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PSP MLB Game Review
Overview
MLB for the PSP is the first baseball title release for the Playstation Portable, and although it's the first, it comes out of the gates with a strong performance. Pop the MLB UMD in your PSP and head to the ballpark, because this game makes you feel like you are actually there!
Gameplay
Like most baseball games, MLB features your standard exhibition quick-play, season mode and multiplayer. Quickplay does just that, gets you into a game quickly. You have the option of choosing teams, your starting lineup, your pitcher, ballpark and time of day. Pretty standard stuff. The season mode is just like any other console as well. Pick your team, go with the season and run for the penant. Nothing in particular stands out about the gameplay except to say that it is definitely good, and at the time of this writing, certainly the best baseball game made for any handheld gaming system, ever.
MLB offers up three levels of difficulty, Rookie, Veteran and All-Star. Unless you've only played the game once or twice, rookie play is far too easy. Veteran mode will suit most players and keep you on the edge of your seat.
The game plays like your standard baseball game. You pitch, your opponent bats, and you get up. Repeat for 9 innings. Pitching can be done with a pitching meter or a classic meter - of which I never bothered to try out. You pick your pitch with one of the right buttons (or intentionals with the triggers), and aim your pitch inside or outside the strike zone with the analog stick, which is difficult at first but becomes easier with practice. Once your pitch is released, and assuming it hasn't been hit, you get a quick readout that shows if it was a ball or a strike, and how the pitch broke. Helpful in determining subsequent pitches. The strikezone indicator is color coded with clear, red or blue shaded boxes. Red means that this is an area where the player can hit well, and blue is a weaker zone. You'll want to aim your strikes to arrive within the blue or clear zones.
When you are batting, things are pretty much the opposite. You can try to guess the pitch, which helps with connecting with the ball. The strike zone indicator will flash red quickly once the pitch is released if you have guessed the correctly. In rookie mode, you'll even get a dot that shows you where the pitch is going to go. In veteran mode, you will have to guess where the pitch is going to go in order to see the dot.
The out fielding in MLB works with a large shaded circle, and a smaller baseball circle which shows where the ball is going to land. You run towards the large circle and home in on the smaller one. This is usually all too easy, unless you really just can't get to the hit. Where I have seen it become difficult is when the ball goes straight up and the catcher must go after the pop fly. The ball can move around a bit and it makes for some awkward play.
The one thing that does stand out from the crowd is the multiplayer feature. Although you can play multiplayer on a console, it is not nearly as easy to set up and join in a multiplayer game online. MLB for the PSP makes this all too easy, although I did notice when joining games that sometimes it too a while to find a player that I was able to connect with, and the game lobby was not always full. Once you're in the game however, usually the sync is perfect and you're able to play a fun game against a worthy opponent.
Graphics
MLB is one game for the PSP that shines graphically. Although it still does not look quite real close up, sometimes you will definitely get the feel that you're sitting in the 300 level at your favorite stadium watching your favorite team as the players field the hits. The motions of the characters in the game is unreal. From diving catches to throws, the game looks perfectly real. Stadiums in this game are fairly realistic - you'll find all the features of a standard console game. Even the fans get up out of their seats to cheer you on when you make a great play.
Sound
The sounds of this game are excellent. With games like Gretzky not providing realtime commentary, this makes MLB for the PSP stand out that much more. The commentary is always good and rarely gets dull. Sounds of the crowd, the bat striking the ball, pitches and so forth are equally as good. This game does a great job using sound to make you feel like you're really in the game.
Control
The game control is somewhat confusing when you're a rookie, and you'll probably have to pick up a book or consult the game's help system in order to figure some of the basics out. Once you have mastered the basics, look out because you can control just about every aspect of gameplay there is. Some features, like getting your players to run back from the bases requires pressing multiple buttons to tell them to get back, and it's not always the easiest to remember.
Replay Value
With the multiplayer feature, and the fact that this is a good version of a sports game, MLB for the PSP has just about the best replay value of any PSP game to date.
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