MLB 10: The Show Impressions

As someone who has played the Show franchises for probably a thousand hours, I should be given a job just reviewing those games. The 2010 iteration has improved, but it's not perfect. Also, I should note that I didn't buy 2009; I skipped from 2008 to 2010.

The good:

-It's much harder to check your swing.

-The pitch selection is much more realistic; you can be pretty sure that you won't get an 0-2 pitch anywhere near the strike zone.

-Stealing bases is a lot more difficult and dependent on reaction time, versus simply loading a "steal" command and just letting your speed rating dictate your success (or lack).

-You get Road to the Show career points for more types of fielding plays.

-Graphics and animation are top-notch.

The bad:

-When you get on base in RTTS mode, it takes FOREVER for the batter to finish his AB. They foul off pitches ad nauseum until the count goes to 3-2, and then they strike out. I hate waiting for them to finish and I'd usually skip ahead by getting myself intentionally thrown out on the basepath, but this year they get angry at you and bench you.

-They took away that cool camera perspective shift when you hit a no-doubter home run.

-I don't know why they haven't given you the ability to import RTTS players from year to year.

-There is ALWAYS some kind of bug in the team rank splash screens; this year, the problem is that it doesn't calculate the ranks correctly. So you might see 52 HR, 1st in League, and the opposing team would be displayed as 57 HR, 16th in League.

-The game gives you stupid goals that you can't achieve, and then subtracts career points when you fail. It might tell you that they're putting on the hit-and-run and that you have to put the ball in play, but even if the pitcher throws a pitchout and you can't swing, they still count that as a "failure."

-It pisses me off that EVERY pitcher in the minor leagues has 5 pitches, all of which can be precisely thrown for strikes off the corners of the plate. How many pitchers in real life throw knuckleballs? If you're going by this game, at least 40% of them.

-Some of the stats are just wonky and unrealistic. Case in point:

148 pitches, really?