MLB 13 The Show almost a home run (guest review) | A+E Interactive

By Nick Roth
Guest reviewer

MLB 13: The Show for PS3 lives up to the hype, again. If it?s broke don?t fix it, however, the best-selling baseball game franchise still has to come up with a reason for gamers to pay $60 for the latest installment.

The Show features two new elements: playoffs (start playing directly in the playoffs) and show live, which tracks live-statistics, injuries, roster transactions and adjusts player attributes based on their day-to-day performances. The game returns several features, such as transferring a saved season from PS3 to the handheld PS Vita, and adds some new features: online 30-man Franchise mode, cross-platform (PS3-to-PSVita) HR derby, along with a plethora of statistics and baseball data, gamers can even view real-time twitter feed from their favorite MLB players within the game.

As always, The Show has fluid player animations but this year?s sound is noticeably better. The three man broadcast team is a vast improvement over previous versions, as is the sound track, crowd noise and in-game sound effects. Visually, the graphics are top notch and the stat overlays and auto-replays are entertaining. Each stadium is represented beautifully and home run balls now bounce, and can ricochet off billboards or stadium structures.

^{Pittsburgh Pirate Andrew McCutchen is the cover athlete on MLB 13 The Show.}

The depth and detail of The Show is what makes the hard-core baseball fan salivate but even a fringe fan can pick it up and play. There is an all-new beginners mode with simplified controls and there are three different controller modes you can use for pitching, along with several different options for batting. Players can view the game from any camera angle imaginable, including a broadcast camera that simulates camera angles from a real MLB game.

Returning game modes, include Road to the Show, where players create their own rookie and work their way through minor league rankings. They can also act as a general manager in Franchise mode, making all the team decisions: from hiring and firing coaches and players, to scouting, training and evaluating player talent, down to setting ticket and popcorn prices.

Despite the lack of competition, MLB 13: The Show has once again improved in several key areas and remains one of the best sports simulation games on the market.

Here?s a quick summary

LIKED

- Sound is biggest upgrade: A new 3-man broadcast team is entertaining, while the soundtrack, sound effects and crowd noises have all been upgraded. Graphics are amazing and player animations are fluid.

- New pitching and fielding controls make game play more realistic and not so monotonous.

- Home run balls land based on trajectory, and bounce off stadium billboards, etc., instead of disappearing into a general location of the crowd, like in previous versions.

- Online game play is better: lag and glitch in graphics while playing online has been fixed, easier to find opponents, and live-tracking of MLB injuries, player stats and performances that affect player attributes gives players a real life feel.

DISLIKED

? Games are long, which is to be expected, but you don?t finish a game (typically 1hr) there is no save option, which means you can?t save your game midway through and are forced to quit and restart.
**This option was available in previous versions of the game, during offline play against the CPU.

? Despite a plethora of statistics and data, there isn?t a league leaders category within Playoff mode.

Images courtesy of Sony Computer Entertainment America

Source: http://blogs.mercurynews.com/aei/2013/03/15/mlb-13-the-show-almost-a-home-run-guest-review/

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