“MLB 10: The Show”Platform: PlayStation 3Style: 1 or 2-player sports (2-player online)Publisher: Sony Computer EntertainmentDeveloper: Sony Computer Entertainment San DiegoRelease: March 2ESRB: EConcept: The most realistic baseball simulation to date.Graphics: Everything, right down to the tiniest details like the stitching on the jerseys, is beautifully rendered. The animations (outside of the arm clipping on catchers) are among the best in gaming.Sound: The commentary team is dry and often oblivious to the action on the field. Thankfully, users can input their own sound and music.Playability: The mechanics haven’t changed, but a year’s worth of tuning makes a hell of a difference.Entertainment: This year’s “Show” makes me feel bad for other sports games. The bar has officially been raised.Replay Value: HighThe Bottom Line: 9.5
By Andrew Reiner
Game Informer Magazine
The only thing missing from “MLB 10: The Show’s” presentation is a shot of a fielding coach nodding in and out of sleep on the dugout bench. Outside of this miniscule detail, Sony has created the most realistic simulation in video games. If someone ran a feed of this game on one of the many screens in a sports bar, I wouldn’t be surprised if the patrons thought it was a live broadcast. The camerawork, statistical overlays, and attention to detail on the field make The Show as much fun to watch as it is to play.
Fans lunge for foul balls. Base coaches chat it up with fielders between innings. You’ll even see a catcher accentuate the importance of keeping a pitch down with an aggressive hand gesture. These details are purely visual, but touches like a fielder slowing to make a catch in front of the left field wall, or a catcher scrambling to secure a passed ball, enhance the gameplay. I never ran into a play where I thought a player should have reacted differently. The paths players take to field balls don’t come across as artificial or gamey. Players accurately read ball bounce and spin, and above all, believably portray their position.