Back in the late 2000s into the early 2010s, "MLB: The Show" was firmly establishing itself as the best baseball video game on the market, and for good reason. Beyond the very realistic graphics in the games, they were just fun to play, and it was easily the best baseball game out there. The only problem, though, was that the series was exclusively on PlayStation 3, so baseball fans who played on the Xbox 360 needed some kind of alternative. "Major League Baseball 2K" was that alternative (even though it was still available on the other platforms), though supposedly, "Major League Baseball 2K9" was a pretty hideous, bug-filled game. With "Major League Baseball 2K10," though, things seemed to be ironed out, and there was more good stuff to go around.
Indeed, "Major League Baseball 2K10" is a more polished baseball experience compared to the 2009 version, and even if there are occasional bugs, they aren't nearly to the extent of the game-breaking bugs from the previous year's entry. Without having to focus on the bugs, we were able to see that 2010's version of the series was a fun baseball sim with decent controls, more polished visuals (even if they obviously weren't nearly on the level of the visuals in "MLB: The Show") and some interesting new modes. The My Player mode was a nice addition that played out very well and had some good options to it, and I particularly enjoyed the MLB Today mode that allowed you to play games with the exact same pitching matchups and lineups as that particular day's game. The commentary from Gary Thorne, John Kruk and Steve Phillips was also solid and nicely in-depth, and I'd say it's honestly a bit better than some of the commentary in the "MLB: The Show" series (especially the modern titles).
The game still isn't perfect, though: there are a few bugs, and there can be some moments where the game might be a bit prone to freezes. Not only that, but the fielding and baserunning controls can feel a little bit less smooth and more wonky than one might like. Also, while you obviously can't experience it much today, the online multiplayer was not nearly as compelling in this game as the online in "MLB 10: The Show" back in the day.
Overall, though, "Major League Baseball 2K10" is a solid game of baseball, and even if it might not look as appealing on the surface as "MLB 10: The Show," it's a nice companion game to play. Naturally, with every yearly sports title, I can't recommend you run out and get it given that it's been a decade since it came out, but for its time, "Major League Baseball 2K10" was a very solid baseball game that was fun to play alongside "MLB 10: The Show," and it was definitely a nice alternative for Xbox gamers who couldn't play Sony's baseball sim.
Final rating: 7 out of 10 "Good"