MLB 06: The Show [PSP]

We often like to complain about ports - those handheld releases that are almost exactly the same as the console title, with a few omissions and (if we're lucky) additions. But when a port is as good as MLB 06: The Show, the complaints stall out. The PSP has only a year of life in the can, but nothing EA has done can match Sony's baseball achievement.

Much as with the PS2 release, a very solid core baseball model is the game's backbone. As great as analog swinging is in EA's NCAA title, using the PSP's analog nub to swing would probably be a disaster, so we're happy that Sony has retained the tried and true button swing. (There are options to use the analog stick to aim your swing, though they're purely optional.) Pitching is also the familiar three-tap wind and release, and it's spectacular.

In the field, the game performs equally well. There are a few animation snafus here and there, but nine times out of ten the action is responsive and exceptionally well animated for a handheld release.

Sadly, the big omission is (once again) the Franchise mode. We'd really like to take the entire feature set of the original game on the road. There's still a very good career option that allows players to create a rookie and sweat their way into the majors. Also taking the boot is the Rivalry mode introduced in the PS2 release of The Show.

In all honesty, that's not a huge loss, especially since the fun King of the Diamond mode is intact. Like your standard home run derby but with full accounting for base hits and outs, King is a fast-paced, high scoring mini-game. In timed innings, players score as often as possible; pitchers have only a few seconds to choose a pitch and the pace is perfectly suited for portable play.

The few animation bugs we mentioned don't detract from the solid presentation. Neither do the moments when the audio commentary falls a bit behind the play; for the most part the commentary is on target and better than most.

Multiplayer succeeds as well, thanks to well-designed lobbies that make it easy to track both friends and stats. News feeds and roster changes are seamlessly delivered via a wifi connection, and the King of the Diamond mode shines online. All together, the package is far and away better than either of the 2005 baseball releases, and easily strong enough to play through the season.