Dont Believe The Negative Hype
After many frustrating hours playing the Show I decided to give 2k10 a try and i have to say i was pleasantly surprised.
2k10 doesnt have the best graphics, but the game play IMHO is much better than the Show.
The pitcher and batter interfaces give you a lot more control in this game. The Show has the same type of interface as the defunct EA MVP baseball series and the old High Heat series. 2k10 makes you control pitches with the right analog stick where you have to make directional moves to actually make a pitch. Its feels a lot more 'intuitive' and makes you feel like you have a lot more control over the game where are are actually playing the game not just calling pitches and watching the results. When you are in pressure situations the aim icon starts to 'shake' representing nerves/being rattled etc.
The fielding is the same way. There arent a ton of menus to go thru to adjust your fielding positions on the fly during the game. You just use the d-pad to move infield in/out or shift your outfielders etc.
Batting controls allow you to actually aim hits in a direction, and you can reach down out of the zone and hit balls that arent strikes. In the Show if you swing at a pitch out of the zone your batter flails clumsily and just misses. This is far more realistic as there are many excellent hitters that actually often hit pitches that arent strikes. (Vladimir Guerrero for example.) Also, in 2k10 your players have stats to recognize pitches based on their real-life eye. If a batter has a good eye he will see the pitch as its being delivered and know what kind of pitch it is, which is realistic. In the The Show, you just randomly guess at what pitch is coming next if you guess right, it gives you a better chance to get a hit.
I also liked the PACE of this game. Its fast-paced and plays like a video game should. One of the biggest drawbacks of the Show was that unless you adjust the game sliders, the games take FOREVER.
First of all there are far, far, FAR too many foul balls in the Show. I'm trying to play a video game not play a real life 3 hour baseball game with 20 pitches to each batter. In 2k10 the pitching and batting was quick and the ball is in play often. The AI will actually swing at pitches that arent strikes.
Second, the hitting and fielding are more realistic from a gameplay perspective in 2k10 than the Show. In the Show balls are hit with pinpoint accuracy that are almost impossible to make real plays on that would be possible in real life. Because of this the Show has extremely low scoring and no action. Either the ball is hit directly to a fielder or its in a position where the batter gets extra bases that he shouldnt on that type of hit.
2k10 actually has hits like a real baseball game-- bloop singles, doubles up the gap, infield singles up the middle or thru the holes at 1st and third. The hits are playable and require actual skill to stretch into extra bases. Stealing is also far more accurate in 2k10, in the Show anyone with speed has an almost garaunteed steal unless you pitchout. In 2k10, its like real life even fast guys get thrown out and bases are hard to steal.
While 2k10 doesnt have some of the cooler features that exist in the Show like the catcher camera/catcher gamecalling or all the extensive eye-candy, from an actually gameplay perspective 2k10 is the superior game by far. When you play 2k10 you actually feel like you are making the plays and the pitches.
If you actually know baseball you will find 2k10 more enjoyable as an actual game you can pick up, play and interact with not just manage and watch eyecandy.