March is here and along with it comes the smell of fresh cut grass, sunflower seeds and hot dogs which have been cooking since last baseball season. Baseball is one of those oddball licenses for video game systems. Technically 2K Sports has an "exclusive" license but Sony has a license for their PS3 and PSP products. Thank God! Don't get me wrong, 2K has a very good baseball game this year and it's on every viable platform. But even their 2K10 edition doesn't beat Sony's MLB The Show from last season. Pretty soon Sony will have to hit the ceiling.
ESPN: Hans Smith pitched his way through an up-and-down rookie year for the Cardinals last season. Don't recognize the name? That's because Smith is a virtual athlete who spent an entire season playing as himself in "MLB 10: The Show."
In a subgenre governed by eight-month development cycles and yearly releases, there isn’t a lot of changeover from year to year. Not 2010. With high-profile cancellations like NBA Elite, bold new challengers like Backbreaker, and the return of classic franchises like NBA Jam (awesome reboot) and Tecmo Bowl (less awesome), this year sports games almost generated as much news and controversy as the moribund 2010 Minnesota Vikings. While not every title rose to the occasion and many kept running in place, several titles elevated their game with long-requested new features, jaw-dropping graphics, and even web integration.
Ah the scent of fresh cut grass, the crack of the bat, and the roar of the fans. It must be baseball season! Or maybe it’s December… The truth is, if you’re playing MLB 10 the Show, you won’t even know the difference. The latest installment from SCE Studios in San Diego is truly that enthralling.
It seems we hear the same argument every year: the annual release of sports games is simply a way for those greedy developers to steal more money from diehard fans that simply want the new season’s rosters and are forced to pay full retail for it.
