MLB 12: The Show

Introduction

Spring is in the air, so you know what that means: the boys of summer are preparing for yet another lengthy Major League Baseball season. To coincide with Spring Training’s drills, meetings and exhibition games, Sony has released MLB 12: The Show onto its PlayStation 3 and PS Vita systems. This discussion will centre upon the handheld version of said sports simulator, in order to dissect and comment upon its portable features.

The Game Itself: Our Reviewer's Take

It can be said that baseball is the most meticulous sport on our blue and green globe, forcing competing managers to dissect their upcoming match-ups in a plethora of different ways. Batting line-ups, defensive alignments and different types of pitchers are examined, in an attempt to one-up an opposing squad. To a newcomer, all of the involved statistical analysis can be overwhelming, especially when scorecards and game sheets are shown. On the other hand, many fans thrive on these intricacies, obsessing over every in-depth aspect of the game. It’s those hardcore fans that Sony Computer Entertainment’s San Diego Studio has targeted with its latest baseball sim.

Over the years, sales numbers have indicated that this series is the sport’s interactive champion, having outperformed its competition on Sony’s platforms. Understandably so, owners of other consoles have complained about its first-party status, but that exclusivity is of great benefit to the electronics giant. After all, the goal is to own the franchises that people want, in a business that happens to be as competitive as this billion-dollar video game industry is.

Although previous incarnations of this simulation saw the light of day on the PS2, PS3 and PSP, MLB 12: The Show happens to be the first series release to be made available for the PS Vita. In fact, it’s the first baseball game to grace the device’s OLED screen. Then again, that won’t come as much of a surprise, considering that we’re talking about a brand new system. With that being said, it is important to note, because expectations were high that this would be a triumph for gaming’s most talked-about portable friend, upstaging other mobile baseball titles. Is that the case? Yes and no. A swing for the fences has been made, but the end result is merely a competent hit.

Going in, fans can expect a relatively expansive set of gameplay modes. You’ll find standard exhibition matches, a home run derby, practice options and a managerial franchise mode. Additionally, a user-controlled season mode where games can be played, managed or experienced through broadcast is made available. All of those happen to be what you’d expect, delivering quality ways to play as your favourite team. Armchair athletes can dive in and make a difference by themselves, while those who feel they’d be a better manager than a player can move to the front office from the get-go.

Since all sports fans have dreamed of being in the position to rise into prominence in a professional sports league, it isn’t surprising that Road to the Show has been included as the game’s flagship mode. Within its confines, one must create a player to take through minor league paces, with the hope that The Show will be in his future. Hard work and determination can help your created avatar (which will be an ugly one, considering how poor some of the provided faces are,) achieve that goal. Of course, it’s a long road from A ball to the Majors.

Road to the Show is an altered version of the core MLB 12 game day experience. Gamers are responsible for performing whenever their player is needed to bat, pitch or field a ball. The game fast-forwards to these opportunities, meaning that matches are much shorter than they would be in a season or exhibition setting. Camera angles are also slightly altered to provide a closed-in feel during on-field action, but other than that, Road to the Show’s core gameplay experience doesn’t differ much from what is found in other modes.

Performing well whenever you’re called upon is the key to success in what is essentially a realistic representation of what the road to the big leagues is really like. Every play is rated on a post-game menu screen, with experience points awarded for good results. Poor plays result in a loss of this important award, which acts as currency for simulated and categorical training exercises. Those help to improve your players’ skills, adding onto user-controlled training minigames that occasionally pop-up during season play.

New to this iteration is a pulse pitching control system where a circular indicator quickly alters its size. Hitting the button at the perfect time will result in nailing your desired spot with accuracy, but therein lies its issue. Getting used to how fast the fluctuating circle changes in size can be tricky, leading to a frustrating time. As a result, it’s best to overlook this inclusion. It happens to be problematic and difficult, which is something that mars a couple of the other included control styles.

I went into this game with a great deal of excitement, which was aided by the fact that my Toronto Blue Jays now have a load of potential. Despite having previous experience beating up on virtual representations of real-life MLB opponents in other iterations of The Show, I had a hard time using the majority of this version’s control options. The rear touchpad’s throw-inducing swipes didn’t work that well and the aforementioned pulse pitching option was problematic. Additionally, the right-thumb stick controls seemed a bit off when it came to nailing movement timing.

After spending time trying out all of the aforementioned control set-ups, I resorted back to what is referred to as “timing” for batting, as well as the standard one-button press pitching mechanic. Using one of four different types of swings (contact, regular, power and bunting,) all of which are assigned to a face button, timed batting asks users to perfect their swing. If you’re right on, then a hit will be the result. Conversely, being off by just a bit will pop the ball up, send it foul or create a weak dribbler. This option is realistic and sensible, but it takes a while to get down pat. You can change sliders to increase the frequency of human and computer contact, but that almost felt like cheating.

Under its default setting, pitching becomes much easier. Batters’ hot and cold zones show within a strike zone indicator and the catcher’s glove signals optimal pitch location based on the opponents’ previous performances. As with time-related batting and its in-depth feedback, several different buttons are used to identify unique pitches, with combinations employed for pitch outs and pickoffs. That mechanic worked relatively well, but hitting zones perfectly was occasionally difficult. A fastball targeting the left side would sometimes sail to the right, and vice-versa. Sure, this could have been due to the wind, but it never seemed to be that severe. This occurred in more than one game, and with more than one pitcher.

Despite its control issues, MLB 12: The Show (Vita) is still a solid portable baseball simulator. It does a pretty good job of transferring a console style experience to a handheld system, allowing fans to hit home runs while on the go. The game’s in-depth stat tracking, complex gameplay and involved Road to the Show mode are all fun to become immersed within. After time, the one more game mentality will set in and one hour of game time will quickly turn into two or three. It should also be noted that the aforementioned pitching nuances do become easier to get used to, though Sony San Diego needs to look into changing things up for future releases.