[PS3] - MLB 08: The Show Five things you need to know

[sg_HustlinOwl]

MLB 08: The Show-Features-011808-99ec2-gametap.com

I fire up MLB 08, and the first thing that comes to mind is "system seller." Don't believe me? Here are the five tools that make this game a title worth watching.

1. "Boys, I'm one of those umpires that misses 'em every once in a while, so if it's close, you'd better hit it." --Carl Hubbard

Aaron Rowand hits a dribbler off the end of the bat, but by the time the Colorado pitcher reaches the ball, wheels, then delivers the throw to first, it ends up being a bang-bang play at the bag with the umpire emphatically signaling safe. I thought he was out initially, but I was controlling Rowand, so I was happy to catch a break. Todd Helton, not so much. He begins to throw the ball around the horn when he stops, realizes the runner is safe, then turns around in disgust toward the umpire. At this point, the replay is shown, and boy, did Rowand luck out. The camera cuts back to the field and Helton is hot, yelling at the ump, and I'm cracking up. Sony said they were including umpire personalities in the game and it would affect calls, but I didn't expect this.

So I get MLB 08's director of production, Chris Cutliff, on the phone, and he tells me about how the various umpire tendencies added to the game will come into play. "With our home plate umpires, we want players to have to learn the strike zone every game, just like real life. In real life, some umpires on a consistent basis might give the low strike, the high strike, or they might call a strike an inch or two off the plate either way. We want users to learn each umpire and pitch accordingly. There are blown calls in the game, and basically we want users to adjust to the umpires. We think it adds replay value to the game when you really don't know what you're going to get when you start up a game."

2. "About the only problem with success is that it does not teach you how to deal with failure." --Tommy Lasorda

Road to the Show 2.0. The road to the majors for a created character goes from spring training to stints in AA and AAA ball to your eventual call-up to your favorite team. I hop right in and create a speedy center fielder for the A's. Think Brett Butler 2.0, complete with attribute points spent on drag bunting. I go for high socks, the Bonds armor on my elbow, and Brady Anderson-like burns. First game in spring training, I make an awesome running catch heading toward the wall, but I go 0-3 at the plate. Next game, I drag a bunt and show off my speed down the line for my first hit. It's a long road to Oakland, but the trip sure looks fun.

Cutliff tells me that every aspect of the mode has been enhanced since last year, and it's by far his favorite feature in the game. "There's an all-new advancement system that I think will be a lot easier for people to understand," Cutliff explains. "Last year, it was difficult to figure out at times why you were being brought up to the majors or why you were being sent back down to the minors; you really didn't have a good sense of what was happening. You might have gone 3-for-3 and then got sent back down, and you never knew why. Now we're trying to put it all in the user's face of why, showing them the career progression system, the advancement system, and some of the advancement goals given by the team manager. And the manager messaging system has been completely revamped. We're really tracking a lot more stats this year, people are going to be overwhelmed by what we're tracking, and there's more of a scoreboard style display. You can actually go back and look at your stats in any game throughout your career.

"In terms of in-game improvements, we're allowing users to move their players on defense pre-pitch. The manager will call for shifts, and you can move with the shift or just position your self accordingly. We don't allow you to move just anywhere, but you can move left, right, up, and back within reason. That's something that a lot of users wanted last year, but we just didn't have time to get it in, so we are doing it this year. Another thing to look out for are the signs from the coaches. When you're on base or at bat, you might get a sign, and depending on whether you're in the majors or minors, you might get text and an animation in the minors, telling you what to do. But in the majors, you need to learn the signs and all you get is the animation. If the coach gives you a bunt sign or a hit and run sign, you need to follow through on his commands and read the signs right in order to reach your goal."

Speaking of goals, if you reach base safely in the beginning of the game, you might earn a few points, but reach base in the 9th inning of a tied game and you're going to receive a lot more.

Man cannot live on drag bunts alone.

3. "I became a good pitcher when I stopped trying to make them miss the ball and started trying to make them hit it." --Sandy Koufax

One thing I hate about games is when you can't tell the difference between a star pitcher and some guy who is lucky to be born left handed. You will see even more of a difference between these two types of players in MLB 08.

Cutliff explains: "The AI portion of our game gets worked on 24/7, basically 360 days a year. How a pitcher reacts or makes adjustments to a batter, how batters and pitchers adapt to users--that's constantly being worked on. The hit type based on where the pitch was thrown and the timing of the swing. Gameplay is obviously the number one priority. We want it to be fun and we want it to be realistic. We have a whole team of AI programmers on the game all year round, and now we have the adaptive intelligence with catchers calling the game for you and under the engine. The AI is constantly adapting and changing its strategy based on not only the pitcher who is throwing, but the batter as well. There is definitely a huge difference between a Jake Peavy and a number five starter somewhere else. You're definitely going to see improvements to the pitch types this year, and we've really made it obvious when you see a number one pitcher like Peavy, he's going to have more movement on his fastball. How they adapt is the other key. Everybody loves the pitcher/batter duel. We even have pitch grips in the presentation. Now if a guy is throwing a circle-change, you'll see him holding the ball appropriately."

4. "Baseball is a game, yes. It is also a business. But what it most truly is, is disguised combat. For all its gentility, its almost leisurely pace, baseball is violence under wraps." --Willie Mays

Matt Holliday is up to bat and the crowd is going ballistic at AT&T. You can hear chants of "Over-rated!" echoing throughout the stadium, and because he took Zito deep last time up, this time, I make him pay. That's right, the high heat. The fastball strikes him in the helmet with a violent thud, and as he lays down on the ground, a trainer runs to his side as the rest of the Rockies rise off the bench in anger. Zito is tossed, and the next hitter rips a homerun over the centerfield wall. This is what baseball is all about.

Other animations to look out for? Says Cutliff, "Players throw from their knees, their butts, their stomachs. It just depends on the situation. That's an areas where we push AI, and animation wise, and that's an area we continue to scope. We want everyone on the field to look like they belong and act intelligently. We also have a lot of the personalized home run celebrations on contact when it's a no-doubter. We get in the motion-capture room with videotape and try to mimic everything from the stances, the home run celebrations, the pitching windups, everything we can. We start with all the big-name players and work our way down. Like Pujols, he has this little bat toss that he does when he runs down the line. If your favorite player does something unique, most likely it's in our game."

5. "A manager's job is simple. For 162 games you try not to screw up all that smart stuff your organization did last December." --Earl Weaver

Sometimes, even after you read about every new feature on the back of the box, it's the little things that win you over. MLB 08 features a replay vault where you can go back and review any play throughout your game at any point. You can filter by player, by team, even by inning. And while you can only do this for the game you just played this year, by MLB 09, Sony is hoping that you'll be able to save your best replays to your hard drive.

But the biggest little feature to me? The in-game save. "We have it for PS3 and PSP where you can save your game at any point," says Cutliff.

Meaning that with the live scrolling ticker, you can be playing as the Giants on your PS3, see that real Giants/Dodgers game just got tied in the ninth, save your game, watch the real thing, then jump back in and finish what you started.

Like I said, sometimes it's the little things, and the more I play MLB 08, the more I see all those little things adding up into one great-looking prospect.

[sg_HustlinOwl]

Another thing to look out for are the signs from the coaches. When you're on base or at bat, you might get a sign, and depending on whether you're in the majors or minors, you might get text and an animation in the minors, telling you what to do. But in the majors, you need to learn the signs and all you get is the animation. If the coach gives you a bunt sign or a hit and run sign, you need to follow through on his commands and read the signs right in order to reach your goal."

All I can say is damn!

[sg_HustlinOwl]

IGN: MLB '08: The Show Trailer, Videos and Movies

[sg_HustlinOwl]

The Show has 2 "behind the pitcher" cameras.

#1 is Pitcher View
#2 is Outfield View