Given that PS3 is the only system that gives you a choice in baseball games this year. I am going to help you choose MLB 2K8 or MLB 08 THE SHOW.
I am a big fan of baseball, you may call me obsessed. I have recently played both MLB 2K8 as well as MLB 08 The Show.
If you have played MLB 07 The Show, then you are pretty much aware of what you are going to get in terms of gameplay. The biggest improvements this year are the fielding, pitching, and overall look and feel of the game. The body mechanics of 08 THE SHOW is practically flawless. If you walked into a room and someone was playing THE SHOW, you would have serious doubts that a game was being played and you were not watching some spring training baseball. The camera angles, transitions, cut scenes are all beautifully done. This may not be important to a leisure baseball fan who is not concerned with realism, but if you are an avid baseball fan like myself, it really gets you pumped for the coming baseball season.
Pitching and hitting remain the same in this years game, with the basic choose a pitch with a face button, choose where to pitch it and deliver, and the X face button for hitting.
Pitching is dominant in MLB 08. A fastball really feels like its blasting by the batter, and a changeup or curveball, can really have you ahead of the pitch.
MLB 2K8 does not focus so much on realism, but on gameplay. The batting system from last year returns with the use of the right analog stick. This is probably the best use of the right analog stick that i have ever seen in a baseball game. It really grasps the importance of the two step process in hitting a baseball (the step, and the swing). This year they have attempted to do the same with their pitching system, although I am not so sure I am a believer of it just yet.
The pitches system requires you go make a combination of gestures for each pitch. For a fastball, you must gesture the right analog stick down, and then back up for a fast ball, or down and then a half circle for a curveball. Kind of like Tiger Woods golf, when you want to his a straight drive or a hook. If the gesture does not match one of the pitches, you will throw a "MEAT PITCH", which is basically a hanging pitch that can be crushed by the opposition.
I certainly appreciate the aspect of making a curveball harder to throw than a fastball, but with this system the game play does not provide a large enough difference between speed of pitches. There are times when a fastball looks as easy to hit as the "MEAT PITCH". This really gets aggravating when you finally throw the pitch correctly and it gets crushed. It certainly lacks the feel of a fastball being blown by a hitter, or a curveball dropping out of the strike zone.
Overall I wish both games could be combined. The presentation of the show with the right analog stick functions would be the perfect baseball game. Of course this is far from a perfect world so you need to choose one. For big baseball fans who countdown the days till spring training, looking for a simulation type game, with lots of stats and intense visuals, then get MLB 08 The Show. If you are a fan of baseball, looking to try some new features in a baseball game, then the innovation of MLB 2K8 is for you.
I hope this review helps you choose a game.
My Corresponding rating will be for MLB 08 The Show
The MLB: The Show franchise exclusively on PlayStation platforms, has driven baseball simulators to the next level with the most realistic and detailed games from the sport. Today TheGamerAccess.com is glad to announce that they have one of the Senior Producers of MLB 09: The Show with them to answer some of their questions.
Well, coming from a developer which contributed to the finest sports game I've ever played running 1080p native + 60 fps, I believe every word he's got to say.
Yeah....if there's anyone out there who still thinks bluray does nothing for gaming, read this interview and then sit in a corner and dwell.
"The fact that the PS3 is bluray supported is HUGE. The 25gb single layer and 50gb dual layer was one of the best things to happen to our game"
And just a reminder:
Gran Turismo 5: 1000 cars
Forza 3: 400 cars
So yeah.....bluray is a bit handy
I couldn't agree with you anymore. I would love the NFL license to expire for EA Sports and see what Sony can do with a football game on the PS3.
"if there's anyone out there who still thinks bluray does nothing for gaming"
There really isn't anyone who actually believes that damage control meme.
No one would be making such an asinine claim if this wasn't the first generation to have a console with less storage space than a previous gen.
I really didn't understand why people always talked so highly of The Show. Just thought is was another sports game, just with PS3 level graphics.
I decided to try the demo just to finally see what people were talking about. I was absolutely blown away by how good the game is. It was really quite a shock at what a good time I had. I don't play sports games and the last one I played had to be back in the Genesis days.
Even though I don't see myself playing The Show very much if I get it with the mind boggling number of other PS3 games coming out, will probably pick it up when it drops more in price just for the sake of how much it impressed me.
@ Shadow Flare
FXIII 1 blu-ray, or 4 to 5 DVD's :D
MGS4, KZ2, UnCharted 1 and 2, Heavy Rain, etc, etc. Not possible as stated on the other console.
G3TDOWN
I guess what's new is you can now add MLB 09 to your list of Dev's to talk about it. Point is, it's Dev's talking about "their" titles. Which as far as were considered. We could read it all day long. :D Makes ya proud to own such a machine.
nice interview, the game is looking great and I know there is more power on the PS3 that they can pull out.
If not THE greatest.
MLB: The Show is simply a must-have for ANY baseball fan.
This isn't opinion, it's hands-down a fact.
Sony could make an NFL franchise right now if they wanted. 2K sports has an exclusive hold on the baseball franchise rights but since The Show is not 3rd party it can be made, same with an nfl title
Professional sports have dealt with doping from track & field, to cycling, baseball, pro football, wrestling, boxing, and just about any sport you can think of. Taking that information and looking at many of athletes that have existed in the gaming world has resulted in suspicions that maybe some of these digital athletes were doping like A-Rod and the real players.
Without further ado, here are 10 game characters suspected of using "power ups" to enhance their game.
Marcus and Dom are Defiantly Injecting
All be it Each other
But them two Butch Gears are Defiantly Injecting
yeah. They do look like they are on roids.
I was laughing my ass off when i saw Mario in there
GameStooge announced the Technical Awards on January 1st, now comes the Genre Awards, in which they take a look at the best games of each genre category. GameStooge writer Jonathon Howard also chimes in with some of his own picks in categories he's familiar with.
Winners:
BEST ACTION GAME OF 2008: Grand Theft Auto IV
BEST SHOOTER OF 2008: Gears of War 2
BEST PLATFORM GAME OF 2008: LittleBigPlanet
BEST RACING GAME OF 2008: GRID
BEST SPORTS GAME OF 2008: NHL 09
BEST STRATEGY GAME OF 2008: Civilization Revolution
BEST ROLEPLAYING GAME OF 2008: Fallout 3
BEST MMORPG OF 2008: Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning
BEST ADVENTURE GAME OF 2008: Professor Layton and the Curious Village
BEST PUZZLE GAME OF 2008: Braid
BEST DIGITAL GAME (ORIGINAL) OF 2008: Braid
BEST DIGITAL GAME (ADAPTATION) OF 2008: Super Street Fighter II Turbo HD Remix
The Awards will continue with the Platform Awards, including Best Game of the Year.
next time you take a cue from other reviews please dont use xplay
they say lack of innovation is a issue but like you they dont mention 2K8 stole the runner interface for MLB The Show 07
MLB The Show is the best sports game on any next-gen system.
you got away with not playing the entire game, I think it's okay if he used other reviews for inspiration
Good review:) Not a huge baseball fan (go jays go!) but I like how you submitted them together for the direct comparison, I think I might do that for rock band/guitar hero