Let me preface this by saying I’ve never really been a big fan of first party sports titles. There’s always been less features, worse graphics, and not so friendly gameplay. MLB 07: The Show for PS3 changed my feelings completely. From the crisp graphics of players and stadiums, to the fluid gameplay mechanics, this could be the best baseball video game I’ve ever played. Here is a breakdown of some of the facets of MLB 07: The Show for the PS3:

Presentation and Graphics: This game puts MLB 2K7 to shame. 2K Sports claimed they have “Signature Style” for most of the players, and the did a decent job. But Sony one up’d them. Player faces are spot on, their batting stances, swings, pitching and throwing styles are also on the money. The stadiums are very richly detailed and extremely crisp. Scoreboards keep score and are dynamically changing, just as in real life (where MLB 2K7 just showed some big orange numbers there in most stadiums). The one place where the game needs some help is collision detection. There’s a few times where you will run through another player, or the ball will go through the stadium instead of landing in the upper decks. There was one small thing that annoyed me with the graphics. In the stands, there are roughly 5-6 fan models that look and act exactly the same. When looking at the crowd, you see hundreds of white shirt women sit down at the same time, followed by hundreds of red shirt men, etc. It’s a small thing, but in this generation, it’s something that should look good as well. 4 of 5

Sound and Music: The sound in this game is fantastic. It sounds like baseball. With MLB 2K7, every hit sounded like someone lit off fireworks. Wooden bats don’t make deep booming sounds when you hit a ball. In this game, Sony got the sounds right on. The crack of the bat, the pop of the catcher’s mitt, the thud as the ball hits the outfield wall and bounces back, it’s all terrific. There’s some pretty good music played in the background when each hitter comes to the plate, and that same music is used while sitting at the menus. 5 of 5

Gameplay: There’s many gameplay elements of MLB 07: The Show that far surpass the competition. The pitching interface, which keeps you in the viewpoint of the catcher, uses an MVP Baseball -esque meter. You choose your pitch and location (which is suggested by your catcher if you want to listen), then hit the X button once to start the meter, hit again to set power, and hit again for precision. It’s a few more button presses than MLB 2K7, but it works well. Hitting uses a combination of the X button (for a contact swing), and the Square button (for a power swing). I figured there would be some analog stick or SIXAXIS controls here, but the X and Square button mechanics work well. Fielding is more fluid than the MLB 2K7, and you control your throw by how long you hold the appropriate button down. There are SIXAXIS fielding controls, where you tilt the controller up to jump and slide to either side to dive. This is a good use of motion controls, as you don’t need to move your hands off the standard buttons to drive or jump for the ball. This game feels more like real baseball than any other baseball game I’ve ever played. The Road to the Show mode feels much like the Superstar mode in Madden, where you control your one player and can fast forward between plays where you aren’t involved. It works very well and lets you feel what it’s like to bring your player along through the ranks to join the Big Leagues. Finally, the best feature, in my opinion, is dynamic umpire reactions. Depending on the umpire, the game, the players, and the situation, the strike zone will change. Pitching with a rookie against Derek Jeter? You’re not getting that call on the black. Put up Tom Glavine against some kid that just came up? That strike zone is wider than you can image. It’s this type of added gameplay element that really brings you into the game. 4.5 of 5

Multiplayer: MLB 07: The Show offers both offline and online multiplayer. Offline multiplayer is your standard fare and works very well. Tipping pitches, like every other baseball game, is tough with offline multiplayer as your opponent can see what you’re doing. Online multiplayer works just as well as it’s offline counterpart. I was surprised at the amount of people online at any given time with the game. I popped in my copy of MLB 2K7 for Xbox 360 as a comparison, and every time I looked, MLB 07: The Show had many more players online. So finding a game was never a problem. In over 20 games online, I saw zero lag. The competition has some lag problems in many games you play. So kudos to Sony and their development team on this one. 4.5 of 5

Lasting Appeal: MLB 07: The Show has a very high replay value. From the standard franchise and season modes to the Road to the Show, this game has a lot of depth to offer. And with Sony pushing out regular roster updates over the PlayStation Network, you can be sure that your favorite team looks the same as they do on TV or when you go sit in the stands. With the high realism factor of the game thrown on top, you can keep coming back to MLB 07: The Show to get your fix of America’s Pastime.. 4.5 of 5

Final Word: Every time I play MLB 07: The Show, I keep finding new details in the stadium or a cool diving catch animation that really feels like you’re watching a real baseball game. With all the game has to offer, it is easily the best baseball game I’ve ever played. I can only imagine what the game offer next year to build on the strong base it already has.

Overall: 4.5 of 5

1 = Not worth the bandwidth.

2= Demo is enough, not worth your money.

3= Game is good, depending on the price, seriously consider picking it up.

4= Worth your money. Should provide some good times for quite awhile.

5= Buy the game. Lock your door. Pick up a case of beer. This could take all night.