MLB 08: The Show

This was probably the first really good MLB game. It improved a lot on the mediocre 07 game, which was the first MLB on PS3 and the graphics and mechanics in that game were awkward and you can tell it was more or less a transition game. Well MLB 08 the show released with shiny new graphics, a few new modes, and the much improved career mode which is called Road to the Show, where you send a player through the minors and work your way up by improving specific skills and completing goals. You can also play as a manager in this but to be honest that's more or less and afterthought and you don't really control much in that mode, its more like fantasy trading and stuff. Either way this is a pretty good baseball game, it plays and controls smoother than 07, the graphics are nice, you can actually have the announcers in this say a huge variety of last names, I remember finding my last name in this game and hearing the announcers call as my player walked up to bat and being amazed. Plus the character creation in this game is really good, I could actually create players in this who looked pretty close to real life people, but to be honest like most sports game, it does get repetitive. Once you learn the controls, how to bat, and the basics of pitching the game becomes incredibly easy, and even against the best teams, sure you can do career and have a player with weak stats for challenge but then the game sort of comes down to luck. The problem too is MLB has something like 150 games in a season but on top of that you also play spring training which adds an additional 20 or so. I know you can skip games but assuming you like winning and want your player to improve that's 150 games in one season, and while the games in this do move faster than in real MLB, the games in this average about 10-15 minutes with it skipping to only plays your player makes, but this game can take at least 10 or more hours per season and assuming your player is young and can go 20 or more seasons you could have a game that's career mode lasts 100+ hours. I guess for multiplayer its fun to play with friends but to be honest the game doesn't really have a entire lot of variety but then again I think that's more a sports game problem. Graphically and players/stadium wise the game has it all from 2008 and is the first MLB the Show that was really good, but unless you're into baseball its really not worth checking out, and aside from that its long outdated by now and new Show games have improved even further and have updated rosters and stadiums so this is basically obsolete by this point.