MLB ’12 The Show: A Review
One fine day I got a notion that reviewing baseball video games – in an effort to find the best ones of all time – might be a cool idea. After showing one to Mr. Cistulli, he agreed relented. Thus today I bring you another video game review, this time a more timely review, of MLB ‘12: The Show, which was released Tuesday — or midnight Monday if you were lucky like I was.
Vitals
Game: MLB ‘12: The Show
Platform: Playstation 3
Developer: SCE San Diego Studio
Modes: Exhibition, Road to the Show, Franchise, Season, Rivalry, Practice, Home Run Derby, Diamond Dynasty, as well as other online modes.
Cool Feature: MLB.com news, game history, custom roster vault*
*which usually includes one created by some poor soul who has labored through creating each team’s prospects
Video:
Categories
Realism: 10/10.
Graphics: 10/10.
Difficulty: 7/10.
Details: 10/10.
Playability: 9/10.
Intangibles: 50/50.
Total Score: 96/100 (A)
Since I haven’t done a review in a long time, let me break down each of the categories a little bit. For realism, I like to think in terms of “could this be a way a game would reasonably play out?” For graphics, it’s definitely relative to the time the game was put out. Difficulty is pretty self-explanatory; is the game extraordinarily easy or hard, or somewhere in between? For playability, I like to think of it as the ‘play again’ factor; would you play it over and over again? For me, for intangibles it was really to get it on a scale of 100, and to help to try quantify some ‘feel’ to the game (and also to help get a Jeterian element into the mix).
To set a few ground rules:
* Game will be played with teams of Mr. Warne’s choosing.
* Game will be played on a medium skill level.
* Game is played in exhibition or single game mode.
* No player movement allowed (if applicable).
* No part of the game will be simulated.
* Game can not be restarted, except in instance of system freeze.
* If my wife asks, I am working.
With all these rules considered, if any reader suggests one that should be added, it shall be considered.
Pros (in no specific order):
*Caroms off the outfield wall have been improved greatly, as in how OF plays them.
*There are tons of uniform choices for each club.
*The conversation between Vasgersian, Karros, and Campbell is good. Not many repeats. They also did 2012 MLB predictions.
*The fan variation is good. It’s pretty rare to see too many fans that look identical.
*The throwing motions for individual players are really good. Denard Span’s was spot on.
*The graphics overall are stunning. Stadium rendering is amazing, especially the aquarium.
*Catcher pitch calling is completely optional (press R2). This wasn’t a great feature in ‘11.
*Vasgersian adds a lot of good quips, like Stanton leading the league in “no doubters” and Lo-Mo’s twitter escapades.
*The physics of the game are better. The drives hook and slice, ground balls take more funny hops, and fielders can lose their balance fielding the ball from time to time.
*Variable strike zones make the game a little less predictable. Baker got squeezed really bad in the first frame, for instance. Zumaya in his rough inning, as well.
*The layout for defensive lineups is great. The camera does OF, left side of IF, right side, and then pitcher and catcher.
*The cuts screens and overlays are great. Innings have a commercial-style break, and the game takes time to watch a pitcher dry off his hands, or a hitter take his practice swings.
Cons:
*Caroms may actually be too easy. I nailed Pujols twice at second in a single game in another mode.
*Hitting, at least to me, is still awfully difficult, hence the 7/10 rating in difficulty. Basically with the timing, when I know a pitch is coming, I hook it foul either way.
*Even when I make good contact, it’s right at a fielder 90 percent of the time.
I didn’t try the new hitting or pulse pitching options extensively. The pulse pitching for the four pitches I tried was not good.
*The computer’s fielding is way too easy. It’s nearly impossible to hit a ground ball past the first baseman, and bloops that fall in don’t really happen, either.
*The Marlins started warming someone after 45 pitches for Josh Johnson. What the heck?
*3B steal attempts are far too frequent. I’ve had one in each game I’ve played. How many do you see in a regular season game?
*I didn’t see the HR sign when Reyes homered. Many would take this to be a positive, but on the replay as the pitch was being delivered the ‘thing’ was going off. Timing issue there.
*On a line drive into the gap, Span pursued it as if it was next to him the whole time. Thus, rather than high-tailing it after it was past him, he was sort of in a ‘cut-off’ position. This allowed Bonifacio a triple which should have easily been a double.
Summary:
After typing all the ‘cons’ it’s going to feel odd to say this is the best baseball game I’ve ever played, but it’s true. The first game I played, Mauer drilled a hanging curve from Felix Hernandez into the concourse at Target Field. For that second, I thought I could finally hit! Not so much, as a handful of games later I’ve still only amassed like one or two more extra-base hits. Still, the notion of pitcher wildness — in other words, you actually walk people in this game! — is interesting. No more 20-1 K/BB ratios, or anything of the sort. But yes, hitting is still difficult, and this isn’t even on any of the advanced levels. Maybe it’s just society. Or maybe I just stink.
Anyway, the detail of this game is absolutely incredible. At Target Field in other games I’ve played on this version, the minor details are absolutely terrific, like the stairway to the skyway outside the RF corner, the water tower, and even the chain link divider that prevents people from watching the game for free from the parking ramp — ostensibly — are all perfectly rendered and accurate to the real Target Field. Even the scoreboard has the same format and fonts. Incredible.
Facing Johnson was difficult. One thing this year’s version has done has made fastballs get on you a little more. Thus, Johnson’s 96 MPH heater comes out free and easy but gets on you really, really quickly. That’s great added realism for anyone who’s ever faced some pretty good heat.
But overall, the game is absolutely terrific. The game remembers your options that you selected and keeps them as your default the next game, so no having to shut off pulse pitching and analog hitting! If you’d like to read a good Road to the Show review, check out Common Man’s review at the Platoon Advantage from a few days ago. As for hitting, I’m sure I’ll end up moving the sliders around to make it a bit more accommodating — I’m really not that bad, honest — but once I start hitting, this is going to be a blast to play.
In short: Buy it, rent it, steal it.
Starting Lineups
Miami Marlins:
1. Jose Reyes SS
2. Emilio Bonifacio CF
3. Hanley Ramirez 3B
4. Giancarlo Stanton RF
5. Logan Morrison LF
6. Gaby Sanchez 1B
7. John Buck C
8. Omar Infante 2B
9. Josh Johnson SP
Subs used: Steve Cishek and Juan Oviedo in relief, Greg Dobbs as pinch hitter.
Minnesota Twins:
1. Denard Span CF
2. Jamey Carroll SS
3. Joe Mauer C
4. Justin Morneau 1B
5. Josh Willingham RF
6. Danny Valencia 3B
7. Alexi Casilla 2B
8. Trevor Plouffe LF
9. Scott Baker SP
Subs used: Joel Zumaya, Brian Duensing, and Alex Burnett in relief.
Venue:
Marlins Park, Miami FL
Final Score:
Marlins 5-11-0
Twins 0-4-1
WP – Johnson
LP – Baker
SV – None
Game Notes
Marlins:
Reyes 4-5 HR (Player of the Game)
Bonifacio 2-4 2B, 3B
Ramirez 2-3 2 IBB
Buck 1-3 2 RBI
Johnson 6.2 IP, 3 H, 0 R/ER, 5 K, 0 BB
Cishek 0.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R/ER, 0 K, 0 BB
Oviedo 2.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R/ER, 0 K, 1 BB
Twins:
Carroll 2-4
Maue/Morneau 2-7
Baker 6.0 IP, 7 H, 1 R/ER, 4 K, 6 BB
Zumaya 0.2 IP, 2 H, 4 R/ER, 1 K, 3 BB
Duensing 0.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R/ER, 1 K, 0 BB
Burnett 1 IP, 2 H, 0 R/ER, 1 K, 0 BB
Additionally:
Game Time Temp – 74 degrees
Attendance – 28,513
Wind – NE at 12 MPH
Purchasing:
This game — since it’s still brand new — can be purchased at any local GameStop, Target, WalMart, or any store of the like. Amazon is an option too, with the cheapest I’ve seen being $50.
Is there any way to win the world series without using the wizard key?
I haven’t a clue. :(
Great review, keep these coming!
I am going to get either The Show or 2k12 for ps3, I assume you would reco The Show?
I absolutely love the 2k NBA series, I find it odd they cannot duplicate that success into MLB…
Thanks, and absolutely.
Once I get the hitting down, it’ll be better than MVP ’05. #blashphemy
wut
How much did Sony pay you to say that? that is complete absurdity..
Not a penny, and I just played MVP last week. Great, great, great game….but the heaters are a bit hot (as in Josh Beckett’s 94 is almost impossible to touch), and I felt like hitting is also just a bit off in that game as well.
94 on the Show is fast, but it’s realistically fast.
I STILL PLAY MVP 2005!
I think we all do!
I say try Out of the Park Baseball 12, or 13 when it comes out!
I definitely will. I play in a couple 6.5 leagues (lol) right now.
why does the gameplay video have 2010 stats and say mlb 11 the show?
Sorry, apparently the video was under the wrong heading. I have updated it with a new video.
Sadly, I am stuck with MLB2k12 as a 360 owner. Should arrive today or Monday with NBA2k12 (for $10 more, why not?)
Next year, when this ridiculous exclusive-rights thing with MLB expires, maybe us XBox owners can get a real baseball game!
2k series blows this game away. You have zero control over pitches and pulse pitching is flat-out unusable, the fielding is inexcusable (My infielders stop to olé as a ball rolls past 1-2 times per game and are never setting themselves up for a double play correctly), the timing on hitting is terrible and I have yet to get a grounder through for a hit despite infield defense being absolutely useless on my end, and the default rankings of players are often terrible.
Worst baseball game I’ve played since two console generations ago.
I found MLB 10 to be one of the best baseball games I’ve ever played. The 2K series has been sort of a let down after playing that game (I own 2K9, 2K10 and now 2K12). 2K12 is definitely fun, but it has some weird quirks and bugs that annoy me (for instance, my hitters have been ruled safe on way too many errors, and when they come to back the next time up it’ll say that they were safe on a Fielder’s Choice).
Hitting seems to be a theme problem for the MLB series though, as in MLB 10 I only finally won a 14 inning game by laying down a suicide squeeze with the bases loaded and two outs because that’s the only way I could even TRY to score (fyi, Asdrubal Cabrera was safe by a wide margin at home, and when they finally made the throw to first Ellsbury was almost in RF from over running 1B), but the realism, commentary and features that I’ve used have far exceeded any of the 2K series that I’ve played of the same year.
what a joke
just because you’re terrible at the game means it’s bad?
Yeah, maybe if I were more skilled pitches would wind up within a foot of where I placed them more than 75% of the time with a pitcher with exceptional control, and the game would sense my skill level and stop taking control of my fielders and preventing them from making plays.
That’s weird, I just bought the game last night and the first game I played was Twins @ Marlins also! I beat the computer 1-0 with all the sliders turned way up to the easiest possible mode. While fielding and pitching was a breeze, hitting was still awful difficult. I managed a solo HR from Ryan Doumit in the third and a single by Josh Willingham in the 9th off Josh Johnson–that’s it. However, I pitched a complete-game shutout using Scott Baker, fanning 12. I also went in and recorded a bunch of custom cheers and yells which is much fun.
Fastballs are even faster now? FML.
If there’s one thing I cannot do, it’s hit fastballs with authority. No matter how much I’ve played, I still can’t get around on a letter high fastball and drive it into the gaps. Even when I go to the Options menus and turn pitch speed all the way down, I still can’t hit ‘em well.
Love the commercial.
The Show is great. I really feel bad for a baseball fan that doesn’t own a PS3.
I’d love to try the 2K game from this year to do a review, to be honest. Just don’t have the funds right now.
Fangraphs doesn’t pay you enough, eh?
Attn to those responsible: give Mr. Warne a raise so he can review MLB 2K. Or at least reimburse him for his expenses.
(FYI, sometimes you can get them at Redbox for cheap.)
Ha. To be paid at all to write about baseball is a bonus. No complaints here.
Just recently married and hoping to buy a house someday.
Love the review, just bought the game today and I’m having a blast! The realism is by far the best I’ve ever seen. My only critiques so far are, the hitting is really tough, and I think the menus presentation was better in 2K11. Hopefully with a little more time I’ll getting the hitting down, still the game is phenomenal.
“Innings have a commercial-style break, and the game takes time to watch a pitcher dry off his hands, or a hitter take his practice swings.”
This is a pro? Sounds like it’d get really old, really fast.
Typically MLB: The Show has a “fast” mode, where you can skip the catcher throwing the ball back to the pitcher, no replays, etc. I’d imagine they’d still have that if you didn’t want to see all those things Brandon mentioned.
It’s not an exaggerated break either.
Glad to see this review. I’m a huge fan of the Show series.
IMO the gameplay is basically perfect. You can pick between 3 different types of pitching styles and hitting styles
all SCEA needs to do with the gameplay is just make it more solid. Better animations, more realistic outcomes and less glitches
what they should really focus on for 13 is adding sabermetrics and a true stat database for the player. That would make it amazing
I think making contracts exactly right, and making minor league deals possible would be a good step as well.
MLB Power Pros 2008. It doesn’t look the most conventional, but it’s a terrific game.
What format is this on?
wii
I’d be curious how you’d review High Heat Baseball 2003. I played through 15 seasons of that thing.
High Heat was always my favorite baseball game, I miss that series.
I think I may have — probably illegally — downloaded that game to my parents’ computer.
I have ’04. Any difference that should make me seek out a copy of ’03, or would an ’04 review suffice?
I bought a PS3 just for this game. With all the positive reviews, I may be getting a Vita pretty soon. Can not wait.
I’ve found that online play is unbearable due to lag issues.
Ugh. Same as year’s before, then.
Super Baseball 2020
Is that a Genesis game?
It’s an awesome game, is what it is.
Man, hitting is not that hard, especially with the stick. Changeups still gimme some trouble (especially good ones King Felix), and there are some side armed hitters that are difficult to hit, but honestly, pretty simple. I used to play on legendary, but I lost all self-esteem (very hard, lost a lot of games in the 9th), so now I play HOF. Just go to practice mode (though for some reason I liked practice in the show 11 better) and you’ll get better! (patience is the key).
But the game itself is stunning, and is both easy to get into and deep enough to get hooked on playing it for hours. Lots of modes to choose from (still need to try diamond dynasty), though not a tonne of improvements on RTTS. Still, great game with lots of ways to play and lots of modes. Most realistic and fulfilling virtual baseball experience. PERIOD (and anyone who says otherwise is a troll, no offence).
Oh, one last note, I got the Canadian version, and there is 0 difference I can tell other than the cover (was hoping for a Bautista themed background or some Jays love, but Gonzo in the home screen). Just wanted to get that out there
First off, Jordan Lyles striking out Delwyn Young is the picture on the cover, not Gonzo (not sure if you mean Alex Gonzalez,Luis Gonzalez,Adrian Gonzalez,Carlos Gonzalez,etc?).
Second off, I have only found two modes to play: Franchise and Season. I’m not even quite sure what the difference is between them.
Thirdly, hitting is incredibly hard. I had the honor of playing in a adult league facing a couple of former major leaguers and I had an easier time facing them then hitting in The Show 12.
Fourthly, King Felix (who I will refer to as Felix Hernandez) doesn’t throw a changeup, he throws a 2-seam split changeup. It has that nice tailing action and drop, as opposed to the straight regular changeup.
Fifthly, Felix Hernandez doesn’t have a good slider. It used to be good in his rookie year, but the past 3 years he’s thrown it 3.1,6.7, and 3.5 percent of the time. Not very much and the pitch value isn’t very good either, rating below average or fringe-average each year.
Sixthly, Jose Bautista was released on the Canadian cover, just not on all of them. Only those within an immediate radius on where the Blue Jays play. It’s a special edition, worth some money as a collector item.
What game are you playing?
1) Cover of MLB The Show 12 (North American version)
http://www.sportsgrindent.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/mlb-the-show-12-ps3-cover1.jpg
2) Kinda hard to see but there are many more modes as can be seen on the left side of this photo (Exhibition, RTTS, Franchise, season, Rvalry, HR Derby, Diamond Dynasty) so your wrong again
http://www.pastapadre.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/mlb12onlinepass.jpg
3) I play on HOF and don’t find it too hard (challenging, but not impossible), so either I’m really good, or everyone else is really bad (takes a week to get used to it, but really not that hard).
4) Felix DOES throw a CH (his best pitch in real life) and he DOES throw it in the game. (below is an Fangraphs article about King Felix’s Change up and how dirty it is. One of the 3 best CH of the year)
http://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/index.php/the-best-pitches-of-2011-changeup/
5) you misunderstood me. I meant pitchers who throw side arm or underhand give me trouble in the game. (below an example of a side armed pitcher. Not sure who, but just so you know what it looks like)
https://encrypted-tbn2.google.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQzUkpyDufhJch5HDI291lQISTJZKT3EWID9Bd0WJ9z6oJZrXNn
6) I LIVE IN CANADA (Born and raised), so I automatically got the Bautista version. I love that its got a Jay on the cover, but I wish there was more Jays themed stuff on the version. (below is my university)
http://maps.google.ca/maps?hl=en&rlz=1C1AFAB_enCA450CA453&q=university+of+guelph&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.r_cp.r_qf.,cf.osb&biw=1092&bih=514&um=1&ie=UTF-8&sa=N&tab=wl
In conclusion, not sure if you A) played a diffrent game B) are a troll or C) are a complete idiot. Thanks
Brandon, how about a FanGraphs audio episode with Cistulli all about baseball video games?
MVP 06 NCAA Baseball was one of my favorites. The game had the real 2005 NCAA baseball rosters of most of the relevant Division I teams but with fake names or no names, just numbers. However, you could edit the names to their real-life counterparts.
I edited quite a few full teams and some of the better players. Quite a few great college players were playing at that time: Longoria, Weiters, Ryan Zimmerman, Tulo, Ellsbury, Lincecum.
I really don’t think hitting’s that tough — no tougher than last year, at least. The key is to guess fastball every time and adjust to everything else.
My biggest complaint is definitely the caroms. In three games, I’ve already scored four or five singles that should have been doubles. That was a problem last year too, but not to the same degree. Oh well. Still the best baseball game for the money, IMO.