Dynasty Musings: The Show is Still King

[RaychelSnr]

With the release of NBA 2K11 and NHL 11, all of the major sports titles have now been released for 2010. And rising from the dust of a lot of busted franchise modes is SCE San Diego Studio's MLB 10: The Show.

Here are five reasons why The Show possesses the best franchise/dynasty mode on the market.

1. Simulation Realism

It's really very simple for number one. You don't see random guys consistently performing at a higher level in this game. Sure, there are fluke seasons in The Show, but there are in real life, too. Jose Bautista is a great example of this. If you have a good team with good coaches, you are going to perform well. It's as simple as that.

A player with a high plate discipline and plate vision is going to draw more walks. A pitcher with good stuff and low control is going to strike out a lot of people but walk his fair share of batters as well. Performing based on attributes is something that has apparently fallen out of favor with many titles this year, most notably in Madden 11 and NHL 11.

Read More - Dynasty Musings: The Show is Still King

[ps3veron]

Absolutely agree! The Show is still king

[harvey88]

Of the 4 major north american sports (MLB, NHL, NBA, NFL). The show is light years ahead of any other game as far as realism and sim aspects are concerned. Watch an MLB game and play MLB the show. Its scary how true to life the game plays. Play any other sports game and its laughable how far off the game is compared to the real thing. Sure there are still some aspects of the show that need to be improved, like fielding and certain aspects of pitching like more user walks, but this game is still a great representation of baseball. EA's NHL while still a good game, does not play anything close to what I would call a typical game of hockey. It's fun and stats are somewhat realistic, but not because the gameplay matches the on ice product. For some reason The Show is the only game that does not feel scripted in anyway. Game variety is also superb. You can go from having a 1-0 game, to a 15-12 slugfest the next. The Devs really take consumer input seriously and are always very active on the OS boards and are always quick to address gameplay issues in a prompt manner. They really seem to take pride in their product and truly try to put out the best game possible, and don't make it seem like they are only in it for the $$, like some companies.

[jestep123]

I absolutley agree with all of this and it really isnt close.. Its why I am still playing this game over all the other good games mentioned hedre (and others).

I also sold my 360 for a PS3 just so that I could play this game.. There are not many single platform games that have that affect. Of course, the 2k series isnt really that good so that helps.

[Bumble14]

My biggest issue with The Show's dynasty:

1.) The menu interface is beyond boring- bland, uninspired, and actually makes me not want to invest time in the mode.

2.) The lack of anything interesting presentation wise outside of a game. I miss the days of Sports Illustrated covers,weekly wrap up highlight shows, and player news/notes.

BTW- simming in MLB10 is brutal. It takes hours to sim a season- 2K10 is much quicker with the average season sim being 5-10 minutes depending on how quick you are on the button presses.

[HustlinOwl]

Bought NBA 2K for the first time since 2k4. Have always been a college hoops fan and with no college title this year I had to resort and it did not last long. Two weeks with NBA2k11 is all it lasted have been back on The Show and this will be my only sports game purchase annually

[TomServo09]

Agree 100%. Maybe SCEA should take a crack at football.

[1WEiRDguy]

3. Options

Another reason why The Show's Franchise mode stands out is because of all the options that you can choose between while running your team. Do you want to control EVERYTHING, even things like ticket prices, fan amenities and marketing campaigns? Do you want to leave all of that stuff aside and simply take control of baseball operations? Either way, you can do what you want to do and not be annoyed by certain aspects of the game if you don't feel like it's necessary.


^^^My biggest complaint about sports games these days...im a 360 owner and have NEVER played The Show, but it kills me how people flock to a certain football game that has continued to underachieve with delivering its offline season features. Im certain a feature like this in The Show makes you even wanna question going online in the first place...

Just let me set my ticket prices etc... and I will be a happy camper...

[1WEiRDguy]

I wish the NBA games would adopt this feature as well...this would go so well with dynamic attendance

[Armor and Sword]

I am still playing the The Show 2009, that is how amazing that game is. While I agree The Show is really one of if not the best sports game I will say NBA2K11 is right there in the cat birds seat. Both games are amazing in gameplay, presentation and depth.

As a guy who loves and still plays The Show 2009, should I just wait for the 2011 version at this point? Again I am 2-3 year sports game cycle player unless the jump is very noticible. I had read and heard 2010 was basically the same exact game gameplay wise and it was more visual touches that were enhanced as well at RTTS (which I don't play) with the be a catcher mode.

Thoughts?

[ckarlic]

Re: Dynasty Musings: The Show is Still King

110% agree that the Show is still king. With that said, bring on MLB 11

[EnigmaNemesis]

Re: Dynasty Musings: The Show is Still King

110% agree that the Show is still king. With that said, bring on MLB 11

My thoughts exactly!



Good write up MMChrisS, getting the blood pumping for the game! Was a fun little read!

[statum71]

Gotta give 2K11 its props. So for me, I've said I consider 2K11 and The Show to be the co-Champions right now.

Because even as great as 2K11 is.... NOBODY is wiping out The Show. Period!!

[squadron supreme]

Some of the things that The Show does better are a result of how rosters are managed in mlb particularly with minor league teams and salary arbitration and different types of free agents. Those things just don't exist in the nba plus the commentary is stale in The Show how many times does Rex Hudler have to annoy me just because I swung at one bad pitch.

[DaReapa]

Gotta agree. Although at some times I feel that some of the hitting is scripted, the overall package is one to behold. NBA 2K11 is a close contender but has one too many kinks in the armor to declare it the best sports title this year. If VC iron out a some of the control and animation issues for 2K12, then we could be tooting a different tune on this topic next year. One thing The Show really needs is automatic roster updates, where you don't have to constantly go in and save.