Thank goodness that the MLB exclusive license agreement for video games didn’t exclude first-party developers. It would be a long summer if MLB 2K8 from 2K Sports was the only option for fans of America’s pastime. Fortunately, SCEA delivers a far less troubled, far more polished baseball product than the competition on the PS2, with a “Road to the Show” mode that’s worth the price of admission on its own.
The Road to the Show combines first person sports video gaming (technically, it’s a third person perspective) with role-playing game elements, as you create your player and try to reach the major leagues. You choose your position, and then compete in spring training to earn a roster spot. Base running, hitting, pitching, and fielding are all done from your player’s point of view, and the only parts of the game you play are the ones where you’re involved in the action. If you don’t make “the show” out of spring training, you’ll start out in the completely playable AA or AAA minor leagues. From that point on, you earn points to improve your attributes, and try to achieve goals that will get you promoted.
The information is much more organized and accessible in this year’s version. You get occasional feedback from your virtual skipper, with more meaningful interactions, and you can see where you stand in the organization and against the rest of your counterparts in the league at any time. You can even be traded!
It’s not perfect, though. Sometimes, as a fielder, it’s tough to pick up the ball off the bat due to the lower resolution graphics capabilities of the PS2. On rare occasions, how you achieve your in-game goals won’t make sense. For example, if you’ve been charged with bringing the runner on third base home, you can strike out swinging on a wild pitch where the runner scores and you’ll get credit for achieving the goal. Finally, you will encounter the transient statistical error, like a starter getting credit for a win with less than five innings pitched, or a reliever not getting credit for a save in a save situation. However, they don’t happen every time in those instances, and they don’t happen often enough to really skew the statistical integrity of your player or the team.
Road to the Show mode is matched in depth and entertainment value with the equally entertaining Franchise mode. All aspects of running a baseball team are present, like hiring and firing coaches, trades, free agent signings, contract extensions, scouting amateur talent, the draft, control of your minor league organization all the way down to AA, team finances (budgets, marketing/promotions, facilities, vendors, etc.), player training and development, and so forth. About the only things missing are hardcore general-managing items like minor league options and the rule 5 draft.
A welcome feature is the ability to have the computer handle some or most of these aspects of your franchise for you, if you don’t like all of the minutiae. Or, if you want to handle the player-only aspects of your team, you can play in Season mode, which lets you play multiple seasons with a reserve roster instead of minor leagues, and without most of the “boardroom” activities.
You’re given ten franchise goals to complete over the period of your contract. The better you do, and the more success you have, the better your budget will be for next season. In addition to team and staff payroll, lots of expenses arise to keep your fans and players happy, so you’ll need to budget wisely or get a loan from the bank. Many sponsors predicate their payments on your performance on the diamond, so it pays in many ways to have a successful season. If you don’t do well, you won’t have money for improvements, free agents, and so forth, which makes the financial aspects all the more interesting.
The biggest drawback in Franchise/Season mode is that the AI doesn’t do a great job managing the rosters in cases of trades and injuries. Since the game forces every roster down to AA to be whole, unbalanced trades are nearly impossible to complete. You can offer two superstars for a scrub, and a team will turn it down because its roster is “full.” Cut somebody, for goodness sake! Even when making a “balanced” trade, it’s not too difficulty to get the deal done. The computer GM is no Billy Beane. Also, when injuries occur, and the minor league teams are impacted (e.g. a AAA call-up), the AI doesn’t do a good job of readjusting the roster or signing free agents to fill the holes, so some players will be playing in a different role for a period of time. The computer GMs never sign free agents in-season, which is disconcerting. Lastly, during the season, the AI isn’t very active in the trade market, and it won’t offer you any trades either, although there are plenty of trade rumors and players on the trading block.
