MLB 12: The Show

Blog Post: Mlb 12 gets 8

Ezio Auditore — Thu, 22 Mar 2012 21:52:00 GMT

This game lacks the things to make a good game.

Blog Post: MLB 12: The Show Vita Review: A Solid Player With A Hole In Its Swing

Andrew Reiner — Thu, 22 Mar 2012 16:07:00 GMT

The Show’s Vita debut isn’t so much a port of the console release as it is an experience tailored to take advantage of the hardware and meet the needs of the gamer on the go.[Excerpt]

Sony offers touchscreen controls where they make the most sense. On the field, they can be used to place pitches – which ends up being the most reliable way, thanks to an overly sensitive left analog stick. One flick of the finger on the rear touchscreen in the direction of a desired base will initiate a steal, pick-off attempt, or fielding throw.

All of the frontend and in-game menus offer handy touchscreen controls as well. Hitting X to select a mode and pressing down on the analog stick to scroll through a roster works just as well, but the touch controls speed up menu navigation. Touch controls can also be used to get a closer look at instant replays, but all camera rotation and cursor movement is still handled with the analog sticks.

Although the console version offers an enhanced presentation this year, Sony removed most of the broadcast-like camera cuts from the Vita. This increases the speed of play, but doesn’t mean you’ll be cruising through games in a matter of minutes (unless you’re playing Road to the Show). Think 20 to 30 minutes for a game, depending on how aggressive you are at the plate and on the mound. The abridged presentation is most noticeable in the commentary. The announcers have little to say and sometimes fall a play behind.

Even though the Vita version offers a slightly different experience than the console version, it stacks up nicely. The coolest addition added to both versions is the ability to load a Road to the Show or Franchise save file onto to a cloud. The Vita save file can be loaded into the PlayStation 3 game (and vice versa) to continue your progress. In the three weeks I’ve spent with this game, I frequently used this technology to continue my franchise when I didn’t have access to my PS3.

Although the Vita version features the same pitching and batting mechanics found in its console counterpart, the timing and execution are slightly different. Pulse Pitching (which I detail fully in my PS3 review) is more difficult on the Vita. For my Road to the Show player, the pulse flashes faster on the Vita, making pitch placement more challenging. With that said, in 10 PS3 games, I posted a 1.89 ERA with 82 strikeouts. In the Vita version, I posted a 2.43 ERA with 77 strikeouts. Obviously, the gap between the two isn’t that great, but I did find myself leaving the ball over the plate more on the handheld version.

I also had more trouble mastering the aiming of the bat due to the touchy left stick. I ended up switching over to the Timing mechanic just to keep my franchise stats inline. I batted .089 points lower using either Zone or Zone Analog options. I even tweaked the sliders to make CPU pitchers a little tougher, given how easy it is to make contact in Timing.

The way the ball bounces is also different on the Vita. New ball physics are incorporated into the mix, and prove to be just as dynamic as the PS3 counterpart. Towering shots hook around foul poles, bloopers die in the outfield, and balls bounce unpredictably off of bases and players. Some hit trajectories are repeated too often, however. The most frequent result I saw was line drives ricocheting off the pitcher’s plant leg. This is an exciting play, but I saw it roughly once a game. I rarely saw any repeat hits on the PS3.

The options offered in Road to the Show and Franchise modes across both systems are identical. If you played last year’s game on PS3 or PSP, Franchise mode offers subtle tweaks to the CPU’s trade and lineup logic. The CPU makes better decisions across the board, but I still found ways to take advantage of them and lure star players away from their club for practically nothing in return. If your franchise mode enters a fourth or fifth year, the fictional rookies' attributes offer realistic skill sets, opposed to the heavily balanced batch seen in previous iterations.

Road to the Show offers new training drills and also doesn’t let your created player start the season on the bench. Position players are thrown into the starting lineup on day one, and pitchers won’t have to prove themselves in mop-up relief first.

Online play remains a sore spot for this series. Although connecting is easy thanks to a streamlined menu system that allows games to be joined from the community or exhibition menus, the gameplay is hindered by lag. Every match I played was plagued with runs being scored due to frozen fielders or outs being recorded from pitches crossing the plate without me even realizing it.

The biggest omission from the Vita version is the new Diamond Dynasty mode. I’m not a big fan of it, but it has become the primary mode of play for many PS3 owners.

The Show’s solid debut is very much in line with the experience offered on PS3, but the sensitive analog controls put a big hole in its swing. If the Vita is your only avenue of play, though, there are workarounds. If you use this version as an extension to your PS3 play, it negatively affects your stats to a degree, but it’s still a suitable companion that allows you to play more video game baseball. Especially when your significant other is hogging the TV.

Wiki: MLB 12: The Show Guides

Anonymous — Thu, 22 Mar 2012 04:21:00 GMT

Guides for MLB 12: The Show

Blog: MLB 12: The Show - PlayStation Vita

Anonymous — Wed, 21 Mar 2012 23:17:00 GMT

Blog Post: MLB 12: The Show Review: Another Pennant For The Champ

Andrew Reiner — Tue, 13 Mar 2012 22:55:00 GMT

With the game tied in the bottom of the 12th and the Red Sox trailing the Reds two games to three in game six of the 1975 World Series, Sox catcher Carlton Fisk stepped up to the plate and launched a towering fly ball down the left field line. If it was fair it was gone. Channeling the thoughts of every Red Sox fan in the stadium that night, Fisk leapt out of the batter's box and waved his arms for the ball to stay fair. It did. As he rounded the bases, he celebrated more than most ball players do in their careers. The Red Sox didn't end up winning the series that year, but that one breath-stealing blast remains one of the sport's top moments.[Excerpt]

As I played MLB 12: The Show, I was reminded of this historic home run. My Road to the Show player, a powerful pull hitter modeled after David Ortiz, would launch fly balls into orbit down the right field line. Thanks to new physics that use RPMs to determine how the ball spins off of the bat, every hit in the game – especially those towering blasts down the line – produce different results. For the first time, this series offers rising and sinking liners, balls hitting off of bases and the pitcher’s rubber, and hits tailing away from outfielders without the assistance of wind. Grass and turf types factor into the way the ball bounces, creating choppers and deadened bunts. Upgraded ball physics may not sound like a major selling point, but it completely changes the action on the field, producing a greater variety of hit types and fielding outcomes.

Over the last few installments, The Show has made significant strides forward in delivering an authentic fielding experience. Last year, a second basemen would duck to get out of the way for a shortstop’s throw on a double play attempt, and outfielders would position themselves to play caroms and the corners. The AI now features proximity awareness for other players on the field. On a bunt attempt, if a first baseman charges to field a ball hugging the first baseline, the batter will jump out of the way and run on the infield grass. All tag attempts factor in situational awareness to deliver bang-bang plays with base runners lunging away from tags, breaking up double play attempts, and contorting their bodies in strange ways to try to keep a finger on the bag. Watching these plays unfold through slow motion instant replays shows off just what a stunning work of art this game has become. I rarely saw an animation that wasn’t spot on, and that goes right down to the micro level of showing how a player’s uniform ripples or the way the dirt kicks up under his feet. Even the sound of the ball connecting on the sweet spot of the bat or hitting a catcher’s mitt is improved.

I appreciated how Sony incorporated analog controls into pitching last year, but the new Pulse pitching, which requires just one press of the X button, delivers more exciting results. Once a pitch type and its location are selected, a giant pulsating circle appears in the targeted area. The speed of the pulse is based on the pitcher’s skill and fatigue levels. If the gamer hits the X button at its smallest point, he has a great shot of grooving a targeted corner. But since the ball can land anywhere within the Pulse circle, it could also end up being a ball or catch more plate than desired. That creates an interesting decision: Do you cover more of the strike zone with the circle or take a chance and have just a small portion of it touching the black? This system creates more drama with each thrown pitch. There's more of a dice roll to it. Yes, the Analog pitching option offers similar results (not to mention the chance to completely lose control of a pitch), but I found that I grooved more pitches with the Analog system, and was forced to take more risks with Pulse. Analog pitching requires more skill makes you feel like you have better command of the pitch, whereas Pulse creates a truer simulation (and not always the results you want). Needless to say, both systems are fantastic.

[View:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bjCbS12oD2U:610:343]

It took me a few games to get the hang of the new Zone Analog batting system. In short, the left analog stick controls where the bat is swung in the zone and the right stick controls your stride and swing motion. This mechanic requires an extraordinary amount of focus, and a game plan based on how you think the pitcher will attack you. In 15 games, I led my team to a .278 batting average using Zone Analog batting, but I only hit seven home runs. In 15 games using Analog batting (the mechanic introduced last year, which is still a selectable option), I hit .303 with 14 bombs. I prefer the analog approach, but if you want a more challenging experience, Zone Analog batting delivers. This mechanic can be scaled down to just Zone batting if you can't get the hang of the stride.

[View:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mO3xhnTTYfA:610:343]

Last year you could only use the PlayStation Move peripheral for the Home Run Derby. This year, you can use it for entire games. Swinging with Move still feels great and rewarding when crushing balls. The other functionality is handled well, but I ran into a few throwing motion input errors and felt really stupid whenever I rotated my arm to run around the bases. Two games with Move were all I needed to see.

If you’re a fan of both baseball card collecting and micromanaging a team, you may enjoy The Show’s newest mode, Diamond Dynasty. After creating a team and designing its uniform (a part of the experience I hope Sony uses to introduce expansion teams to Franchise mode next year), you receive a base pack of players (both fictional and MLB players) to round out your roster. By playing games both online and against the CPU, you earn budget to buy new packs of player cards. The draw to this mode is that you have your own team. The downside is that it doesn’t offer much of an MLB experience. Menu navigation is confusing, and playing against a user-created team with every player named after He-Man characters isn’t the baseball experience I’m after.

Mantiis — Sat, 10 Mar 2012 13:27:00 GMT

Sports games in general have grown stale to me the past few years but The Show keeps sucking me back in. First off, it has the best graphics of any sports title easily and it hasn't really changed much since '08 (I do like that the players no longer have stumpy "Chris Benoit" arms). The ever expanding wealth of options, customization, and game modes make this game a no brainer for any diehard baseball fan. The Franchise mode is only trumped by NBA 2k's Association mode but wails on any of EA Sports sad attempts at a Franchise. It has several different gameplay styles to cater to any level of gamer (I use mostly analog controls however i still love the classic pitching meter *cough*MVP 2005*cough*). The new Pulse Pitching mechanic is maddeningly hard to master yet quite rewarding. Haven't tried the motion controls but I'm not a big fan of moving while I'm relaxing with a game. The new ball physics are the main draw for me for this years iteration (I barely played '11). The ball feels like it actually reacts to the surface its hitting. The changes are subtle but make a world of difference. In the end if you're jonesing for some baseball gaming, Look no further than The Show. The only reason I didn't give this a 10 is because '08, '09, '10, and '11 are quite similar.

Blog Post: MLB 12: The Show Preview: You May End Up Purchasing It Twice

Andrew Reiner — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 18:09:00 GMT

The 2012 baseball season has already delivered more drama than a daytime soap, and players haven’t even reported to Spring Training yet. Ryan Braun, the National League MVP, failed a drug test and may be suspended 50 games. Albert Pujols, the star of the reigning World Series champion St. Louis Cardinals, opted to follow the scent of money to Anahiem rather than defend his title. The Chicago Cubs, a team desperately seeking a solution to a 100-year championship drought, hope former Boston Red Sox general manager Theo Epstein can work his voodoo to remove The Curse of the Billy Goat from Wrigley Field.

While video game baseball is free of the doping, betrayal, and the hundred years of sucktitude found in its real-life counterpart, developer Sony Computer Entertainment San Diego is making its own headlines with MLB 12: The Show. I spoke with senior producer Jason Villa about the additions and changes made since last season. Along with shedding light on broad changes like new control mechanics and small nuances like tweaked CPU trade logic, Jason talked at length about a new feature that should excite gamers of all walks. As ludicrous as this may seem, it starts with purchasing the game twice.[Excerpt]

“If people own both the PlayStation 3 and Vita versions of the game, we didn’t want them to start over if they are playing Road to the Show or Franchise,” Villa says. “Our big feature this year, between PS3 and Vita, is cross-platform cloud saves.” When playing in the Season, Franchise, or Road to the Show modes, players can start their franchise on the PS3 version, save their file to a cloud, and take it with them on their Vitas.

As history has shown with the PSP versions of The Show, Sony doesn’t treat the handheld versions of its baseball sim like redheaded stepchildren. Most of the content found in the PlayStation 3 version is also in the Vita version, but it’s tailored to meet the playing tendencies of handheld gamers. “We know people play handhelds for 15 to 30 minutes at a time,” Villa says. “They usually don’t sit down and play a handheld for three hours. We knew we had to make the games quicker.” By trimming down the visual presentation, games can be completed in 20 to 25 minutes tops.

Conversely on the PlayStation 3, presentation has received a major overhaul. The game already offered broadcast-quality presentations, but the dev team felt it could be dramatically improved upon. “What we’re really trying to do is blur the lines between our baseball game and what you see on television,” Villa adds. “This includes new camera cuts, AI routines, street-mapped cameras, taking some old cameras out, and really showing you the same thing you’ll see on a FOX broadcast or on a MLB.com broadcast.”

This doesn’t mean you have to sit through commercials between innings or watch a fan  unknowingly on camera stuff an entire hotdog down his throat as a batter adjusts his batting gloves. Sony is using camera transitions to make the experience feel more lifelike. For instance, after a ball or strike is thrown, you won’t always watch the catcher throw it back to the pitcher. Instead, the camera may cut to show the pitcher’s reaction or show other player or dugout activity.

[View:1414167496001]

A large part of achieving a true broadcast simulation rests on the lips of the commentary team. This year, Matt Vasgersian, Dave Campbell, and Eric Karros speak more to events tied to your season and less about team history or what happened in real-life last year. Like the highly lauded contextual commentary in the NBA 2K series, these announcers live more in the moment, talking about the Cy Young race during your franchise season or commenting on players having breakout years.

On the baseball diamond, Sony has reworked a large portion of the control mechanics. If players want a more challenging or realistic experience while batting, they can now control the location of their swing on the game controller. The right analog stick controls stride and swing, and the left stick handles the aiming.

Sony is also making subtle tweaks to the analog pitching mechanics, but the biggest change on the mound is the implementation of “Pulse” pitching. This new system tests your timing using the X button. Players must time their button presses to an on-screen display to determine pitch accuracy.

No matter how you play the game, it has a different feel than last year thanks to completely reworked ball physics. For the first time in series history, balls will slow and die in alleys, and actual math is factored in when a spinning ball hits a surface. Depending on how the ball bounces or how the wind carries it, users may find themselves in a world of hurt thanks to the new player collisions that play out in the outfield and on the base paths.

With so much attention being paid to introducing new game controls and improving the presentation, Sony hasn’t added much new content to Franchise mode this year, opting instead to focus on improving the trade, line-up, and player generation logic. Changes to Road to Show mode are minimal, as well. Rather than starting out as a player who designated hits in a game or comes in for an inning of mop-up relief, your rookie is immediately a starter – “that hot shot rookie who doesn’t sit on the bench,” Villa adds.

My talk with Villa ended with a tease. “We also have a brand new mode. It’s unlike anything you’ve ever seen in a sports game. It’s a unique look at baseball and we really think people are going to latch onto this mode and enjoy it.” I have no idea what this mode could be, but the good news is we don’t have long to wait to find out. MLB 12: The Show hits store shelves on March 6.

Get Moving on the Base Paths
MLB 11: The Show introduced Move support with the Home Run Derby. This year, Sony is going even bigger with motion controls. “We had people asking us why they couldn’t play the remainder of the game with Move,” Villa says. “We’ve added that this year.” The entire game can now be controlled with the glowing wand and navigation controller. You won’t just see a bat floating at home plate, either. The player controls the hands of the batter, which I’m sure will make for some questionable uncoordinated swings on Ichiro’s part. Pitching supports two motion-based options, one for those who want to be lazy and just want to aim and tap a button, and those who want to stand up and see if they can throw 100-plus fluid pitches as a starter. Base running puts players in the role of the base coach, who must wave players around the bags or tell them to hold up. For fielding, users have to catch the ball with the Move controller by timing when the Z button is pressed. If you’re timing is off, the player may bobble the ball or drop it.