well the batter connected. The presentation gives enough info without overdoing it.
There’s a balanced amount of chaos. Good pitchers can have bad outings, weak hitters can go on a streak, and some innings get wildly out of control, but you still feel like the game is ruled by genuine baseball principles.
As usual, franchise mode and Road to the Show are solid modes for long-term baseball gaming. You can never go wrong with The Show, but this version in particular gets it all right.