Sony San Diego is progressing well despite the previous big installment, with small and large details in all sections of the game.
Spring Training, which is nothing more than the preseason of the MLB, which is currently contemplating possibilities in the face of the current coronavirus crisis that has forced the cancellation of many competitions, should be playing right now. This has not been an impediment for Sony San Diego to have worked during all these months in MLB The Show 20, which will be not only the last installment to appear only in this generation, but also the latest PlayStation 4 exclusive. Obviously, by now it fits Expect a studio that has been working on a single license and polishing it for several years to reach a maximum peak of quality in the last death rattles of a generation of consoles, and that is effectively what the Californian studio has achieved.
Those of San Diego do not fix what is not broken: MLB The Show 19 was already a game that convinced fans, representing a tremendous qualitative leap from the previous installment and demonstrating that they had listened to the community and carried out their wishes . On this occasion, the bulk of the additions revolves around the content, since the playable formula has proven to work during all these years, but that has not prevented some small details that have not been implemented on paper. 180 degree turn but in practice, they only improve the overall experience.
As we said, all this time Sony San Diego has established a series of mechanics that have been shown to work, so that the bases remain unchanged. As usual, both for batting and for pitching – pitching – and for fielding – defense – the controls are fully customizable, and furthermore, in all these aspects the dynamic difficulty continues to appear, which changes according to our domain in each of them. In this way, we have a personalized game throughout the season without the need to change parameters in any menu, an idea so good that it would be expected that other sports titles would also adopt it, although for the moment it is not. It is also understandable, since not all sports can be differentiated into three sections like baseball does.
When it is our turn to pitch we hardly see any changes from the previous delivery, but not when we hit. In MLB The Show 20 several changes have been made in the PCI -Plate Coverage Indicator-, which is nothing more than the delimited space that we move to establish the batting precision, something that in turn supports the new Perfect-Perfect system. This system, obviously based also on the skills of the player in question with the bat, especially rewards our doubly perfect swings, that is: both in contact with the ball and in timing when hitting it. In this way, we have a better chance of making a great batting that can end in home run or multiple bases won.
But it is far from the only playable change implemented, and is that in terms of defense, the quality of the players counts more than ever. Thus, the best ones like Nolan Arenado or Mike Trout are not only capable of making great plays, but it is highly unlikely to see them make a mistake when they have a simple catch. In contrast, if our field player is technically inferior, he can drop an easy ball, or simply, he will not have the same precision when it comes to throwing to a base to eliminate the runner. This difference between the elite and the middle class was already noticeable last season, but it is even more evident now, especially when it is the CPU that is in control of the defense.
There is another aspect of defense that has already been polished almost to the extreme, and it is also the ability of the players to make a capture in the air by throwing themselves to the ground. If we have an athletic player capable of doing it successfully, it might be worth taking the risk and doing it, and getting instant hitter elimination. In contrast, if the player we control is not so agile, it is probably preferable to be conservative, let the ball bounce and leave the play on a single rather than taking risks and a harmless a priori batting ends up being a triple. As we said, they are small details that help polish an experience that globally ends up being very satisfactory and with a fantastic level of simulation.
A complete baseball season
San Diego Studio has long understood what fans mean by "more content." More content is not more cards and more envelopes to spend the stubs -the virtual currency of the game- or real money, but more challenges, more challenges, more activities … In short, more ways to have fun with a video game, than at the end and after all, it is what it is about. Thus, some new features, of greater or lesser weight, have been added in absolutely all MLB The Show 20 game modes.
For example, Franchise is a way that we have been talking about for years that is certainly stagnant, and not exclusively in this franchise, it is worth the redundancy. Surely it is due to its loss in popularity in general, but there is a certain oversight on the part of all the studios in charge of sports simulators with this mode, something that San Diego has taken good note of so that we cannot say the same thing. season. This season, among other novelties, we can change any of the MLB franchises for one of our creation, rename it and place it in the city that we please, but there is still more. In effect, we also have the real teams of the minor leagues, where the players who have just arrived to the professionalism get off while looking for a place in the big leagues, something that, incidentally, will save a lot of work for the community, which in previous years seasons was dedicated to creating and importing them.
As we know, with Franchise links March to October. In fact, it is ideal. First, because MTO gives us rewards and experience for Diamond Dinasty, and on the other, because that way we can play a first season playing only the key moments of it, something that is appreciated because it should be remembered that an MLB season exceeds 100 games … Thus, the results we obtain will dictate the dynamics of the team in simulated games, or we can also obtain some specific improvements for specific players if we get good performances with them. This year, in addition, the possibility of executing transfers during this first season of March to October has been added, something that was not possible in the last edition.
Road to the Show has also received some love, being that game mode already classic of all sports titles in which we embody our alter ego. It does not do so as, for example, NBA 2K, because in the case of MBL The Show there is no competitive scene for obvious reasons inherent to the sport in question. However, it is a very solid way where we can now maintain even friendship with our colleagues based on our chemistry in the field, something that can be cultivated simply by passing the ball to them. Also create rivalries with opponents, interacting with them on social networks, but above all, we have a more complex skill tree than ever that we can take a look under this same paragraph, based on perks and their levels. It is also worth noting the Road to the Show progress system, which, far from being based on investing stubs, imitates that of great RPGs, that is: every time we carry out a positive or negative action, our parameters in that ability will increase or will decrease.
We ended up talking about the game modes making it what will surely be the star for several years: Diamond Dinasty, the classic of collecting stickers, and where the content is practically endless. And what is more important, also for those players who like to enjoy the game alone, since precisely in multiplayer modes it is where the least progress has been made. In this sense, we continue to have the seasons with rank, the battle royale – a sort of multiplayer FUT Draft – and the specific events for which you have to form a squad with certain requirements, However, as we said, it is when we play solo when We glimpse the great effort that has been made: we continue to have various forms of Conquest – the “minigame” type Risk – and the Moments, challenges that appear every week based on legendary performances or the actual baseball season. Of course, in this edition it remains to be seen how this is managed before the, at least, delay of the MLB competition. But we have to mention a new mode that we especially liked: Showdown.
In Showdown we started by drafting a team, at the beginning, and as is evident, very limited in quality. However, as we progress we are faced with challenges and requirements, which, if we comply, give us the opportunity to improve with higher quality players or perks. After 3 different challenges, we are faced with the real Showdown, which is eliminatory, which means that if we do not overcome it, we will have to start from the beginning. And what does it consist of? Basically our batting squad will take on a series of hitting battles against some of the best pitchers in the competition: Justin Verlander, Chris Sale, Max Scherzer … having to score a set number of runs with an elimination limit. A way that we especially liked not only for the rewards, of course, but also for the feeling of tension that each test conveys: either we overcome it, or at home.
In short, we find it complicated to think of a way to add more content to a sports video game, and that is that San Diego has carried out absolutely exemplary work in this regard. Now the new generation arrives, and they are presented with an unbeatable opportunity to demonstrate that they are still capable of giving yet another turn of the screw, and to demonstrate that they are, however much for the general public -at least in Europe- a study that passes quite a lot. unnoticed, also one of the most talented when it comes to sports simulation.
We have carried out this Reviews with a download code provided by the distributor.
CONCLUSION
MLB The Show 20 is not the biggest leap it has made in this franchise in recent years, but it is the biggest leap it can make at this point in time, that is, we can say that it has reached its maximum quality peak. Whether in terms of simulation or in terms of quantity and quality of content, it does not seem very easy to overcome either aspect with a baseball video game, the San Diego studio will now go to work for more platforms -Xbox One and maybe Nintendo Switch and PC-, and abandons exclusivity for PlayStation 4 through the front door with a very complete video game that if it goes unnoticed is due to the low popularity of baseball in our country, but not in Latin America, where it is very popular in countries like Cuba, Venezuela or Puerto Rico, as well as in Japan or South Korea.
THE BEST
- Small playable details that provide when batting or defending.
- An effort to increase the possibilities in Franchise mode.
- Very generous in terms of content, absolutely endless.
- Player-friendly business model, does not abuse micropayments.
WORST
- On a visual level, progress is practically nil: this generation does not give more of itself.
- Road to the Show mode is not on the same level in depth as the rest.
Very good
Game with a remarkable finish that we will enjoy and remember. A good purchase, highly recommended for lovers of the genre. It is well cared for at all levels.
