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Developer: 989 Sports
Publisher: SCEA
Genre: Sports
Region: NTSC
Format:
Release Date: 28 Feb 06
User Rating
9.8 (23 votes) -
- Sony's MLB series goes from strength from strength, with a more refined controls and tiny improvements and creates a very satisfying and emmensely fun baseball title.
Overview
Well everyone, are you ready? It's that time of year again where the flowers start budding, the sun starts shining, and the MLB is in the midst of Spring Training. The 2006 Baseball season is upon us and there is a lot to be excited about this season. But of course with the new season comes its video game counterparts, and the first one out of the game is MLB 06: The Show from Sony. Sony has been improving their series each year and hopes that it can knock one out of the park this year. So how did MLB 06: The Show manage to do? Read our full review to find out!
Gameplay
For those who haven't been closely following the Sony baseball game series in the past few years it is really what I would consider a growing process. Each year the game has progressively got better and better, and I knew it was just going to be a matter of time before the game began to compete with the big boys in the baseball world. This year Sony has decided to add a little "bling" to the title by entitling this game MLB 06: The Show. So the big question is, can the game live up to the title?
There are a lot of new features in MLB 06: The Show, most of which are not by themselves huge upgrades, but the combined effect of a lot of these new features is pretty impressive. I should start with one of the new modes that is in MLB 06: The Show is the King of the Diamond Mode, which is basically a party game of baseball. I won't get in the process of trying to explain everything about this mode of the game, other than to say it is a really enjoyable and really well created mode. I found it to be a great diversion (like mini camp in Madden) that just helps give you something entertaining to play outside of the main game of baseball.
The game still features both a career and franchise mode, which are just as deep as last year, if not more so. One new feature that I really enjoyed was the game time decision, which adds a whole new layer to the game. I say this because basically some scenarios pop up before a game, and it is your job as the head guy to make the call and decide whether or not you want to change the lineup or make some game time decisions. It is additions like this and hundreds of other small upgrades to the games system that really do wonders for MLB 06: The Show. I have to say that the franchise mode may not on the surface seem all that deep, but as you progress you can see that there has been so much work put into the small avenues of this game that really make it feel like a real baseball simulation.
The gameplay of MLB 06: The Show is actually a lot more in tune with older ideas, rather then going to some of the newer conventions found in EA and 2K Sports titles. For example batting is not done with the analog stick, but uses a new conventional use of the older timing system. This does take some time to get used to in this game but still is a lot of fun. Pitching and base running have had some changes done to them, and all of which have been for the better. I have to say that the gameplay mechanics that are involved in MLB 06: The Show are just as smooth and as effective as you could hope. I have to say that playing this game is just a treat, because everything flows together to make one comprehensive and interesting game. A lot of the new features in the game still do take some time to get accustomed to, but for the most part you will find that MLB 06: The Show performs as well as anyone could hope.
In the end, what I liked most about MLB 06: The Show was the mere fact that the game managed to really make a lifelike experience. There are so many small little additions to the game that have huge improvements to the overall feel of the game. If you have liked the experience in the past from Sony I think most will be extremely impressed with how deep and rich the MLB 06: The Show experience really is.
Graphics
One thing that I really liked about the MLB 06: The Show experience is the much improved presentation of the game. This aspect of the game has been missing in recent years and they have never been able to match the other baseball games on the market. In 2006 this is not the case with much-improved menus and game presentation that works well. The one avenue that still needs work is the player models, which are somewhat lacking in detail. The ball parks in the game look great and the overall presentation of the game is just as good as you could hope. I must commend once again the developers for another job well done in terms of the visual improvements in the game.
Fun Factor
I had a feeling that Sony was going to do everything they could this year to compete as much as possible with 2K Sports and to try and take the top rankings MLB game and for the most part I think Sony succeeded in making 2006 a very tight race. The presentation in the game has really helped make the experience a lot more enjoyable. And to say that Sony has put in a lot of new features into the mix is an understatement, considering the fact that there are so many little changes that have accumulated to one great simulation experience. For those who are in love with the analog stick sort of gameplay than this game may not be as fun for you. But the conventional gameplay combined with some new ideas makes MLB 06: The Show a great and enjoyable experience.
Overall
I knew one of these years Sony was going to manage to align all of the pieces of the puzzle and put them into one great baseball game, and the year is now in 2006. MLB 06: The Show finally manages to combine so many great aspects into one great game that it is hard not to sit back and enjoy the amazing accomplishments that this game portrays. I would be very excited to see what the studios can do next year for the PS3 in MLB 07. Until then I would highly recommend picking up MLB 06 it is by far the best baseball game from Sony of all time and quite possibly could be the best baseball game of 2006.
- Gameplay
9.0 - Graphics
8.0 - Fun Factor
9.0 - Overall
9.0
