The Sports Desk – Six Things MLB The Show 18 Needs To Do

by Matthew Kato on Jan 22, 2018 at 03:00 PM

MLB the Show 18 releases on March 27 on PS4, and it hopes to continue the momentum the franchise has built this console generation. But with online problems still haunting the series and last year introducing story/narrative elements to the Road to the Show mode, there are ways MLB The Show can hone its craft.

IMPLEMENT GAMEPLAY FIXES
Gameplay is the lifeblood of all titles, and the series needs to keep moving forward in this department. In particular, better situational awareness by players could ensure that gamers get the results they expect. For instance, users have harped on the game's inability at times to tag runners as well as dropped/passed balls for catchers. The appropriate fielding animations need to be triggered as well so players get throws off quickly.

START ESPORTS INTEGRATION
While you may or may not be interested in esports, it can be argued that an esports structure raises the bar of a title's gameplay. Successful integration of esports can give the game's hardcore, competitive community a defined platform to rigorously test the series' gameplay on the cutting-edge as they continuously stress and probe the game to find any advantage during matches.

EXPAND ROAD TO THE SHOW
MLB the Show 17's introduction of story elements into Road to the Show mode was a nice beginning, but it needs to take clear steps forward here in year two. When we met the developers before MLB 17 they acknowledged that the mode's story features would take multiple years to implement fully. In particular, we'd like to see your answers during conversations and general attitude count for more with the teams and shape your story beyond just being a playground for your own amusement. Similarly, the game's story beats need to take into account your actions on the field so you're appropriately sent up if you're killing it, for instance.

TWEAK DIAMOND DYNASTY
The MLB development team at San Diego Studios has done a good job keeping this mode stocked with content throughout the year, but one quality-of-life aspect that users complain about is the need for more lineups to use against the various situations presented throughout the mode. I'd also like to be able to choose my pitcher in games vs. the CPU instead of the random selector. Furthermore, increased customization of uniforms, players, and equipment is always a good thing, and perhaps even – to a point – the stadiums themselves. These will have to restricted so you're not gaming the system with some crazy park dimensions, but anything approaching a create-a-park in Diamond Dynasty or any other mode would be cool.

FIX ONLINE
Good online play has proven elusive for the series, with online lag and server problems causing havoc and frustration. It's a situation that undermines otherwise good modes like Diamond Dynasty and is vital if the series wants to move forward on the earlier esports suggestion.

BUILD OUT RETRO MODE
San Diego Studio admitted last year's inclusion of retro Mode was just a toe dip, so hopefully the mode has proven its worth enough that it's further fleshed out this time around. Retro mode in MLB the Show 17 only had one-off games, so any additions to the mode in 18, whether it's gameplay or a full team/franchise structure, will be an improvement.

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