MLB 06: The Show [PS2]

Console ball has suddenly become diverse. The exclusive deal brokered between 2K Sports and Major League Baseball resulted in great control improvements for EA's college franchise, and will likely mark an evolution for the 2K series as well. Since first-party titles still have back door access to official MLB players, Sony is able to feature current teams, stadiums and rosters in the latest iteration of its own ever-improving franchise.

Instead of offering yet another round of graphic and control changes, Sony has concentrated on refining and developing modes and options. It's a winning tactic. MLB '06: The Show features the excellent gameplay from last year, delivering it through a diverse feature set that is easily the best in the game.

A handful of superficial gameplay changes have been put into effect; players can control their slides (head or feet first) and fielding fly balls has been tweaked a bit. It's now possible to easily send all runners at once, either to steal or advance, and functions have been added to allow batters to swing high or low in an advanced hitting system.

The changes are nice but do little to affect the core gameplay, which is functionally identical to last year's. Fortunately, MLB 2006 was a great game to play, so that's not a problem. The Show is a good middle ground between arcade and simulation, with enough tuning and batting/pitching options that it becomes playable for just about anyone.

Similarly, not much has changed on the visual front. MLB's player faces are still behind the times, and the graphics are more workable than impressive. On the bright side, stadiums are once again marked by a better sense of proportion than in other titles, and the ball physics again excel.

Sony has improved its animation set slightly, and offers a few more options when fielding, essentially keeping players from being locked into an action if they can intervene early enough. There are some nice new routines, especially when players have to make a short toss in the infield, but while the linking is better than before, it's still got a way to go.

The strength of MLB in the recent past has been in the career and franchise modes, and that streak is continued in The Show. Once again both modes are huge; career retains the ability to create a player with the Eye Toy (to map your own face) or through a routine that's sadly less detailed than what you'll find in a game like NCAA. But starting a career with spring training and playing through a dozen seasons is still as much fun as before.