bit-tech Shopping: Sony MLB 08: The Show (PS3)

• 1080i (HDTV)
• 1080p (HDTV)
• 720p (HDTV)

Rating: 8

Time with product: 2 Months

Strengths: good visuals, lots of modes

Weaknesses: steep learning curve

Summary: MLB 08 is the baseball game baseball fans should be playing. Everything is spot on and captures the sport of baseball extremely well. The graphics look beautiful and there are plenty of modes to enjoy the game. The only flaw I could find in the game was that it?s a hard game to play. You have to be patient with it and eventually will get the hang of it.

Rating: 6

Time with product: 7

Strengths: graphics, game choices

Weaknesses: batting and pitching

Summary: The graphics are amazing and almost looks real. The commentators are not boring and dont repeat the same things. Lots of different games to choose to play.Dont buy this game and expect to be an all star right out of the gate. It takes a little bit of time to get use to the batting and pitching. At first I could not throw strikes and it got frustrating, but finally Im getting better at throwing strikes. Batting takes a lot of discipline and your not going to just go up there and hit lots of homerun's. The computer throws lots of balls.Overall this is a challenging game and fun to play, it will take some time to get used to it.

Rating: 10

Time with product: 1

Strengths: Depth of gameplay features, realistic feel, graphics, gameplay sliders, discipline at the plate required for batting.

Weaknesses: Initial loading times are long, infielders will occasionally forget to reach down for grounders hit right at them, baserunning controls are a bit wonky.

Summary: MLB 08: The Show is easily the best console baseball game available. It has excellent graphics and plays like real baseball. A good example is with the batting, which requires plate discipline since you will strike out a lot if you're too aggressive. So you can forget about having arcade-style slugfests with MLB 08. Oh sure, there will be some games where you score big runs but this will be due to your efficiency at the plate and not because you're just hacking away at the ball. I also like the gameplay sliders that you can tweak to your liking, which helps with the learning curve of the game (especially useful for batting). If you have the patience to learn the game, then this is a must-buy for any console baseball fan.

Rating: 8

Time with product: 25

Strengths: Realistic baseball play, amazing graphics, announcers aren't too repetitive, good fielding.

Weaknesses: Long load times, no home run derby, frustrating base running, too easy to steal, advertises 1080p resolution, but is only "optimized" for 720p.

Summary: MLB '08: The Show for PS3 is an entertaining, realistic baseball game. The graphics are fantastic, and the announcers don't get repetitive by the 3rd inning. I played the PSP version from last year, and a lot of the frustrating "features" of last year's game have been cleaned up such as not saving profiles correctly, runners being able to "skip" bases and run directly from first to third (right across the pitcher's mound). The controls are simple enough that most people can easily pick it up and play.The first downside to the game that I noticed (after waiting 2-3 minutes for for the game to load) was splash screen that said that the game was optimized for 720p (even though 1080p is listed as a resolution on the back). In general, the load times seem longer than the other PS3 games that I've played.The new baserunning system takes a while to get accustomed to, and it seems like it is just too easy to steal. There is not a home run derby mode this year.

Rating: 10

Time with product: 30

Strengths: Excellent gameplay and graphics

Weaknesses: Franchise AI is weak

Summary: MLB 08 hands down is one of the best baseball games I have ever played. Sony really did a bang up job in most every aspect of the game. The game plays very good as well as looks great. The franchise computer AI can be a little dumb at times making odd trades, but it is nothing to big. Road to the Show is also the best mode ever found in a sports game. I have spent many hours playing that and I don't see myself stopping any time soon. This truly is one of the best games a baseball fan can own.