Most who know me know that my gaming habits usually do not involve sports games. It's not that I have anything against sports games or sports gamers for that matter. I'm not one of those fools who dish on people who play sports games year after year, or just really play sports games. In my view, it doesn't matter what you play, if you're passionate about any gaming, it's cool with me

With that out of the way, again I rarely play sports games. I'm just picky. Very picky when it comes to them. I don't see myself buying every one that comes out every year, so it's very common to see me picky up a game from a sports game series like once very 5 years, and never, ever buying it when it just comes out (IE: $60)

Well ladies and gentlemen, hell might have frozen over.

I bought MLB: The Show 12 for PS3 last week.

A few weeks ago I saw videos of the game when I was interested in upcoming videos for the Vita, and of course they were hyping the cross-platform aspect of the game between PS3 and Vita. Once I saw gameplay for the PS3 version, I was in literal shock.

"Wait, this, this is gameplay? Holy cow it's so freaking real!"

I've always known about the show series of baseball games by Sony, as being dead set baseball simulation games, that were supposedly of pretty high quality. But I never payed attention to them really. See, as i mentioned before I'm really picky about sports games. Especially Baseball games. It's something from my early days of video game playing. It's gotta be accessible, have lots of options, and most of all, fun.

But let's face it, most baseball games from the early days til even now (MLB 2k series I'm looking at you) often fails at least in one of those areas. Often they are so inaccessible, so hard to adapt, that baseball games can be frustrating to play. often times, you forced to use some lame control scheme that the developer has come up with that you wish, you wish would be freaking normal to use (a lot of the games in the last ten years have faced this issue). The worst offender, to those that play baseball games is a lot of them, are just not fun at all.

So going with that much reservation about baseball games, why in the world, would I risk $60 on a new baseball game in this era.

Simply, because the more I watched videos of it, read about it, some what the game offered it.. clicked.

This, this might be the game after all these years of atrocious, stupid, what kind of crud is this baseball games that the industry has pushed on everyone, that this might be the game, THE game that is the best simulation game around.

So as I went to the game store, saw the copy I looked it over. And I took the plunge.

By god it is the simulation baseball game I've always wanted since I was a kid.

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The presentation is amazing. It feels like you are actually watching a baseball game, the announcers are spot on, the multi camera views, the graphics, lordy it is fantastic. But underneath all the tech polish the gameplay is awesome.

One of the best things about this game is the show does not try to confine you to a set difficulty or control scheme. You can set up the game to how you want it to be. want to sue traditional controls, you can. The new analog controls? You can. Motion junkie? yes sir you can. You can even mix and match certain parts. Want the CPU to take over certain parts of the game? You can do it, and best of all, they don't act like some silly zombies on the field. Want to adjust certain aspects about the ball play? Like the amount of errors, contact to bat, and such? You can. MLB 12 the Show tries to throw you at a base setting to get a feel, and from there you can set the game how you like it.

That's what I always wanted from a baseball game. Past baseball games never provided enough options, to let you adjust aspects of the game that you feel wasn't right, or wanted to make better.

I just love being able to load up a game, load my settings and be able to play the game *I* wanted. More sports games need to take notice. As fans of the sports being able to have a game that anyone can adapt to, learn, and later be able to adjust the game to challenge themselves isn't just great, but what more games need to do. Some that have complained about the difficulty of the game (or certain controls) must not realize that you can adapt the game to how you want it to be.

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That aside, I'm happy I took the risk. It's provided a great reward. The game I always wanted after all these years. The game I'll be playing for years to come. As for game players like me that have never thought there would be a Sim baseball game worth trying, check this game out. It's the real deal.

Oh BTW, some may wonder about Arcade (or non-sim baseball). For me that was fulfilled in 2007 with MLB Power Pros for the Wii. Fantastic game there, as it's from the makers of the famous Japanese Video Game Baseball series by Konami. Check it out.

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Japanese Version Trailer, lol

This game, featured addictive gameplay, a story mode (!), lots of options, great gameplay, and game control schemes (heck the motion controls in this game is actually great!), some nice music to boot.

Looks like this gen of gaming, has fullfiled both dreams to me, two baseball games that are not only fantastic, but worthy to play for years to come.

WOO HOO!