New baseball games swing for the fences

Baseball games swing for the fences

The baseball season officially starts Sunday night when the Boston Red Sox take on their perennial rivals, the New York Yankees. For gamers, that means the latest incarnations of baseball video games are released. Here's a look at two heavy hitters on the market.

“MLB10: The Show” (Sony) and “Major League Baseball 2K10” (Visual Concepts, 2K Sports) both launched last month with brand new features and highlights.

Both try to put you in the game with realistic player movements, authentic ball parks, and lifelike sounds from the seats. Each is licensed with Major League Baseball so you get real players with real stats (always important in baseball) to simulate actual MLB games faithfully.

“The Show” has upgraded the accuracy and variety of animations for players, coaches and fans. Improved logic and presentations provide a wider type of hits, ground balls and even player collisions. Hitting a hard one back through the middle deflects off the pitcher rather than going through him into center field.

“2K10” unveils a new Motion Model, which features hundreds of new signature movements and a totally revamped fielding system. The new animations try to give accurate portrayals of batting stances and pitching deliveries for all players around the league.

Each title allows for different types of game play to suit your mood. Career mode lets you build your own player and guide him through the minors to his big league club. There are manager and franchise modes to allow gamers to take charge of as many aspects of their team as they want.

In an effort to hang on to its title as the #1 selling baseball franchise in history, “The Show” adds new stadiums, new practice drills and customizable music, fan yells and chants. The biggest addition is the ability to call the game if you play as a catcher in career mode, thus providing more control and more realism to the gameplay. Previously, the catcher was only involved if the ball was in play. Now, players can call pitches, locations and plan strategy for the game.

“2K10” is challenging gamers to play their best game ever - and is willing to pay them for it. 2K Sports is offering $1,000,000 to the first player to pitch a perfect game in “2K10” and record it. A couple of provisos: the game has to be played on the PS3 or Xbox 360 and it must be recorded in its entirety either digitally or with a camera pointed at the screen. 2K Sports said they expect someone to do it.

The biggest difference between the two baseball franchises is how the controllers are used to play the game. “The Show” uses meters and buttons to pitch, hit and throw. “2K10” uses the right stick to sling those curveballs or to swing for the fences.

Baserunning controls are also slightly different for the two games. “2K10” wants you to point in a consistent direction for each base (right for 1st, up for 2nd, etc.). “The Show” requires you point to the next base as you are viewing the game, which can cause some delays when the camera angle changes after the ball is hit.

The differences in gameplay are subtle even if the differences in presentation are not, so it may be a matter of preference for which game you want to play.

“MLB 10 The Show” is exclusive to all PlayStation consoles (PS3, PS2, PSP, and PSP Go). “Major League Baseball 2K10” is available on the Xbox 360, PS3, PS2, PSP, Wii, Nintendo DS and Windows PC.

Posted by: Larry Frum for CNN.com
Filed under: Games • Gaming • video games