MLB 2006 The Show Demo at EBGames for a Pre-Order

GTHobbes · Post by **GTHobbes** » Sun Apr 02, 2006 12:13 pm

Sorry, Diablo...one of the best things about the psp version is having the sleep mode. Nothing beats being able to play a couple innings here and there, always picking things back up right where you left off without any load times whatsoever. My only complaint about the psp is that they don't have all the authentic practice swing stuff in the way the console version does. Otherwise, it's an A+ game, IMO.

MizzouRah · Post by **MizzouRah** » Sun Apr 02, 2006 5:30 pm

GTHobbes wrote:Sorry, Diablo...one of the best things about the psp version is having the sleep mode. Nothing beats being able to play a couple innings here and there, always picking things back up right where you left off without any load times whatsoever. My only complaint about the psp is that they don't have all the authentic practice swing stuff in the way the console version does. Otherwise, it's an A+ game, IMO.

This year's version is so much better than last year on the psp. I can't wait until opening day rosters come out... expected tomorrow.

GT, I'm curious how you hit on HOF? That level is way to hard for me hitting wise.

Baseball starts tonight!!!

Boom · Post by **Boom** » Sun Apr 02, 2006 5:54 pm

I am thoroughly conviced that MLB 06: The Show for the PS2 is the best baseball game I've ever played. Maybe even the best sports game.

billharris44 · Post by **billharris44** » Sun Apr 02, 2006 5:57 pm

Yeah, I think it has to be in the discussion, certainly. And it's so good I can't think of anything else besides Winning Eleven that would even be in the conversation.

Inuyasha · Post by **Inuyasha** » Sun Apr 02, 2006 6:23 pm

It so far to me is a potential classic. Maybe I feel this way since coming into the year, there wasn't much expected from baseball games since mvp was no longer doable.

But the game is the most fun I've had with a baseball game since HH. I liked mvp last year but I didnt think it came close to what High Heat had to offer. Mvp was a different game and it was very good. but mlb the show is more in line with where the high heat series left off than say mvp imo.

Badgun · Post by **Badgun** » Sun Apr 02, 2006 6:29 pm

Boom wrote:I am thoroughly conviced that MLB 06: The Show for the PS2 is the best baseball game I've ever played. Maybe even the best sports game.

I agree 100%. The gameplay is fantastic, the announcing is damn near perfect and I am still seeing stuff I can't believe I'm seeing. Check this out. I'm playing in my franchise yesterday. Tied 1-1 with the Reds in the bottom of the 9th. I get runners on 1st and 2nd with no outs and Juan Encarnacion comes up. At this point I'm just looking for something to get the runners to 2nd and 3rd with one out. I hadn't been too successful bunting so I decided to try and hit a ground ball to the right side hoping for it get through somehow. I swung early and pulled it up the third base line. The 3rd baseman charges in, fields the ball, and zips it HOME, of all places. Obviously, since no one was on 3rd, the catcher had no play, and he threw down to first, but the runner and everyone else was safe.

Now my first thought when I saw this was I had discovered my first flaw in this otherwise great game, but as soon as the play was over, the camera shifted to the 3rd baseman and he was banging himself in the head and the announcers commented on how he made a boneheaded play. At that moment, I got cold chills. I have never seen that before in any baseball game. I have MLB 2K6 preordered for the 360, but at this point I can't imagine any reason I would have to play another baseball game.

GTHobbes · Post by **GTHobbes** » Sun Apr 02, 2006 6:48 pm

MizzouRah wrote:
GT, I'm curious how you hit on HOF? That level is way to hard for me hitting wise.

Baseball starts tonight!!!

Todd, I'll have to double-check..it could be that I"m playing on the 2nd highest difficulty and not HOF. I usually end up with 7-12 hits a game, although Carlos Perez threw a 3 hitter against me the other day.

Leebo33 · Post by **Leebo33** » Sun Apr 02, 2006 8:17 pm

Badgun wrote:I am still seeing stuff I can't believe I'm seeing.

Yeah, it is amazing how much variety there is. In one of my first games I saw a popup to the right side that the 1B, 2B, and P let fall right off the mound. The announcers even commented about what a bonehead play it was. At first I thought "Uh-oh, here's a bug"...but I haven't seen that again in 30-40 games. It was just something you should see happen once or twice a season, but most games wouldn't have it happen at all.

MLB is probably the best overall package I've ever played in a baseball game. It's absolutely amazing that this game is this great on a PSP. The hitting model is my favorite, what more can you say about the atmosphere/presentation, and I'm very impressed with the AI. Pitching is probably as good as any other game ever, but the fielding lags behind MVP.

I'm going to throw out a few things that I don't like. Not to be critical, per se, but because these guys have done a terrific job listening to feedback and they are inching closer to baseball nirvana.

Keep in mind this is all based on PSP play:

- Please, for the love of Jim Leyland, let PSP users control the alignment of the defense next year. At the very least let us see what the CPU has selected!

- The "energy" level for players needs fixed. Some of my players shouldn't need a day off after a few games. There should be separate ratings for durability/energy liklihood and true "energy" (catcher needing a day off, aging veteran tired on a day game after a night game, team just got back from the trip to the coast).

- There are too many easy dropped fly balls.

- I've never ever seen a player injured by an on-the-field play (I did have one guy get hurt but I don't know what happened). It's possible this is PSP only and a result of some of the cut scenes being left out.

- the sliders are not intuitive at all. People can still not tell for sure what the pitch count slider does. What does "contact" mean. Is it the quality of contact? The frequency? Both?

- It would be nice to have a pitching meter slider. It would be an easy tweak as you get more experience with the game to make pitching as easy/hard as you need it.

- this may be PSP only as well, but it would be nice to see the opponent's bullpen.

- I'm really nitpicking here as the AI is generally great, but there are too many instances of CPU pitching changes before my hitter is "announced." The scenarios don't happen very often, but a manager would never bring in a relief pitcher after my number 8 hitter and before the pitcher comes up. I'm occassionally able to dictate those late inning lefty/righty matchups and it feels a bit cheap.

Inuyasha · Post by **Inuyasha** » Sun Apr 02, 2006 9:19 pm

Badgun wrote:
Boom wrote:I am thoroughly conviced that MLB 06: The Show for the PS2 is the best baseball game I've ever played. Maybe even the best sports game.
I agree 100%. The gameplay is fantastic, the announcing is damn near perfect and I am still seeing stuff I can't believe I'm seeing. Check this out. I'm playing in my franchise yesterday. Tied 1-1 with the Reds in the bottom of the 9th. I get runners on 1st and 2nd with no outs and Juan Encarnacion comes up. At this point I'm just looking for something to get the runners to 2nd and 3rd with one out. I hadn't been too successful bunting so I decided to try and hit a ground ball to the right side hoping for it get through somehow. I swung early and pulled it up the third base line. The 3rd baseman charges in, fields the ball, and zips it HOME, of all places. Obviously, since no one was on 3rd, the catcher had no play, and he threw down to first, but the runner and everyone else was safe.

Now my first thought when I saw this was I had discovered my first flaw in this otherwise great game, but as soon as the play was over, the camera shifted to the 3rd baseman and he was banging himself in the head and the announcers commented on how he made a boneheaded play. At that moment, I got cold chills. I have never seen that before in any baseball game. I have MLB 2K6 preordered for the 360, but at this point I can't imagine any reason I would have to play another baseball game.

I was going to pickup 2k6 for the xbox this week but now I will just wait and see what people say about the game. Kush is the king of bugs so if that game has it's usual flaws, then no loss.

10spro · Post by **10spro** » Sun Apr 02, 2006 9:31 pm

I thought 2k6 was delayed until the 24th?

Diablo25 · Post by **Diablo25** » Sun Apr 02, 2006 9:42 pm

10spro wrote:I thought 2k6 was delayed until the 24th?

360 version is due out the 24th. Xbox is due 4/3

billharris44 · Post by **billharris44** » Sun Apr 02, 2006 11:08 pm

Leebo33, I think those are all fair. And the CPU doesn't advance baserunners as efficiently as they should, especially on ground singles. However, it does advance them better than any baseball game I've ever seen.

There are also probably too many fly balls where the outfielder seems like they could reach them without the dramatic "stab" catch.

I'd also really like to see the catcher toss his mask away on a foul pop. I've never seen a baseball game do that, but this game does so many other little things properly that it would be nice to see that, too.

MizzouRah · Post by **MizzouRah** » Sun Apr 02, 2006 11:08 pm

I just switched to the "classic" pitching setting and WOW, the game has really become challenging in the pitching department. I've played a few games now and I really like not using the meter.

I'm finally giving up HR's and it seems like the pitcher's attributes really come into play now. Heck, playing the field is a journey now.

webdanzer · Post by **webdanzer** » Sun Apr 02, 2006 11:35 pm

I don't see dropped flies much at all...maybe twice in 30, 40 games.

I still get those balls hopping by fielders, though, even after doing all I can to make the animation 'kick in.'

I'm also pretty convinced that there is some sort of comeback logic, stress factor, clutch rating, etc that kicks in late in close games. That is where I see nearly all of my throwing errors, drops, etc. I've also seen some really blatant things there like the 2nd baseman simply HOLDING what would would be a game ending double play for seconds before throwing it, allowing the batter to beat it out. Dude was like the 9th Man Out in the infield, there, and I've seen that at least twice.

Love the game, though. Love it.

Pete · Post by **Pete** » Mon Apr 03, 2006 9:37 am

The classic pitching is drastically different than the meter pitching. It seems like with the meter you are just to pinpoint and with the classic you have no idea where the pitch may end up.

I want to play with the classic pitching as I am a little to successful with the meter, but I just get shelled on classic. I might be missing something as I just push the button and kind of let go randomly. Does my release of the button effect location? I thought the longer I held the harder you throw. I guess it makes sense though as the harder you try to throw maybe you don't have the command.

Any ideas? Anyone successful with classic pitching?

Leebo33 · Post by **Leebo33** » Mon Apr 03, 2006 9:46 am

I am also interested in information on classic pitching (do I hold the button in, tap it, etc.?). My only real complaint with the game so far is that pitching is too easy on All-Star with the meter (a level I feel comfortable with hitting).

MizzouRah · Post by **MizzouRah** » Mon Apr 03, 2006 10:08 am

I believe the manual is wrong. I believe the longer you hold the button, the more control you have over the pitch - so far, I don't think speed is a factor - although I could be wrong.

I had an excellent amount of K's when I finally started getting used to it. If I wanted my curve to drop more, I let go of the button before the pitcher's release was too far - likewise, if I wanted better placement, I held onto the button longer.

Mistakes are much easier to make though.. and that I love!

GTHobbes · Post by **GTHobbes** » Mon Apr 03, 2006 10:09 am

billharris44 wrote:Leebo33, I think those are all fair. And the CPU doesn't advance baserunners as efficiently as they should, especially on ground singles. However, it does advance them better than any baseball game I've ever seen.

Bill, have you messed with the cpu baserunner agression slider at all? (I think that's what it's called anyways). I remember maxing that one out pretty early on, and have been really glad to see cpu baserunners take extra bases on me if I don't hustle in the outfield. Every once in awhile I'll lolly gag it in getting the ball in from the outfield and will look up and a guy is trying to stretch a single into a double or a double into a triple. If you haven't upped that slider, you might want to give it a shot.

Spooky · Post by **Spooky** » Mon Apr 03, 2006 11:33 am

Let me apologize in advance for this question as it may have been covered previously in this or another thread, but I am having a tough time finding a definitive answer...

Is the PSP version of this game completely identical to the PS2 version as far as gameplay and presentation go?

webdanzer · Post by **webdanzer** » Mon Apr 03, 2006 11:35 am

I don't have the PSP version, Spooky, but based on Leebo's complaints it looks like the answer is no.

You can adjust defensive positioning on the ps2.

GTHobbes · Post by **GTHobbes** » Mon Apr 03, 2006 11:50 am

The presentation on the psp is close but not identical to the PS2. Unfortunately, none of the authentic practice swings are in (if you've ever seen the Pujols or Edmonds practice swings on the PS2, you'll know what I'm talking about.) It seems like all of the replays and cutscenes made it, though. All in all, it's really hard to complain about what didn't make it over this year.

billharris44 · Post by **billharris44** » Mon Apr 03, 2006 11:51 am

GTHobbes wrote:
billharris44 wrote:Leebo33, I think those are all fair. And the CPU doesn't advance baserunners as efficiently as they should, especially on ground singles. However, it does advance them better than any baseball game I've ever seen.

Bill, have you messed with the cpu baserunner agression slider at all? (I think that's what it's called anyways). I remember maxing that one out pretty early on, and have been really glad to see cpu baserunners take extra bases on me if I don't hustle in the outfield. Every once in awhile I'll lolly gag it in getting the ball in from the outfield and will look up and a guy is trying to stretch a single into a double or a double into a triple. If you haven't upped that slider, you might want to give it a shot.

I did, but it seemed like too many guys were getting thrown out. I think I may have it up a notch or two, but no more than that. I may try moving it up just a bit more. I'm glad we at least have the option to adjust it.

icvu42 · Post by **icvu42** » Mon Apr 03, 2006 11:54 am

I bought the PSP version last week when it was on sale at Circuit City. I couldn't be happier. While they are some things missing from the game (such as the defensive positioning) the gameplay and presentation are so good that it doesn't even matter.

Rick

Leebo33 · Post by **Leebo33** » Mon Apr 03, 2006 11:55 am

Spooky wrote:Is the PSP version of this game completely identical to the PS2 version as far as gameplay and presentation go?

There are no umpires in the PSP version so I'm not seeing any arguments/ejections or blown calls. I saw the PS2 version at Best Buy and it seems like some of the pre-atbat rituals are cut out or toned down in the PSP version. The PSP version also doesn't have cut scenes to the dugouts since the dugouts are empty.

MizzouRah · Post by **MizzouRah** » Mon Apr 03, 2006 12:26 pm

The PSP version, when playing the season mode also does not have the minor leagues.

I will say however, there is a ton more packed into this portable game than last years.