This game has two balls and no strikes against it . . .
From the game's main menu you have six options to choose from, the first of which is called "Game Modes" and is where you go to get to all of the various action this title has to offer. Under the Game Modes option you have a number of sub-options to choose from, each representing a different game made. The first one you come to is called "Exhibition", where you can play just a one off game with no real significance behind it. First you pick both the team you want to control as well as who your opposition will be, then set all of your game options. After you set the options it's time to PLAY BALL!!
The second sub-option under Game Modes is called "Manager Mode" and is very similar to Exhibition, except instead of controlling players on the field you control your team's manager. You basically watch the game unfold and make game decisions as you feel the need. A pretty weird but also kind of cool game mode, to say the least! To set out on this mode you must first choose your team as well as the opposition, then set your game options. After setting your game options you'll be asked to select your pitcher, set your lineup, choose the stadium you want to play at . . . and it's off to the ball park you go.
Next we come to the "Career Mode" sub-option, which is split in to two choices including "Road to the Show" and "Classic". In this mode you create your own player and then try to build a career by catching on with a club during spring training. You don't play the full games here, you just play for your own particular player, so whenever you need to make a play in the field or take an at bat, that is when you get in the game. During this mode you will be subject to the rigors of the Major Leagues including being involved in trades, contract negotiations, and trying to remain ahead of the competition you get from within your own organization. To start out on this mode you just create your player and then assign him to the team you hope to make out of spring training. You will utilize the Career Mode menu a lot once you start out on this mode, it allows you to check the status of your contract, train, and visit the locker room to interact with the managers and other players.
Fourth we come to the "Season" sub-option. Here you can control your favourite team in the big leagues, taking them through a real Major League season. You don't have to play a full season in this mode however, you can choose to play either a 14, 29, 82 or 162 game season. To start out on this mode you simply choose the team you'd like to control for your season, set your game options, and then you're off to hit the field . . . with a quick stop by the Season menu first! The Season mode menu is where you'll spend your time between games, from it you can take care of player issues such as setting the lineup and making trades, you can also view the current standings as well as league wide statistics for both teams and individual players, among other things. Unlike in Career Mode you control all players on your team in this mode, not simply your own created player.
We then come to the "Home Run Derby" sub-option, which lets you take part in the good old fashioned home run derby competition that they have every year on All-Star weekend! When you start out on this mode you can select up to 10 participants. If you select only 2 players the derby will last only one round, if you select between 3-6 players the derby will last two rounds, and if you select 7-10 players the derby will last three rounds. After you choose your participants you then select what stadium you'd like the derby to take place at. Then you select how many outs you'd like each player to have per round (3, 5 or 10) and you're off to hit some dingers! In this mode you can control all players in the derby, not just a single one of them.
The sixth and final sub-option under Game Modes is called "King of the Diamond". This is a more wacky and zany game mode that lets you simulate a game of baseball using only a pitcher/batter combination. When you start out on this mode you first select the pitcher you want to control throughout the competition, then choose which batter you'd like to use. Then, after setting your game options you are taken to the first round of the King of the Diamond competition. Once in the game you will face a computer controlled duo, you will pitch to it's batter first, and then vice versa once the timer runs out, simulating an inning of baseball. Instead of players in the field there are stand-ups representing infielders and tarps and other signs pasted to the outfield ground to simulate outfielders and open alleys. In the stands there are other baseball themed objects you can hit to earn bonus points when you smack dingers. The team that scores the highest amount of runs over the selected amount of innings is the winner! There are two different styles of King of the Diamond, including "Ladder Mode" and "Quick Play". In Quick Play you simply play a one off game for shyts and giggles, but in Ladder Mode you play four rounds of King of the Diamond, each successive round against a slightly more difficult opponent. You start out on the Rookie tier, then graduate to Veteran tier, All-Star tier, and finally Hall of Fame tier.
Heading back to the main menu of the game, the second option you come to is called "Quick Play" and is another game mode. You select this option when you just want to get in to a game quickly, not caring about who the competitors are. When you start out on this mode the machine automatically selects the two teams, sets all applicable game options to the default settings, and takes you straight to the action.
Third on the main menu we have "Online", the wireless multiplayer mode of this game, which is broken up in to three sub-options. The first one is called "Ad Hoc", which allows you to play with a buddy locally over a wireless network. "Infrastructure" lets you play against people all over the world via the game's Sports Connect feature. And finally, "News-2-Go Offline Reader" is a resource for real life sports news. I didn't give any of these modes a try because, as is the case with all of the other PSP games I've played so far, they've probably taken the servers down for this game and I wouldn't be able to try it even if I wanted to.
The fourth option on the main menu is called "New in '07" and is again divided up in to three sub-options. The first is called "Front End" and gives you the scoop on what is new in this version of MLB compared to previous versions, with respect to new game modes and things of that nature. Second is the "Game" sub-option, this gives you the low down on what is new with respect to artificial intelligence and game controls. Last is the "Online" sub-option, informing us on what is new with the wireless multiplayer aspect of the game.
Fifth we come to the "Features" option, which is divided up in to six sub-options that focus on more administrative details of the game. The first sub-option is called "Create a Player", where you go to create a player of your very own that you can add to any team's roster and get playing in the game. When you enter this mode you set options such as your player's name, age, height, weight, playing number, position and handedness, then confirm to add him to the free agent pool.
The second sub-option under Features is "Profile", where you can view, create, load, save and delete user profiles.
Third we have the "Game Tips" sub-option, which consists of numerous pages of game info you can scroll through, divided up under specific categories including Pitching, Batting, Baserunning and Fielding.
The fourth sub-option is called "Roster Control", where you go to change up the rosters of any club in the game. Here you can trade players, change lineups, alter defensive positioning assignments, change your pitching rotation, and set your inactive roster.
Fifth is the "Roster" sub-option, where you go to save, load, reset or delete specific roster settings.
The sixth and final sub-option under Features is called "Edit Player", where you can go to view the information on any player in the game, both those pre-set in the game and those you've created. Here you can even change the player's information, although you are limited in what you can change on the players that come pre-set with the game. With them you can only change things like their jersey number, whereas for a created player you can change just about any aspect of their virtual existence.
Once again back at the main menu we come to the sixth and final option, which is called "Options" and is divided up in to five sub-options. The first sub-option we get is "Gameplay". Earlier in the bog, when I was glossing over the various game modes this title has to offer, I mentioned a few times the game options you have to set before you begin play. Well, under the Gameplay sub-option is where you'll find all of these various options and is also where you can alter them, setting new defaults of your choosing. The options you are able to change include: fast play, umpire personalities, umpire cons. check swings, ejections, difficulty, adaptive pitching intelligence, pitching interface, guess pitch, baserunning controls, auto baserunning, batting view, pitching view, fielding view, manager mode views, home run celebration camera, swing influence, pitcher confidence, fielding assist, auto throwing, auto sliding, pitch callout, pitching ball marker, plate courage indicator, swing analysis, runner windows, strike zone, hot zones, tag up indicator, catch position indicator, guess pitch display, batter walk-up, broadcast presentations, innings and designated hitter.
The second sub-option is called "Audio". Here you can adjust the game's announcer volume, PA volume, music volume, sound effects volume and crowd volume, by adjusting the respective sliders.
Third we have the "My Sliders" sub-option, where you go to modify, load and delete your slider settings. These settings are a little different than what you find under the Gameplay option, they fine tune the game in more subtle ways. The categories you can adjust under these slider settings include user pitch speed, cpu pitch speed, pitch count, umpire cons. balls and strikes, wind, user pitcher fatigue starters, user pitcher fatigue relief, user pitch movement, user pitch command, user pitch wild frequency, user contact, cpu contact, user power, cpu power, user plate awareness, user error frequency, user throwing strength, cpu throwing strength, user throwing accuracy, cpu throwing accuracy, user fielder speed, user passed ball frequency, user injury frequency, cpu injury frequency, cpu pitcher aggressiveness, cpu baserunning aggressiveness, cpu pickoff attempt frequency, cpu batter plate discipline, cpu fielding reaction time, cpu base stealing aggressiveness, cpu stolen base frequency and manager hook.
The fourth sub-option under Options is called "Jukebox". Here you can view a list of all the songs that are included in this game's soundtrack. You can also turn each individual song on or off, depending on whether you want them to play regularly or not.
Finally, the fifth sub-option is "Credits", where you go to view a list of the people who created this game.
I suppose now we'll gloss over the controls for this game, and they are pretty in depth. Let's start with pitching. When you are on the mound you'll see a graphic off to the side of the screen representing the four buttons on the right side of your PSP. Each of these buttons corresponds to a certain pitch type, for example Triangle may be a change-up while X is a four seam fastball. Begin the pitch sequence by pressing the button representing the pitch you want to throw. Once you do this a ghosted out image of a baseball will appear in the middle of the batter's box. Use the analog stick to move it around the batter's box and place it in the location you want the pitch to be thrown. Once you have the location set, press the X button to lock it in. When you press the X button the pitch meter will automatically start up. Press X again when the meter reaches the power level you desire, and then press X one last time when it gets back to the bottom of the meter, to set your accuracy. And that's all there is to it, pitch thrown! There are some other things you can do on the mound as well though. To initiate a pitchout press the L button and X button together. For an intentional walk press the L button and O button together. Also, once your pitcher is in the set position he can make pickoff attempts. Instead of pressing X to initiate the pitch sequence you would press O to throw to first base, Triangle to throw to second, or Square to throw to third. To step off the rubber press the R button.
As for fielding, when a ball is hit to one of your infielders just use the analog stick to get your player close to the ball and he'll automatically pick it up. As for your outfielders, in the outfield an icon will appear on the ground where the ball is going to land. Get your outfielder to this spot in time and he will automatically catch the ball. If you have to dive or jump for the ball, press the R button. To switch to the defensive player closest to the ball press the L button. Once you get the ball, the buttons on the right side of the PSP correspond to a baseball diamond, just like you'd imagine they would with their diamond shaped configuration. To throw to first base press the O button, to throw to second press Triangle, to throw to third press Square, and to throw home press the X button. To throw to the cut-off man in any given situation, press the L button.
Moving on to the batting controls, they are a little less complex than pitching/fielding. To swing the bat just press the X button, but for a power swing press the Square button instead. To alter the location of your swing just use the analog stick to move your bat around the batter's box. By moving the analog stick left/right and up/down at the point of impact you can influence whether you pull/push the ball, or whether you are more likely to pop it up or put it on the ground. As for bunting, there are two styles you can perform. For a sacrifice bunt just hold down the O button early, but for a drag bunt press the O button later, closer to when the pitch arrives.
Last we have the baserunning controls. When you have runners on base, before the pitch is thrown you can try to steal a base. To make all runners attempt a steal just press the L button. However, if you want just one specific runner to attempt a steal when you have more than one runner on base, press the L button along with the button corresponding to the base you are trying to steal (base buttons are the same as above, O for first, Triangle for second, Square for third, and X for home). To get all runners to take a lead off press the left directional button, conversely to return all runners to their original bases press the right directional button. To get just a specific runner to lead off, press the left directional button along with the corresponding base button. To return the runner just use the R button instead. Once the ball is put in play you can advance all runners by pressing the L button or make all runners retreat to their original bases by pressing the R button. To advance just an individual baserunner among a few, first use the analog stick to target said runner, then press the button representing the base you are trying to get him to. The same goes for returning just a specific runner to his base, only use the R button instead. And that's it for the controls! There are additional controls in this game that go a little more in depth, but this is the bulk of what you need to know to get by.
MLB '07: The Show's presentation is really, really solid! The graphics, for the most part, are super sharp. The players look and react very realistically, all of the stadiums around the league are represented and appear true to form, the only thing that's not all that well done is the crowd, as well as the player's faces during close ups. The crowd in the stands look like a bunch of cardboard cut-outs, and the player's faces during close ups look distorted. Moving on, I really like the broadcast presentations. They did a very realistic job of bringing the sport to us, all of the in between graphics and discussions, it really feels like a true baseball game. As for sound the game has a decent soundtrack, not EA worthy, but close. The sound effects are well done also, but the one downside is that when you listen through headphones the commentary sounds a little tinny. As for the controls, they respond almost perfectly in this game and there are no camera angle or other visual issues. Overall this game looks, feels and sounds really good.
As for pros and cons, the pros definitely have the advantage over the cons, but this game is not without it's setbacks. First, the good. Like I've said all along MLB '07: The Show does a fantastic job of bringing the game of baseball to us in a very realistic manner on a handheld platform. The game looks, feels, sounds and responds almost perfectly, which leads to a very seamless and enjoyable gameplay experience. Naturally because of this the fun factor is quite high. There are also a lot of game modes offered, which I like. You have the usual suspects with Exhibition and Season modes, but then you also get some new looks with the Manager and Career modes, as well as the more zany King of the Diamond mode. With all 30 teams in the league represented in their own personal stadiums, this also helps make the game even more realistic. Now for the negative. The most obvious thing missing from this game is just a bit of extra polish in the graphics department. They put so much work in to making the players and stadiums look so good, it seems a shame that they cut corners and cheaped out on the crowd graphics, it's quite a contrast when you're playing the game. Also, there is virtually no unlockable content in this game, which I found disappointing. Last of all, the game is not without it's glitches. Every once in a while one of your baserunners will leave the base path altogether and totally disappear from the action, or one of your outfielders just won't make a move to catch the ball even though you're standing right on top of the outfield icon. These glitches don't happen regularly, only every once in a while, but they are there nonetheless.
In terms of tips and tricks I can offer for this game, there aren't many, it's just a baseball game after all! One thing I would recommend is starting out on an easier difficulty level and work your way up. Catching on to the timing of the batting is especially difficult at first, so it helps to start off easy and then make it gradually harder as you catch on. Also, if your pitcher isn't having a good day and is getting tagged early on, get him out of there. During my season I was guilty many times of leaving my pitcher in way too long in an effort to let him work through it . . . 9 times out of 10 that strategy backfired in my face. Go to the 'pen early if you have to! Oh, and lastly, I hit a ton of homers in my season and I don't think I used the power swing button once, so it's not essential to hitting dingers, for what that's worth.
Overall this is an overly solid game of baseball that represents the sport and the Major Leagues very well. It's not the best video baseball game I've ever played, but it's close. It's definitely the best handheld baseball game I've ever played, that's for sure. And considering it's low price tag, this game is a must have for any fan of the sport.