MLB The Show 22 (PS4) REVIEW-Waste Pitch
As someone who has loved baseball since my childhood, I can tell you that the most exciting part of baseball this year is not what happens on the field. Major League Baseball is certain to be happening this year. However, they are only a month away from an owner-induced lockout which gave us all premium theatre seats for how tiny billionaires can make record profits.
This backdrop is crucial for this year’s MLB The Show edition, the annual baseball game of the highly acclaimed San Diego Studio. The game was once an exclusive PlayStation franchise. Last year’s edition saw it expand to the Xbox family. This year’s main selling point is that the game is now available on all major consoles – PS5, PS4, Xbox Series X & S and Xbox One. Cross-play and cross-platform progression are added to the game’s appeal. This allows you to use the same save data across all platforms and play online with any other console.
The game’s best feature is its subtlety. The PCI for hitting interface has been updated to allow the game to catch up on how good you hit. The timing of a hit is crucial in real baseball and video games. The PCI assists the game in determining your timing so you don’t miss any opportunities.
I have played the four previous titles in the series. Each title has slightly different timing for its hitting mechanics. This caused me to fumble around the first few hours after downloading them. However, the Show 22 could be adjusted to my timing at an alarming pace — I didn’t expect to be smashing 430-foot dingers in under an hour.
The cover athlete, as with all sports titles, is a major selling point. The cover of this year’s issue is no exception. Shohei Ohtani, 2021 American League MVP, and two-way phenom, graces the cover. He does so with a touch of anime flair in the special edition cases. The Show 22 is a significant improvement to their two-way mechanic, which allows a player to both pitches and hit at the Major League level. Ohtani’s 2021 season was a wild one.
This is especially evident in Road to the Show’s equivalent of a story mode or campaign mode. Here you can create your own player and guide them through the process of getting drafted, living in the minors and finally breaking into the major leagues (and hopefully staying). Although it is a cool concept, it can ruin Road to the Show’s “get in, getaway” pace. This allows you to quickly move between your character’s playing days and at-bats. The entire mode and your career will take up much more time if you play on both sides.
The Moments mode is back, and it is as addictive as ever. The franchise received more tweaks to its two-way player status to ensure that it adhered to the rules. March to October has an enjoyable and addictive season mode at lightning speed. These are all great features, but they have not been touched since last year or even before. However, March to October has the added perk of covering more than one season. This seems minor, but it effectively doubles the mode’s depth.
Online mode is, of course, the most popular mode for these types of games. Although Diamond Dynasty isn’t as well-known or popular as NBA 2K’s MyTeam or FIFA’s Ultimate Team, it can still be delightful. If you’re anything like me, you won’t be able to play with other players online. This is because you can play with your friends and not against them.
