Review by: William Abner

The Show is a brilliant game. It plays about as solid a game of arcade baseball as you can expect. I still have reservations about calling it a true simulation of the sport, simply due to its hands-on nature, but it’s smart, gorgeous, its new control scheme is mostly fantastic, and it’s becoming a yearly ritual calling this game the cream of the baseball gaming crop.

But it’s not perfect—and as Sony continues to crank out yearly editions at 60 bucks a pop, it’s becoming more and more frustrating to see issues pop up that should be addressed at launch rather than having to wait for a game update several weeks after release. It also needs to get the turtle shell off its back and add a little life to its presentation.

It’s important to note that calling this version The Show 10.5, which some are claiming, is a bit unfair. The yearly sports release cycle almost guarantees that you aren’t going to get a radically different experience; this is especially true when you are talking about a series as successful as this one. The phrase, “If it’s not broke, don’t fix it” certainly applies here and although The Show does have some significant improvements, if you’re expecting Sony to totally change the game’s direction you’re going to be disappointed. This still is The Show, only with some new stuff and some important gameplay tweaks.

Perhaps the most important gameplay improvement compared to past seasons is the game’s “timing.” Do not confuse this with game speed, which I’ll address in a bit, but the pace of the runners, the ball, the outfielder’s pursuit and arm strength, and how they all work in relation to one another is greatly improved this year.

A lot of baseball games struggle to nail this vital aspect down and in the past – The Show did, too. Line shots over the bag need to be doubles; runners need to be able to score from 2nd base on a single, fast runners need to be able to score from first on a double, etc. It’s something that a lot of baseball fans take for granted but it’s also many a baseball game’s downfall and The Show 11 absolutely drills this aspect of the game and the developers deserve huge credit for addressing what is likely a secondary issue to many casual fans but is something serious baseball gamers demand.