MLB 10 The Show

Baseball on the go!

Posted 3 years ago By - Jay Acevedo

I made the decision to check out both MLB 2K10 and MLB 10 The Show on the PSP, despite my lack of faith in sports games on handhelds. They’re technically limited compared to console versions, and really, I just plain prefer them on consoles. Regardless of this, it was time for me to check out a sports game on the PSP and what better way than my old time favourite, baseball! While you can compare this review to my impressions on MLB 2K10 as well, MLB 10 The Show for the PSP is yet another proof that I shouldn’t mistrust what developers can do with the PSP.

Gameplay

Upon booting the game, the very first thing I realized is that it had the same intro as in the PS3 version, live-action video included. Right then, I was stoked. Music pumping in the menus with the possibility of listening to my own tracks via Memory Stick, five game modes (Exhibition, Manager Mode, Season, Home Run Derby and Road to the Show), an incredibly deep create-a-player feature, a save game in progress option and Sounds of the Show mode; things looked promising. Remember, I’ve been snubbing MLB The Show on PSP all these years, so seeing all those features make it into the PSP version made my jaw hit the floor.

Features aside, playing the game is what matters most and, compared to the “other” baseball PSP game, it wasn’t that hectic despite a few hiccups. If you are a PSP user, you already know how imprecise and frustrating the analog nub can be.In MLB 10 The Show, the only time you will actually get to use it is when pitching time comes around. Even though the aiming is manageable most of the time, it remains cumbersome. The throwing meter – just like the one in the PS3 version - is there to give some realism to your pitching and works extremely well, as long as you can excuse the imperfect analog nub.

Fielding and batting is very intuitive and responsive, however, base running will give you the most trouble because of its complexity to pull-off. If you are looking to steal a lot of bases, choose your moment wisely before executing and be patient. It could take you a few tries before actually getting one done. If you played The Show on the Playstation 3, you might know that hitting the ball requires a lot of timing and patience. For the PSP version, batting is actually a bit loose, giving you the chance to hit the ball more often and therefore increase the pleasure of playing. In one of my games, I managed to hit 8 home-runs, something I’d never be able to do on the PS3 version. I’d be lucky if I hit three but you get the picture.

Just like most standard PSP games out there, MLB 10 The Show supports two player online play via ad-hoc. No infrastructure though. However, knowing how its big brother is constantly plagued by lag and random disconnections, I’ll take what I can get.

So is there something wrong with this portable version of MLB 10 The Show? Aside from long UMD loads (if you didn’t download it from the PSN store), the analog nub nuisances and the inability to listen to my own tracks while playing the game, MLB 10 The Show is much more a positive experience than bad.

Graphics & Sounds

Graphically, MLB 10 The Show looks good, very good in fact. In my case, I think it caught me off guard since I’ve played MLB 2K10 first and then The Show. Either way, MLB 10 The Show has the most accurate rendition of ball parks and player models of the two games. It has some texture jaggies and all but hey, it’s a PSP game, remember?

As for sounds, I’ve already stated the possibility to use your own personal tracks via Memory Stick, though sadly, limited to menus. You can also edit music to create custom batter walk-ups, home-run songs and even customize your reliever’s entry based on the few and unimpressive tracks offered in the game. At least you have the opportunity to customize the game to your own taste. The in-game commentary is top notch and the environmental sounds are pretty impressive.

Value

MLB 10 The Show is quite the package. The Road to the Show mode alone is deep enough to invest lots of hours in it. If RTTS isn’t your cup of tea, you could always spend some time in the Home Run Derby, start a Season or even make a Tony Larussa out of yourself (minus the yelling) by putting your coaching skills to the test in Manager mode. Whether you are a baseball nut or simply a gamer who just wants to hit the ball out of the park, MLB 10 The Show is the game for you.

Conclusion

As an avid player of the franchise since it first arrived on the Playstation 3, having the possibility to bring the home experience with me anywhere was certainly interesting but I wasn’t expecting it to be this great. It’s not perfect or even the most impressive PSP game but it’s worth the $40 price tag for any baseball fan on the go.