MLB '06 The Show

If you haven't noticed yet, spring is upon us and that means one thing. That's right, gamers start reporting to spring training because baseball is back for another season.

With the successful launch of the World Baseball Classic, 2006 is a busy year for baseball on the diamond and for gamers, who have difficult choices for decent baseball videogames.

But the hands-down winner of this baseball season is MLB '06 The Show. Released by Sony Computer Entertainment America, The Show offers virtually everything a true baseball fan would want.

The Show has all 30 officially licensed Major League Baseball teams and stadiums including the All-Star teams and two legends teams. Double-A and Triple-A stadiums and teams are also featured in The Show.

The real bulk of the game is in the numerous game modes. Along with the obvious Exhibition play and Home Run Derby, some new and enhanced modes make their way to The Show.

Career mode allows you to play 10 seasons or longer with a player you create. Your player starts out as a rookie and goes through all the ups and downs of a major league career, which could include being sent down to the minors.

A new and fun mini-game called King of the Diamond is similar to a home run derby but runs, singles, doubles, triples and home runs all count. A cool Rivalry mode keeps track of player stats such as wins, losses, batting average and other statistics. All data is saved on your memory card so you can compare who's the best among your buddies.

Franchise mode is back, allowing gamers to run the team from the front office. That's right, gamers get to act like George Steinbrenner and run the club. Franchise mode is so detailed it left me speechless. You can control every aspect of the team such as scouting, drafting, vendor contracts and team marketing. SCEA leaves nothing out from this mode as you have to monitor team moral by giving players decent game time and good pitching rotations. All the roster management tasks of the General Manager fall on your shoulders, including player transactions and hiring coaches.

Bringing fans to the ballpark is also part of being the GM. In franchise mode you have to keep the stadium facilities in good shape and you can control stadium food pricing. By the way, you have to do all of this during a standard 162 game season while trying to make the playoffs.

In case you want to focus entirely on managing the team, The Show allows you use the CPU to take over some tasks such as lineups. Likewise, the CPU can simulate some games or take you to a certain portion of the game by using a fast-forward feature.

The graphics for MLB '06 The Show are extremely smooth. Stadiums and their surrounding neighborhoods are surprisingly accurate. You'll be amazed at the extreme detail on every player's face.

More than 30 Major League players - including Roger Clemens, Eric Chavez and David Ortiz - were used to for motion capture animations so many original pitching and batting stances are available. Also, on a close controversial call the players actually get in the umpires face, which leads to an ejection. It's an awesome animation sequence and pretty funny.

The game controls are not bad, but gamers will need some practice. The target pitching system is one of the few things that needs some getting used to. If your throw is off target, your pitch will be wild and it is very frustrating - especially when runners are on base.

Base runners can take a lead off the bag with the L1 button, and return with R1. When batting, you can attempt to guess the pitcher's pitch by using the R2 button and, if you're correct, you'll know the location of the pitch (which may or may not help you).

No baseball videogame would be complete without full online capabilities, so you can play online with others in tournaments. You can also receive a news feed from Major League Baseball featuring hourly headlines.

Gamers can download the latest roster changes to reflect live roster lineups. Play-by-play commentary is handled this year by San Diego Padres TV announcer Dave Vasgersian, Rex Hudler and Dave Campbell. All three are very talkative throughout the game and you'll rarely hear the trio repeat a phrase in a nine-inning game.

MLB '06 The Show is also available for the PSP, and is remarkably similar in game play and feel to the PS2 version. Franchise mode was left out for storage reasons, but all other modes are featured.

I just can't say enough to convince you that this is, by far, the best baseball game ever. It's just about a masterpiece.

The fun factor on this game is incredible, and playing with your buddies will prove endless. There is just so much to do it will keep you entertained and occupied for hours. Even non-baseball fans will find out MLB '06 The Show is an instant classic.

For more information about the game, visit the official game MLB '06 The Show site.

MLB '06 The Show is rated "E" for Everyone (content suitable for ages 6 or older) and is available exclusively on the PlayStation 2 and PSP game consoles.