I’m in more and more trouble when I have to write the introduction to the usual annual sports game package. We have already written a million times how boring the many FIFA, NBA, NHL, NFL analyzes have become over time, since the days when a studio dared to take risks for some new trick have passed. Now, as layoffs and various closures are announced one after the other, we can see that the video game industry is not what it used to be.
We have to accept that these yearly iterations are simply about security, quasi-fixed income. Because we can be sure that hardcore fans of a particular sport will buy all the released pieces. It could be that we get a free roster update every few months or a little facelift (since that would be the essential part), but there is no income from that. Unfortunately, this train of thought holds true for our current subject, MLB The Show 24.
There have been minor changes, there are really great ideas and things in it, but if you were to pick up, say, the very first game released for PS5, you would get almost exactly the same thing. But no, let’s spend more every year, it costs tens of thousands. Okay, I’m done meowing (I’ll have to come up with something else next year), if only because something happened at the end of last year that there was no precedent in the history of universal sport.
Boss, where are you going?
Shohei Ohtani, the player of the Los Angeles Angels, transferred to the rival Dodgers. This in itself would not make one frown, as there have been transfers between Real and Barca, Inter and Milan, the Lakers and the Celtics. Of course, our hero also signed a new contract: 700 million dollars for ten years. Of course, there are bonuses and all kinds of exciting structures, but the bottom line is that no one has ever received such a salary.
Evor. Ohtani is obviously a great player (he was also on the poster of the 22nd edition), but this fizu raises serious questions. But to make sense of all this information: In Japan, where baseball is roughly the national sport, I think you can guess by what percentage the sales increased, while this would not have happened in the case of a simple, free update. After all these detours, let’s see what MLB The Show 24 SO has to offer besides its excellent pedigree.
You guessed right, not too much new. Which is undoubtedly the best part of the game, it’s a quasi-sequel to “Storylines”.. Here we get interesting anecdotes from the Negro League – this is one of the most exciting, but undeservedly forgotten segments of universal baseball history. To begin with, we get the story of four very famous black players, but according to the developers, it will be expanded with more options and stories for free (!!!).
Throw it, man, I’ll hit it
Also in this section Yankees icon Derek Jeter appears and we have the opportunity to learn about his career. The Strorylines segment works quite well: authentic posters and recordings ensure the atmosphere and the understanding of the important role the above figures played in the development of the sport.
Of course, in order to really enjoy it, you obviously have to love this baseball, because if you’re only interested in European soccer, I don’t think you’d be particularly excited about Toni Stone, who was the first female player. So this is an absolute five star. Road tot he Show has also been expanded with a new element: we have the opportunity to create a female player and experience the quasi-singles session with her. And it’s not just about getting a different skin. The narration, the dressing room and a lot of other things change too, so you can see that a lot of time and energy has been put into this. This is also where the Draft Combine returns.
This roughly means that before we are selected for the MLB, we get three opportunities to perform well against our direct rivals, thus increasing (or even decreasing) our expected ranking. However, in addition to the ones listed so far, the other options are actually only fine-tuning and shading. There is nothing revolutionary about the gameplay either, since the modifications introduced in the live game are more or less displayed. There is a pitch clock, the bases are a little bigger, you have to think about that.
Well, maybe you need a little practice
This is exceptionally not a problem, because the gameplay actually works perfectly, and there is no need to spoil it (hello NBA2K). Enough about the good things, now let’s take a look at the dark side of the moon. The exterior was actually quite two-faced up until now, but now the scissors have opened up even more.
The players’ animation, batting and throwing are spectacular and realistic, in return the faces, but even more so the stadiums, slowly paint in a catastrophic way. There’s an amazing amount of iconic locations in this sport (think Wrigley Field), but without exception, they all look like they’re from the early days of the PS3 era. So the contrast is too great and something should really be done about it. I know, next year.
So that would essentially be MLB The Show 24. Nothing more, nothing less than stuff that is updated every year, but I can write any pro-con arguments, fans of the genre will buy it anyway. With that said, the continuation of Storylines is really great, and the female players brought in an interesting, new aspect just like, say, the NHL. Something should really be done with the appearance, but apart from that, if you like this sport, feel free to invest in it, you won’t be disappointed. Except when you realize that almost all of them were already known by the 21st edition.
