A pretty good baseball game for psp, but after awhile, it does run a little thin...

User Rating: 7.8 | MLB PSP
By yanks26wsw | Review Date:
One of the obvious things that the PSP allows that really hasn't been possible up until now on portables is sports games that are worth a damned. Unfortunately this promise has largely amounted to so much hot air—especially from the reining champ in the console world, Electronic Arts. But I recently picked up a copy of 989 Sports' baseball sim MLB and a bit to my surprise this is an excellent portable game of hardball. This game gets a lot right, even if a few niggling problems hold it back from baseball nirvana. Right away when you fire up the game you'll notice something that is in my view a misstep. The Music, it's a mix of hip hop and rock that you'd normally hear in a video game with licensed music. This is in my view a mistake, baseball more than any sport has a set of musical traditions all it's own. I'd much rather have heard classic songs like Take me out to the ball game or Centerfield by John Fogerty or rally songs like start me up, Who let the dogs out etc. This may seem like a minor detail but I'm something of a baseball purist and this really irritated me. The sound effects of the game on the other hand are quite good. The sound you'll be hearing the most, the commentary with actual color guy Kevin Kennedy is in fact one of the games highlights as it's very well edited so that it actually sounds like they're watching the game and commenting on how you're playing. Graphically speaking this game looks just like a late Dreamcast game which is about as good as anyone could expect from the system. The player models are detailed the stadiums are shaped just like their real life counterparts. Players even have their proper trademark animations. For instance Gary Sheffield of the New York Yankees shakes his bat in his stance just like he does in real life, El Duque has a strange delivery etc.
So how's the game play? It's a pretty fun game of hardball. The pitching meter is well conceived so you can easily vary your pitch location and speed. Unlike EA's baseball game the ball is easy to see when you're at bat. On the field you can do all the things you'd expect in a modern baseball game except for shifting the defense manually. In terms of modes it's got all the standard stuff here but sadly it does lack for a franchise option. On the other hand how many of you are really planning on playing out full seasons. 162 games + post season is a whole lot of baseball to be had it's not like football where one season is over in a week or two, as I write this review I'm just to June in my Cincinnati Reds season. It's also a fairly challenging game even on the default settings, I'm doing well, leading the NL Central and all but only by 3 games over the Cubs. When you're facing a superior pitcher it's pretty hard to get hits on a reliable basis, and if you're not careful against a great hitter he'll make you pay. If you like baseball, and you own a PSP, this is the game to get. If you're not a fan of video game hardball then this isn't going to change your mind. I'm having a lot of fun with this one as it's one of the best games for the shorter sittings that a portable seems designed for as 1 game fills up time nicely. Now if i could only find a good lefty set up man.

Cover Artwork ~B~Vald with coll effects makes for a pretty cool cover.

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