Only a few small bugs and a great baseball experience anyway!

User Rating: 8.5 | MLB 07: The Show PS3
I haven't played baseball games as religiously as some and as such I find myself more forgiving of different issues in these games. When you only buy a game like this every three years or so, you tend to be so amazed at the advances that you over look the issues.

The best thing about this is that it feels so real. The stadiums are all gorgeous and realistic. The music, commentary and animation is phenomenal.

To me the best thing about this game is the various ways to play. I was never a big online gamer but the online flow is decent. It can get choppy from time to time, but I think that has improved since the release of the game. The Road to the Show is by far the most addictive part of the game. Choosing to play as only one player speeds up the gameplay and season immensely. What used to take months to complete a season and each individual play can be done in 1/4 the time. Creating your own player is fun and it's very realistic to try and improve that player over time. Some of the worst things in the game are the little errors it makes. From time to time in RTTS you will throw to the wrong base, essentially because the controls for throwing get flipped in this mode from the normal season controls. You can steal on the pitcher because the pick off move is a bit slow in coming to fruition. The worst part is the manager and how he uses you. You'll bat clean up one day, go 3-4 with a HR and then be on the bench. You spend a lot of fruitless time in the game being called between AAA and the bigs. I solved this problem by using the sliders and increasing my attributes somewhat artificially, but just the same, once you are up, you should be there more consistently.

The smaller bugs are laughable, and easy to ignore. Playing RTTS as a pitcher gives you a much easier way to gather points and improve your pitches, whereas a hitter does not get rewarded for fielding and you can only get 100 points per game.

All the negatives aside, this is a beautiful game, and I am glad I bought the PS3 so i could enjoy it. Definitely worth the $60.

***Update***
Since my initial review I have noticed some items that were previously missed. The landscape of the parks in AAA is a bit flawed, if only because these parks look so similar.

More disturbing is the field itself. Disturbing may be a bit strong but the ground does not funciton like actual dirt and gras does. There is no wear and tear through the game or a series or games at home. It gives the feel of playing on astro turf all the time.

As for the sliders, I utilized them to gain a speedier increase and solidify myself as a great hitter. I was simply too tired of being sent down to AAA. Now I am the greatest hitter the game has ever seen and may need to drop my sliders. It takes away from the achievement of the whole thing because the management AI is so flawed. While it may be hard to jump from the minors to the bigs so easily, I doubt the Cardinals were ready to send Albert Pujols down to AAA just becasue it didn't seem likely that he was a statistical monster.

In that way the game is lacking. All AI reacts to your skills and rating, and does not take into account recent or overall stats.

Just the same, it's still a great game but I have switched t a pitching careeer to enjoy it more.