MLB 15 The Show Review (PS4)

[Armor and Sword]

Re: MLB 15 The Show Review (PS4)

8.5 - MLB 14 The Show PS4

8.5 - MLB 15 The Show PS4


Now don't get me wrong. 8.5 is super strong. But this years game oozes improvements under the hood that were immediately noticeable. Base runner speed differential, outfielder speed differential, ball spins and breaks, ball physics 4.0. Being able to the ball off your bat was a huge immersion addition IMO. Licensed equipment is massive for immersion. It looks amazing.

But let's talk about what IMO pushes the game to at least a 9.

Online and Diamond Dynasty and manual fielding.

Yes that's right. Online is working. At least for me thus far it has been excellent. I played two online franchise games last night without a hitch. Being able to finally play in 30 man league is a dream and is going to tai this game to a new level for me. While I love my offline franchise, and believe me I will still play it hardcore. Playing online in a sim league with mature players plus the addiction that is now Diamond Dynasty, this game is not leaving my console.

Fielding on this game has finally made the jump I had been waiting for since I started playing the series. And even though I auto field and manual throw on my offline franchise's and classic season replays (for player rating statistical integrity), I love to field now on The Show and am playing online like a monster because fielding is smooth, responsive and down right amazing. FINALLY!!!

I am serious.

I have shelved NBA2K15 and Madden 15. I seriously don't see myself touching those save for an occasional change of pace. Online is working and working well for the most part. At least for me and a ton of my league mates so far.

This game is certainly better than 14 on a lot of levels. It's not perfect. And I don't agree with some presentation design decisions which I have noted in my impression post so no need to re-hash it.

But this is a much better game overall than 14 and deserves the perception of that with at least a 9....not the same score as last years port.

[Blazzen]

Re: MLB 15 The Show Review (PS4)

Good review.

The Show is consistently good. It's the best sports franchise period. It's a TRUE SIMULATION unlike other games (cough MADDEN cough) that claim to be a simulation but are more like an arcade game.

Long live THE SHOW!

[BenGerman]

Re: MLB 15 The Show Review (PS4)

8.5 - MLB 14 The Show PS4

8.5 - MLB 15 The Show PS4


No don't get me wrong. 8.5 is super strong. But this years game oozes improvements under the hood that were immediately noticeable. Base runner speed differential, outfielder speed differential, ball spins and breaks, ball physics 4.0. Being able to the ball off your bat was a huge immersion addition IMO. Licensed equipment is massive for immersion. It looks amazing.

But let's talk about what IMO pushes the game to at least a 9.

Online and Diamond Dynasty and manual fielding.

Yes that's right. Online is working. At least for me thus far it has been excellent. I played two online franchise games last night without a hitch. Being able to finally play in 30 man league is a dream and is going to tai this game to a new level for me. While I love my offline franchise, and believe me I will still play it hardcore. Playing online in a sim league with mature players plus the addiction that is now Diamond Dynasty, this game is not leaving my console.

Fielding on this game has finally made the jump I had been waiting for since I started playing the series. And even though I auto field and manual throw on my offline franchise's and classic season replays (for player rating statistical integrity), I love to field now on The Show and am playing online like a monster because fielding is smooth, responsive and down right amazing. FINALLY!!!

I am serious.

I have shelved NBA2K15 and Madden 15. I seriously don't see myself touching those save for an occasional change of pace. Online is working and working well for the most part. At least for me and a ton of my league mates so far.

This game is certainly better than 14 on a lot of levels. It's not perfect. And I don't agree with some presentation design decisions which I have noted in my impression post so no need to re-hash it.

But this is a much better game overall than 14 and deserves the perception of that with at least a 9....not the same score as last years port.

I agree that it's much better than '14, but it's impossible to review sports games that way. The game making improvements every year has to be assumed, otherwise we wouldnt be buying it.

That said, I really do think you're right. Granted, I didn't review '14 for OS but I wouldn't have given it an 8.5. Not to say whoever did was wrong, obviously, but my sense is that '15 is a much more polished and well-rounded title than '14.

[boota]

is there something to aid pitch recognicion this year?

[My993C2]

Re: MLB 15 The Show Review (PS4)

I have not played the game yet. Having said that, based on the feature lists and discussions about additions or bug fixes, the reviewer scored this one pretty accurately. Same goes for metacritic. Here are some things as to why MLB The Show 15 isn't getting the accolades many seemed to think it would:

* lack of a real career stats model. If you want to see a baseball video game that does stats the right way, check out OOTP....this year's version or any of them in the past. There is no way The Show can be considered a simulation product until they make stats a very real part of the game. As it is, The Show is a really pretty arcade game that has only dipped its toes in the sim aspects of its real life counterpart.

* DD just isn't challenging enough long term, nor does it have much suspense to it. They could have had the players be represented in baseball cards for their representative years. Not nearly enough all time great players. No "common card" type players from the past. They could have made revealing the players more like opening a pack of cards.

* lack of a truly customizable camera. In this day and age one should be able to view the action from any seat in the ball park.

* Manager Only Mode is weak. It hasn't really improved. The options available seem to be the same ones available if you're at the plate or on the mound. In real life managers do not have the same responsibilities as players. One should be able to challenge calls, argue with umpires, have more detailed control over the bullpen and defensive alignment changes. One should truly be able to converse with the players and multiple factors affect whether the pitcher stays in or not.

* pickoffs are still broken. The AI does not attempt pickoffs at a normal rate as in real life. Stealing and getting caught or in run downs isn't realistic. Pick off attempts should tire the pitcher and break his concentration, but they don't.

* fan animations need some work. If you are looking at the action in broadcast camera view you should feel everything going on behind the player is realistic. Moonwalking fans look weird. Whether there is a foul ball, a single to left, a drive to the gap in right or a homerun the fans (head movements, scrambling, other body movements) should suggest the fans are connected to the action, but they are not. They look planted there.

* uniforms should change in appearance as the game wears on, due to field or weather conditions, or the number of times the player has been a part of the action.

* attendance should change depending on the day, the opponent, said team's position in the standingss, or whether it is late in the season or not. Instead there is a disconnect between what occurs in the field and all of the other nuances of the game.

That is my two cents

There is a lot that you have written here that I can agree with. I am frustrated that CPU pickoffs have been removed from the game and frustrated that a couple of other features that existed in MoM games last year have been removed from this year's MoM games. However there is something that is missing in your analogy and that's probably because you don't have the game. What is it? Fun factor. MLB 15 is far from perfect, it has a bunch of new warts to go along with the existing warts. But it is a fun game and when push comes to shove, all that I ask for in my games is that I am having fun playing them.

[Mets7766]

Re: MLB 15 The Show Review (PS4)

First off, I love The Show. I play it every year and never regret my purchase. That being said, the ps2/ps3 player models and animations have to go. The absolutely beautiful lighting and stadium environments make these holdovers really stick out. Some animations have been in the game since, literally, '05 or '06. It's like Naomi Watts with a big hairy mole...

[Shadymamba]

I never understand the phrase "take big risks to move forward. "

There isn't a whole lot that I would want to change to enjoy the game.

There is a saying that the grass is not always greener on the other side.

Changing some of the game engines radically could destroy what we love about the game.

I'm hoping that they continue to add refinements and build the game modes to the next levels.

Thank you, don't change what is not broken - if we keep in mind it's a video game and it will never be "perfect" but will be damn good we can all be happy

[SVCbearcat10]

This is the problem with the sports reviews. The Show is a victim of it's own success. If the next Madden would put out a game the same quality as the Show, it would be getting 9.5's and the internet may literally explode. The reviews (especially on Metacritic) will reflect that many other games are better than the Show when that really isn't the case.

Sports reviews really need 2 scores. One based on how it rates compared to the franchise itself and one for how it compares to other sports games. I can see the argument for some staleness (but it's a good problem to have in their case because so much is done right). So compared to itself, maybe it gets a lower score. However, compared to FIFA, Madden, etc, it should be at the top in review scores because it might be the best sim of the sport it represents.

[woody2goody]

Re: MLB 15 The Show Review (PS4)

I've played every Show since 08, and this one is so good. I love everything about it so far.

I couldn't get into last year's at all, barely playing 20 games in franchise and a season and a half of RTTS (batting only).

This year however, I've jumped into a Rockies franchise and I'm loving it. Lost 6-0 on Opening Day, then won 7-5 and 6-1 before losing my last game 12-1 against the Cubs.

This game feels like baseball, the hitting is challenging without being too difficult, and the pitching is definitely a little harder than last year which is better IMO.

Graphics, especially the lighting are excellent, I really like the responsiveness of the menus, better loading times and licensed equipment, what's not to like?

The year-to-year saves are a great feature. Not sure if I'll use them but giving you the option at least is fantastic, and an excuse for me to try to play as many of the 162 games as possible this season.

[rman]

Why does this PS3 port still have low resolution bitmaps and textures? Some of the background textures still look like something from PS2. How about the jumbo-tron flashing homerun, strike out etc. Why does it not look sharp instead of jaggies?

Why do the stadium colors shift for LH and RH batters? Why does home plate look like it has rabbit turd around it? Why does this games colors look realistic one minute and then shift to cartoon like colors? When it comes down to it, this is nothing but a ported PS3 game with sharper graphics. This not a next gen game IMO. I don't want to beat this dead horse, but wow 2K NBA IS NEXT GEN!

[RogueHominid]

Frankly, I find the statement that the game doesn't do anything great but does most everything well perplexing.

I mean, of the sports games I have played, MLBTS consistently ships as an immediately playable sim experience straight out of the box. That, to me, is miraculous. One can fiddle with sliders in MLBTS if one wants, but one need not do so to get great stats and gameplay at launch. I'm already into my keeper franchise less than one week after launch, and I'm having an amazing game experience. How many other sports games can deliver a comparable product at launch?

[jtatfsu]

I have played 6 online versus ranked games online and 4 of them were ended by a frozen game bug with the game stuck in an animation loop with no activity possible for either player. I fail to see how a bug that ends games prematurely 66% of the time and distorts win/loss records online deserves an 8/10. I am sick and tired of people who only play single player reviewing sports games. If Call of Duty had a great single player experience but 2 out of 3 online matches were ended by a bug that made you completely restart the game, what kind of reviews do you think that would get?

[AP 17]

The fact that u scored FIFA higher than MLB shows either how little u know about your job or how much EA pays for your lofty reviews.

[SmashMan]

Re: MLB 15 The Show Review (PS4)

The fact that u scored FIFA higher than MLB shows either how little u know about your job or how much EA pays for your lofty reviews.

Caring about a number more than the content of a review? Nice.

[Clappington]

I hope next year they allow us to take our RTTS player online or whatever. but this is a good job for this year.