Good game, but not GREAT!
First off, the presentation of The Show is excellent! Each game begins with a MLB-type graphic of the batting order and defensive alignment. Very impressive. The stadiums look fantastic. The players animations are great. Batting stances/movements are true clones of the real MLB counterparts, though the faces are rather generic and lifeless. The Show does put on a show for the eye candy.
My main gripe is gameplay which is most important to me. The pitching interface is fine. No problems there. The baserunning controls are cumbersome, especially when men are on base and you have to make quick decisions. MVP made it easy. Of course, one can always use automatic baserunning but what fun is that. Fielding is okay, but I just never felt that I was truly in control of the action. No true feel to the game. I felt the same with batting. Homeruns can be hit with or without using the power button which is fine. There just seemed to be no true control or strategy when it came to hitting. Again, MVP wins on that count.
Audio is above average. I've read reviews that said the commentary was behind on plays. I thought the play -by-play was dead on most of the time.
I give The Show an above average rating. I love the presentation and all the game modes. From season to career modes the game has a lot of depth and is extremely immersive. But alas, it crumbles in gameplay which is the most important thing to me. I know MVP won't have any MLB rights for at least a few years, which is quite a shame. If Major League 2k6 ever comes out, I'll give it a try. Until that time, The Show will probably the best thing around until next year or the year after that or.....