The must anticipated, and delayed release of this game is a welcome alternative to MLB 2K The Show. This is by far the better baseball title of the two. (I have not been compensated for this review nor have the cheap bastards at Sony sent me a free copy of the game, I plunked down my $59.99 like everyone else). Lets break it down.

The Good: MLB The Show uses the familiar button approach to hitting, the circle button for power swing and the X button for contact, a welcome change from the failure of the SIXAXIS controller’s Wii-like swing influence of the other title (though the SIXAXIS should have been enabled for the seldom “run over the catcher” play, ala Resistance Fall of Man. The game play is smooth and in game roster management is the best I have played on any game platform. What is really addictive is the online gaming. True baseball fans that know the complexities and value of the hit and run or the squeeze bunt have an advantage to the AL mind set of players that swing from the heels. Your pitcher may also gain or lose confidence in certain pitches as the games progress, which is fairly reasonable. The games umpires also have their own “personalities” in how they call the game. Certain umpires have a large zone while others tend to squeeze the plate and a pitchers successes or failures during the particular game affect the calls, though only slightly (I swear, I must get Angel Hernandez for every freaking game.) Sony has set up the system to update rosters to current status. If Moises Alou is on the DL in real life, he is unavailable for online game play. Players not on the roster at the date of the game, like Carlos Gomez, are created and available for use. The game also updates attributes, though I haven’t seen one for Damion Easley yet. There is a divide between types of online players. There is a “Guess Pitch which allows you to try and guess a pitch selection, location or both. This feature can be enabled or disabled depending on your preference. there are two types of online players, guess pitch on and guess pitch off. You do earn points for wins and lose them for losses, though I haven’t figured out what they are for just yet. There are a few drawback to online play, however, just keep reading.

The Bad: As I mentioned before the Online game play is outstanding. Let me qualify that statement; the online gameplay is outstanding when it works. There are lags though, the biggest drawback to this title are the “Traffic Delays.” Traffic Delays not only interrupt what, at times is captivating game, they have the ability to alter your online record to either your benefit or detriment. Let me explain, say you are losing by one and you have a man on for Carlos Delgado. Carlos hit’s a rocket over the right field fence. Inches before the ball leaves Shea, the game goes to traffic delay. Guess what, you lose. I have contacted Sony to make them aware of my problems, as well as the other players problems related to me in the games online chat room. Sony suggested I “open up some ports” whatever that means. The best I can figure, that translates to “the server is has problems and we don’t want to admit it.” Anyway, this game is so addicting, you will sit through 4 traffic delays to play one full game. And for those of you who, like Vince Vaughn from The Break-up fancy talking smack to your online opponents; uh, yeah, there is no headset feature. The most you can do is fork over 60 clams for the keyboard or take the time to insult Yankee/Red Sox/ Cubs fans (that seems to be the only teams people play with online) via one letter at a time with your controller. The other extremely annoying attribute to this title, one that will make you want to throw something at your TV, is the other players ability to stop you from Pinch hitting. Have you pitcher at bat with the game on the line and you are playing a horse’s-ass? Well too bad, hope he gets a hit for cheaters justice.

The Mets: There are no “unlockables” or teams from the past, which doesn’t really mater as those teams are never the true roster and have no resemblance to the actual team. Shea looks accurate and there are billboards and advertisements up from sponsors that don’t advertise at Shea like Upper Deck. With the delayed release of the title, I guess Lazy Mary in the 7th or the Jose, Jose, Jose , Jose chant was too much to ask for. There are really no Mets goodies on this game save Mr. David Wright gracing the cover. There is a “Road to the Show” game mode if you fancy building a player in your likeness and bringing him up through the Mets system, though most Mets fans will play the game to play with the real Mets. Honestly, if you’d bench or trade Jose Reyes so you can fulfill your dream of playing shortstop for the Mets, what kind of a Mets fan are you?

Bottom Line: Despite the few drawbacks involved in the online play, I can honestly say this is the best baseball title I have ever played, and I play constantly. Compared to the other baseball title, MLB 2K7, The Show has it beat hands down. If you are ever online and fancy a game, challenge Lonestarmets to a game, just as long as you are willing to let me be the Mets- NO EXCEPTIONS!

Final Ranking MLB The Show 2007 for the Playstation 3: 8.7