MLB '06: The Show Preview

Two men. One bat. One ball. Oversized symbols of America’s favorite pastime litter the field, from spinning balls to giant hats. Glorious fireworks are set off when the proper symbol is struck – an occurrence that doesn’t happen very often you can be sure. Relaxed by the almost childlike scenery, this serves as a buffer to the excitement and anxiety that is filling your body. You’re waiting patiently but know that the moment could come at any second. He makes his move. You hold your position, get ready to swing and—

“Foul!”

No, that can’t be a foul! I hit that one out of the park! Not really, but my form was perfect! Let’s try again.

“Foul!”

Okay, now you’re just embarrassing me. Let’s see how you like it when I’m the pitcher.

“Homerun!”

Just moments after signing with the MLB, Louis Bedigian announced his retirement…

Destined to hit homeruns with gamers upon its release, MLB ’06: The Show brings new features, enhanced gameplay, and a kick-butt soundtrack to the wide world of baseball. Rex Hudler, Matt Vasgersian and Dave Campbell provide commentary in a new Three-Man Booth with what the game refers to as “Progressive Broadcast.” Just how progressive the commentary is will have to wait until the final version, but thus far it is pretty accurate. It sounds more natural, following everything that’s going on within the game rather than trying to make predictions about something that may not come true.

MLB ’06 is big on game features old and new, the most vaunted being King of the Diamond. To be King you’ve got to be an expert batter and an expert pitcher. You might be able to get by with average skills and random pitching, but only if you dummy down the difficulty by selecting a weak opponent through Quick Game.

The challenge is appropriate; the objective is simple – outscore your opponent. Pick two batters and two pitchers to face off in this arcade-style mini-game. While batting players may guess the pitch by holding down the R2 button and selecting the pitch you think your opponent will throw. This feature was introduced in a previous version and is available in the other game modes as well. It’s tremendously helpful in getting extra points. Guessing the pitch correctly triggers an icon that shows exactly where the ball will land. Guessing isn’t easy, but the payoff is great so I still attempt it even when I’m clueless as to what is going to be thrown next.

Pitching and batting controls are really easy to learn. Release Point Pitching is typical among the sports genre: press the X button to start the meter. Press it again when it reaches the sweet spot, and again to line it up properly. Sounds like every golf game on the planet, does it not? MLB ’06 takes it one step further with unique timing and release points for each pitcher. You’re bound to find similarities due to the limits to how much a meter can be extrapolated. But I’m already experiencing a greater level of difficulty in having to change my style, or at the very least my timing, every time I change pitchers.

In addition to King of the Diamond, Rivalry Mode has also been added. Rivalry lets you set up multi-game rivalries between several gamers and/or computer-controlled opponents. Statistics are saved throughout the experience whether playing online against a real opponent or offline against one that’s purely artificial.

Another new feature comes from the game’s Branch Point Technology: multi-branch fielding. With it you can control any fielder and influence everything that goes on in the game. You also have full control over the base runners and can influence their motions with the press of one or two buttons. Effective, simple, and takes no more than a couple of minutes to learn.

At this stage in the game the AI is smart, but not too smart. There were times when I could throw the same pitch three times in a row and my opponent would fall for it each of the three times. This was not the case with the harder difficulties (there are four: Rookie, Veteran, All-Star, and Hall of Fame), but there are still a few tweaks that have to be made. I think most newcomers will start with Rookie, which could lead them to believe that being cheap makes you a winner. There’s still time to balance this out, so hopefully, by the time the game ships, the Rookie difficulty will be easy enough for everyone to access but smart enough to keep gamers from having repeated success with the same play.

Due for release at the start of the new season, MLB ’06: The Show is shaping up to be the hottest hitter this baseball season. Online play wasn’t available in this build, but new and enhanced features are already being implemented for the final version. They include an online news service that updates multiple times each hour with news, trades and events from 31 different feeds. Gamers will have access to downloadable rosters, live sports tickers, message boards, buddy lists, headset functionality, and a chat feature that works with any USB keyboard (presumably. Though I have yet to encounter any problems, there may be some USB keyboards that don’t work with PS2). This, of course, in addition to the plethora of online gameplay features, including King of the Diamond, Rivalry Mode, and 32-team tournaments.