Editor’s Note: Because Sony didn’t turn on the multiplayer servers until now, we weren’t able to fully test MLB The Show 16’s new features before release. Stay tuned for our final score later this week.
In what I've played thus far, MLB The Show 16 continues to raise the bar. Building on the already-strong foundation of MLB 15: The Show, the overall aesthetics, franchise mode, and Road To The Show mode all received meaningful additions that make this annual baseball game better than it’s ever been.
When dealing with simulation games, the way real-life people and places look in the virtual world can make or break the level of immersion and believability. The new lighting effects make noticeable strides in that department, improving how different materials on the field look. Metals and helmets shine more distinctly, for example. And while ballparks look better than ever, it’s the way the players move that jumps off the screen the most. Sony appears to have retired some of the older recognizable movements and replaced them with new and high-quality animations, and they're so fluidly stitched together that passersby might mistake it for the real thing.
Beneath the shine, the Road to the Show career-simulation mode makes its triumphant return, with a few clever new features that start at the very beginning. This year you begin your character's career with a scout day, where your performance in hitting and fielding drills results in an official and authentic scouting report. Once you get drafted based on that and start leveling up your player, consumable and passive perks become available. Those can drastically change the way you approach a given situation, and make these games feel more "gamey" but also more distinct from other more simulation-style modes.
Consumable perks can only be used once per game, and can be activated at any time. Having a Fly Ball Hitter perk, which forces fly balls if contact is made, really came in handy when I needed a sacrifice fly to drive in a run. Other perks include things like eliminating foul balls for the at bat, and forcing the next pitch to be right down the middle. It's certainly not realistic, but it let me turn my character into a promising star.
Passive perks, on the other hand, work a bit differently: once equipped they come into play automatically, depending on the situation. For example, if you find yourself in a situation where your player gets to bat with the bases loaded, you can fast-forward to a 3-0 count, forcing the pitcher to throw strikes. You can also make the umpire use a hitter-friendly strike zone, or change the altitude of any park to be similar to that of Coors Field, which makes home runs easier. Passive perks are great because they give you the option to make meaningful situations lean in your favor, but still force you to actually make the play yourself.
There is a cost to using perks, however. Each perk, depending on how powerful it is, removes time from the brand-new ShowTime meter. If you don't burn it all on perks, it'll allow you to slow down time in critical moments, helping you to either make a clutch play (or make a complete fool of yourself). Although it can take some getting used to, it can really come in handy when you’re batting and want to get a better read on the pitch, when you’re on defense and want to have a faster reaction, or when you’re attempting to steal a base and want to perfectly time your jump. At first glance, ShowTime might feel like a step too far toward a video game logic for a baseball sim, but since ShowTime is only available in Road to the Show, the new feature makes big moments more impactful for my player without feeling too much like I'm cheating.
The addictiveness and quickness of each Road to the Show game encourages you to play multiple games in a row, especially because this year an entire series can be played without ever going back to the menu. You have the option to skip the loading screen when playing a series of games against the same opponent, in the same ballpark. Even if you want to upgrade your player, the training screen is available without needing to load a new page. The valuable time that used to be spent staring at loading screens in MLB 15 The Show was spent actually playing MLB The Show 16.
Likewise, The Show 16’s franchise mode is deeper, and consequently, better than ever. Individual players are now ruled by a morale system, which alters their overall rating based on a number of realistic factors. The astonishing amount of information that’s now available consistently made me feel like I was making informed decisions when making trades and lineup changes. For example, the way a player feels about his team role can range from happy when batting cleanup, to angry if he’s downgraded to eighth in the lineup. When a player is angry, his overall rating takes a hit, making my managerial decisions even more thoughtful and complex. Other factors affect player morale as well, such as contracts, team performance, and distance from birthplace. The same bit of emotional information becomes especially useful during contract negotiations.
Even if the aforementioned changes weren’t enough to lure me down the rabbit hole, the ridiculous level of stat tracking certainly gave me a nudge. Every statistic you can think of, from batting average against lefties to wins above replacement, is recorded.
That's the highlight reel of my offline experience. Starting now, I’ll be playing online and testing out the new modes within Diamond Dynasty: Battle Royale, and Conquest. Check back later this week for my full, scored review.
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