Jun 022013
MLB 09 The Show
- Hotshot Fielding – The game now includes more dynamic fielder reactions and animations, as well as improved bare-handed flips.
- Road to the Show 3.0 – The new version of the popular mode includes an all-new steal and leadoff system, and more interaction with the player’s coaches.
- Franchise 2.0 – Now includes salary arbitration, waiver transactions, September call-ups, and the 40-man roster.
- Improved online play – Now includes flex scheduling to allow players to play out-of-order games, and Roster Vault option to allow gamers can create their own custom rosters and upload them online for other gamers to use.
- Custom Music/Replays – Gamers will now be able to store their favorite songs to their PS3 and assign them to be played at various points in the game, including a batter’s walk-up animation. Players may also create custom taunts.
MLB 09 PS3MLB 09: The Show is back for the 2009 baseball season with all the authentic baseball action that baseball and video game fans have come to expect from the longest running officially licensed Major League Baseball game series on PlayStation platforms. The fourth game in the series, MLB 09 also includes a wealth of new features such as Road to the Show 3.0, Franchise Mode 2.0, Online Season Leagues and Hotshot Fielding.
Swing for the cheap seats. View larger.
Squee
List Price: $ 39.99
Price: $ 3.45
Best sports title ever on any console bar none.,
I am a little late to the “show” but I am sure glad I finally arrived here! I just picked up the PS3 system 2 weeks ago. I am from the school that felt MVP baseball 2005 was hands down the best baseball game ever made for console gaming. I read numerous reviews on this game at various sites and was really shocked at the clear line of love it or hate it type of write ups. A little background on my gaming expereince for you youngens out there. I have been playing video games since the Atari 2600 (I still have that thing in fine working condition in a box with over 100 carts). Back then Intellevision was the bomb for baseball.Nintendo had Baseball Stars, and Bases Loaded the Second Season (both classics). On Sega Genesis we had RBI Baseball, and the sweet World Series Baseball. Then the Playstation had EA’s Triple Play baseball,All Star Baseball and of course the legendary MVP 2005 for PS2. For this review I can tell you this game is being played on a 32′ Sony XBR Bravia 1080P LCD with Digital Surround and HDMI video.
I will list my custom settings which I have found to be very challenging and at the same time very rewarding. These settings thus far have made for a very realistic gaming experience without the extreme amount of frustration that some have shared. Over time I am sure I will turn down and turn up these various settings as my skill in the game gets better with repeated play. I recommend these particular settings if you have had a good amount of baseball video gaming experience with either The Show or the MVP series, have a good working knowledge of the game and also if you are/were a ball player.
All Star difficulty
No hot/cold zones
No Strike Zone marker
No hitter zone marker
Yes – to ball marker to line up the pitches – even though the controller shakes if your out of the strike zone it does make things a tad easier and more enjoyable.
Yes – to 1/6 guess pitch and location – I believe part of baseball is to anticipate certain pitches and location at crucial times and to be rewarded like you would in real life with a solid hit or a majestic blast out of the park! This allows you to sit on a pitch that you guessed right. Or if you don’t want to guess the pitch but know he will pitch you down and away that helps and you should be rewarded. Knowing location has it’s rewards too! I played a game last night and just knew this pitcher was going to come at me inside….I promptly crushed one over the right field wall BOOYA!!!!!!
New Running control set up – very easy to use as I will explain below.
Yes – to API (Adaptive pitching intelligence) where the cather calls the game for you and you can either shake him off or follow his lead. I like this a lot! And don’t be afraid to shake off your catcher. They do call for more fastballs then they should….shake him off and throw that change up or breaking ball!
All throwing, fielding, running, and sliding set to manuel
Yes – to the Fielding ball marker and steal the HR marker.
Yes – to umpire strike zone variabilty
No – CPU comebacks.
As far as my sliders go without being long winded the only adjustments I made were:
Turning up 2 clicks each:
Hitting Power
Solid Contact
Starting Pitcher Stamina
Relief Pitcher Stamina
Foul balls
Turning down 3 clicks:
Throwing errors.
Turned down 1 click
AI Pitch speed – if your a novice turn it dowm some more to get a feel for what different pitches do. Once you get the hang of it…turn it up!
On to the game.
Presentation – Never have I been so blown away by a sports games presentation than MLB 2009 The Show. From the moment you load in the game and hearing all the great radio calls to the opening lineup introductions, the umpire crew calling the game, the panning in the stadiums, the lighting and shading….I mean this is top notch stuff. The play by play is great. Without question you feel like your watching a baseball game. The menus are very in depth and easy to navigate. I love seeing in spring training games the beach balls being hit around. The crowd is very active and looks so real! The player models are nothing short of beautiful. The fielding animations are so life like…back hand stabs, flips to turn 2, scoops, fist pumping after a great play, dives and slides….all the most realisitc I have ever seen. Guys getting thrown out of arguing calls, Replays are awesome!!!! Custom walk up music, and recording your own cheers and jeers…..friggin sweet!
Gameplay – this is where the biggest debate has been on the reviews. I will say this. MLB 2009 is not for pick up and play gamers, gamers who do not have much baseball knowledge, and gamers who do not have patience. This is a game that was designed for true baseball fans, players, and sports gamers…
Read more
Was this review helpful to you?
|They made it perfect,
Here we are, another long winter over and another amazing spring to begin, and what better way to ring in the best time of year than with MLB 09 The Show.
Sony has done it, they have taken an amazing franchise and made it perfect. I could tell you about the perfect graphics and amazing sounds, but this game has literally everything. They have batters that react like their real-life counterparts and pitchers that are accurate down to the grip of the ball. Each player is rendered with extreme precision, and with the ability to manually add their actual walk up music and HR celebration music, nothing is more life-like.
They team at Sony has added well over 400 animations to an already extraordinary library of ones that existed previously. I could probably play 100 games and still see something new. From speaking to one of the developers, there are now over 100 animation simply for the first baseman catching a throw to first. That’s just unreal. Also, as you play the game the infield wears down, if you dive for a ball on the back of the infield in the third inning, that large swipe of dirt will still be there the rest of the game, this is amazing. Score a runner from second base, and you’ll see the footprints in the dirt until they get covered by even more footprints.
The crowd is intenase this year, it’s dynamic. If there’s a blow out, they might leave early. Also, you’ll see Yankee fans in Fenway and vice-versa, as that’s how it really is. Sony has made this as close to reality as possible. Also, the fans dress for the weather. I was playing an early April game in Chicago, and the announcers stated it was 43 degrees. Everyone in the crowd had hats, sweaters and jackets on. For a game in late May, it was t-shirts and shorts.
The lighting is another VAST improvement this season. The game actually has lighting that transitions throughout the game. It doesn’t just go from light to dark, it follows a real nights subtle changes. Also, the lighting will hit players at certain angles that mimic a real sun, so the shadows will make a difference this year.
Add to all this, online leagues and Road to the Show 3.0, and yes you have a perfect baseball game.
Thank you Sony.
Was this review helpful to you?
|The perfect baseball game..,
First of all, my review is not gonna tell you why this game is perfect because of how great the stadiums look, or how lifelike Manny Ramirez’s dreads look. I love graphics as much as the next guy, but that is not what I am looking for in a baseball game. I am an obsessive Baseball fan and the only thing I am looking for is realism…and this game has done baseball perfectly.
You hear that a lot in reviews of this game don’t you? Perfect. How many times have most of the reviewers of anything said something like that?
The only baseball game I have continued to play since like 1999 has been High Heat Baseball for PC. I have seriously continued to update the rosters year after year for the 2003 edition, keeping it current. Well, this game not only made me finally put that game away, but single-handedly made me buy a PS3.
That is saying a lot! Console Baseball games have continued to get it wrong, time after time, after sad disc throwing time for me. I can not say enough for how amazing this game is. The batter/pitcher battle, the most important part of baseball, is excellent. High pitch counts, countless foul balls, CPU actually throwing balls, strike outs looking, amazing.
The trajectory of batted balls is great too, lots of balls up the middle, and looping fly balls, like real baseball. Lots of little things too with feeling, balls are bobbled but plays are still made… adding more of a human feeling to the game. One of the other cool features on the game, is that on the higher up difficulty modes.. you are to use actual catcher signs to call pitches, 1 for fastball, 2 usually for curve etc.. and your catcher even calls what side of the plate its going too.
This game is perfect, 10 out of 10, 5 out of 5, whatever the ratings are. This game looks equally good when compared to how atrocious that Major league Baseball game is. Go BUY NOW.
Was this review helpful to you?
|