MLB 08: The Show (PS3) Impressions
I've spent about five hours playing The Show since I picked it up yesterday, and here are some initial impressions. I say "initial" because five hours is really only scratching the surface, and given that I've only played in Road To The Show (career) mode, it's a very limited look.What I consider a very good sign: I'm compulsively playing. I'm a Closer and I'm in the AA organization of the Cubs. I've finished one season and should be starting my second later tonight.
First off, I don't think there's any question that this game sets a new standard for animation and realism in a baseball game. The animations are truly superb (they motion-captured TWENTY different players), and even more importantly, the transition between animations is superb as well.
It's not just the animations, though--it's also what the development team has chosen to animate, and how. For instance, the catcher is just brilliant--his movements to catch the ball look absolutely authentic. No "magic transfer" of the ball to the glove when he can't quite reach. Umpires are outstanding as well, and those two pieces of detail combine to make pitching a real pleasure.
Here's another detail: once baseball games actually got runners to run through the bag at first, they still seemed to be able to magically slow down as soon as they hit the bag. So they'd be running at full speed, then stop in three steps.
Not here.
In The Show, momentum keeps a player moving through the bag and beyond, and it looks fantastic. That may seem like a little thing, but that's what outstanding sports games are--a collection of little things done correctly. Like when people in the crowd reach for a foul ball, which is a moment so immersive and real-looking that I started laughing the first time I saw it happen.
The batting animations, in particular, are just brilliant. There is a huge variety (300+) of stances and swings, and the way that batters adjust to reaching for the ball or getting jammed is terrific to see.
Framerates are very, very smooth, which really lets the animation system shine.
Like I said, I'm a Closer, and having the variable umpires turned on is a real treat, because when I come into a game (usually in the 9th inning), I have to figure out the strike zone quickly. The variances between umpires are not enormous, but even a difference of a few inches affects how you pitch.
One of things that makes pitching so much fun is that there are actually a reasonable number of foul balls. I've gotten into a few epic, ten pitch at-bats where a guy just keeps fouling pitches off. And if a batter fouls off six pitches, he will probably foul them off with six different animations, which is amazing.
Ball physics are outstanding, and another thing this game gets right is how long fly balls stay in the air. There's an actual sense of how powerful some of these hitters are when they hit long foul balls, because they stay in the air for the (subjectively) right amount of time. Again, that's a little detail, but when it feels wrong, it breaks the sense of immersion.
Things I don't like so far? Boy, it's a short list. I'd really like to be able to remove the little circle cursor around my player. I know who he is, I can't control anyone else in Road To The Show mode, and that little cursor is the only thing that reminds me I'm not watching a real baseball game.
I'd also really like to have the option to make all games be day games. Day games look so spectacular, so amazing, that it's a shame to have to play any night games at all. It would be an easy option to add, and it would let players experience the best graphical environment for every game. It's not that night games look bad--they look quite good, actually--but even in real life, a night game is never going to look as good as a sunny afternoon.
One last thing. I was traded in my first year from the Pirates farm system to the Cubs. The AA team for Pittsburgh had a terrific third baseman, and he bailed me out many times with great plays. When I got to the Cubs AA team, their third baseman was a much poorer fielder, and I immediately noticed that balls were getting through for hits that would have been fielded with my original team. So ratings matter, and it's nice to see that players aren't cookie-cutters in the minor leagues.
Well, that's it for now. Like I said, I'll have more impressions after another 5-10 hours, but so far, I would highly recommend The Show.
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