Handheld baseball gamers have been waiting for a good representation of their beloved sport, but have had few games to really hang their hat (or cap) on. Baseball Advance comes to mind as the portable baseball game to beat. But even that game paled in comparison to what was being released on the consoles. 989 Sports brings us MLB, the first baseball game on the newest handheld in town, the PSP. It’s older PS2 brother faired well on the field but was charged with an error in execution. Did the freezing issues carry over to the PSP version or did 989 smack one out of the park? Are handheld baseball games still stuck in the past or do we finally have a handheld baseball title on par with the console versions? Read on to find out.
Graphics: 87
MLB is the first taste of the new portable generation from one of the 3 major team sports (sorry hockey but until you come back there’s only 3 major team sports now, not 4) and to say it impresses is an understatement. The stadiums come to life on the little-big screen like you wouldn’t believe. Pitchers have different deliveries and batters have different stances. The animations are smooth but there’s not as many on display as the console version offers. The stadium ball physics are present and accounted for and you’ll see balls bouncing around the stadium on fouls and homerun shots. Double plays are almost as gorgeous as the PS2 versions, though the framerate isn't as steady. The bottom line here is that this is the best looking portable baseball title ever, at least until May when EA’s MVP will try to change that.
Sound: 93
989 Sports 2 previous team sport releases (NBA and Gretzky NHL) did not include commentary and went with an at-the-stadium approach to sound. MLB features all of the sounds from the ballpark but also brings play by play with it. Matt Vasgersian provides the play by play while Dave Campbell does the color commentary. If you’ve heard the commentary in MLB 2006 on the PS2 then you know what to expect here. The play by play is almost identical but a lot of Campbell’s commentary has been reduced. The crack of the bat and the crowd ambience is done very well. The overall sound package does not disappoint.
Interface: 72
As far as extras are concerned you can play online (adhoc or infrastructure) or you can play err… online. MLB does not offer any sort of franchise or career mode on the PSP and only offers Quick Play, Season, or Online modes. Those expecting all the extra bells and whistles from the console version might be disappointed by this, but when you consider that most of the problems found in the PS2 version stemmed from Franchise and Career modes it’s not really a bad thing. The initial sports releases on the PSP will not include franchise modes but I’d be surprised if next years crop of games didn’t include this mode. With the PSP being a portable system developers have been taking the approach to cater to gaming on the go rather than huge time investment modes like a franchise mode. A choice would have been nice though.
Online play can be a mixed bag. I’ve had some relatively lag free games and some unplayable lag fests. The online interface is as basic as it comes and is nowhere close to other PSP online games like Twisted Metal: Head On. The TM: HO online portion was a mess for the first couple of weeks it was released so here’s hoping that MLB’s online play will stabilize in time.
MLB’s controls are very responsive but players will still feel as if they don’t have full control when fielding fly balls. The analog stick is a bit touchy when pitching but I see this as a good thing when you consider it helps build up the pitch counts. The new Branch Point Technology fielding system found on the PS2 makes its way to the PSP intact. That’s both good and bad. Good because player attributes are weighed in on the outcome of the play and fielding animations are much smoother than in the past, but bad because once you get in to position on a high pop fly you will feel like you lose some control of your fielder. At the plate you have your basic swing button and a bunt button as well as the ability to guess the pitch type/location. Checking your swing is also much easier in the PSP version than on the PS2. Throwing the ball around the bases or to the cutoff man is easy and you can preload your throws while fielding. Where controls take the biggest hit would be the fact that there is no way to control your defensive positioning. I understand that 989 went with the quick game approach to suit the handheld format but this omission leaves me scratching my head.
Gameplay: 84
The zone hitting in MLB is probably the game’s biggest strength. You will be rewarded by showing patience at the plate and utilizing the games Guess Pitch Type/Location feature. If you guess fastball and the pitcher throws a fastball then the strike zone will flash before it disappears. If you guess low and away and the pitch is low and away then a little targeting reticule pops up on screen. If you guess both the pitch type a flashing reticule will appear on the screen. Guessing anything right will give increase your chances for success at the plate. But just because you are right doesn’t guarantee a hit. Patience at the plate will be rewarded with drawing walks and picking up knocks while free-swinging will produce a lot of quick outs. Even with the guessing game and showing patience at the plate, you will still strike out with regularity thanks to the excellent CPU pitching so don’t worry about the game becoming too easy at the plate.
During the first few games I played I was worried that there was going to be a problem with wild pitches and passed balls. They were occurring too frequently and at times were piling up one after the other during the same inning. Once I switched to the Outfield pitching view (a little further back than the initial behind-the-pitcher view and the pitching meter is slightly bigger and easier to see) and realized that a fatigued pitcher gets very wild, very quick this problem disappeared. You can’t get away with leaving your pitcher in and trying to squeeze one extra inning out of him. When he’s tired and his pitch count is up there, get him out.
One of the nicer things that MLB does in the pitching department is make you learn the break of the ball. Instead of aiming for a spot and the ball going right towards that spot you have to know the break of your pitch so and aim accordingly so your pitch will end up where you want it. Let’s say you’ve got a righty against righty match-up. If you aim for the away and outside corner of the plate with a curveball you will most likely throw it in the dirt and will definitely miss the strike zone. If you aim in the middle of the strike zone the break of the ball will carry it towards that corner. The break of the pitch will change as your pitcher tires making pitching enjoyable by constantly making you adjust your pitching. The same thing happens when there are players on the base paths. The pitching meter will move faster to simulate pitching out of the stretch. A nice little touch to the pitching meter.
The CPU pitching is tough. Expect to strike out a lot until you really get your bearing on the Guess Pitch/Location feature. Even then you will be hard pressed to not strike out. The CPU will work the corners, work the plate, and change speeds on you. When you get a hit in this game it is because you had a good at bat by being patient and letting some pitches go by. If you don’t take the time to let the CPU pitcher throw some pitches you will miss out on drawing walks and make it easy for the CPU pitcher to mow you down quite easily. You don’t want to be in the 7th inning with the CPU pitcher having only thrown 40-45 pitches do you?
The CPU fares almost as well at the plate. Outside of most pitchers, there are no real easy outs with the CPU at the plate. If you make a mistake you will be punished. You really have your work cut out for you if you want to strike out more than 5 CPU batters in a game. t’s not impossible but it’s not exactly easy to do.
Probably the most crucial element of a good videogame baseball would have to be the AI of the CPU controlled team. There’s nothing that takes you out of a game more than when the CPU brings in a new pitcher in the 3rd inning of a 2-2 game or when guys don’t go from 1st to 3rd when you know they should have. MLB CPU manager is more than up to the task. Base runners will attempt to steal in the appropriate situations and generally run the bases intelligently, fielders will throw to the right base or use the cutoff man, pitching substitutions occur at the right times, the CPU will use the double switch and make late game defensive substitutions, and the CPU will not be afraid to intentionally walk you to get to the easier out.
Overall: 86
989 Sports made a decision about the direction they were going to bring the MLB series to the PSP and they definitely stuck to their guns with it. They decided to take the already solid gameplay from the PS2 version and leave out a lot of the extras in an attempt at bringing a solid game of baseball that you can play in small, quick doses. Those hoping to run a franchise or watch a bunch of cutscenes will be disappointed but those looking for a quick game of baseball on the go are in for a real treat.
