MLB The Show 17

Overall, MLB The Show 17 builds on last year’s version, which many cited as the best in the series, by adding some key features and improvements. Most notable are increased hit variety, MLB Network integration, and the RTTS documentary. All of these additions make the game feel more like real baseball. This authenticity makes games more fun to play, as it’s easier than ever to become invested in every pitch.

Sony has rarely struck out with their annual MLB The Show series and this year’s entry manages to keep that trend going. With the worthwhile improvements to Road to the Show, Franchise Mode, and the incredibly fun Retro Mode, San Diego Studio has knocked it out of the park with MLB The Show 17.

If you were to somehow find a time machine and jump back to the summer of 1999, you’d be able to witness the birth of an obsession. Upon exiting the DeLorean you’d find a much younger version of myself, helplessly engrossed in Ken Griffey Jr.’s Slugfest on Nintendo 64. I am still at a loss as to why the game took hold so ferociously, but I literally would play that game until my thumbs blistered over. That is not an exaggeration. I was a really dumb kid. However, in my defense, those damn control sticks were so rigid they could have been used to slowly etch the faces into Mount Rushmore. Ever ...

In 2013, Colorado Rockies first baseman Todd Helton used the hidden ball trick to record the final out of an inning, faking a throw to the pitcher to make Matt Carpenter of the St. Louis Cardinals step off of the base. This year’s MLB The Show also appears to have something to hide, as prominent new features push players to steer clear of the main game to experience a retro-styled arcade mode, manage a team through a simulated gamecast, or even spend time in the locker room figuring out what a rookie says to his agent on the phone.It turns out The Show has nothing to hide. The new diversions –...

Controls are flawless, graphically the Show is about as good as we’re going to get before hitting that uncanny valley. The only rough spots are the stilted commentary and repetitive scenes in the Path modes. But it all fades away when you’re fielding a line drive and turn a double play, or when you crack a ball into the right field bleachers and watch your own hometown hero round the bases pumping his fist in the air.  This is America’s Pastime still, even if its status as such has tak...

In a class by itself, San Diego Studio continues to wow audiences with an authentic baseball sim with its newly released MLB The Show 17. It’s visually astounding, and all game modes have that extra something to keep you playing long into the night. Only a few significant things keep it from statistical perfection.

Swinging for the fences.

Annoyances aside, MLB The Show 17 continues to iterate without the technical baggage a few games back. Beyond the attempts to monetize players through microtransactions (which mainly work as boosts), I didn’t really have any major issues with any given aspect of the game. We’re only a few more days out until the 2017 season, and I’m counting on using The Show as my companion for it.

It’s always easy to recommend The Show, and even easier on its best years. While there are still a few rough spots, it’s hard to look at this year’s edition and not come away impressed by the sheer amount of content and modes, as well as the polished gameplay and player experience improvements. This is a gigantic care package of baseball, with countless ways to play the game for both hardcore and fair weather fans alike. I’ll be spending lots of time with this game all year, even when my Tigers inevitably hit a brick wall in August (prove me wrong, boys – prove me wrong). MLB: The Show ’17 is ...

MLB The Show 17 continues one of the longest-running successes in sports video gaming, and it’s not a regression. But its advances sound a lot bigger on paper than they are in practice. The gestures made to Franchise and Road to the Show are nice, but the enjoyability in those modes still mainly rests on good design choices going back years. Time will tell if the changes to MLB The Show 17 establish a new foundation for what is enjoyed five years from now. In the present, though, it is still a richly illustrated, seductively appealing depiction of the National Pastime.