Previous portable entries in the franchise on the PSP have always been solid, but have lacked the piazza of the bigger, console entries. With the PS Vita finally bringing Sony’s handhelds in the same ballpark as their consoles, you’d expect an entry on par with the home console installment entirely. And while that expectation is reasonable, for whatever reason, the handheld version of MLB: The Show once again feels scaled back, compromised, with very noticeable cutbacks that, while excusable on the PSP perhaps, remain baffling in their absence on the much more powerful PS Vita.

The most notable of these cutbacks is the absence of this year’s spearheading new feature, the Diamond Dynasty mode. Conspicuous by its absence entirely, the Vita version however, does have the Franchise and Road to the Show modes, both of which are in their full featured glory. Considering, however, that Diamond Dynasty mode is one of the additions that makes it easier to recommend this year’s MLB so easy to recommend even to players who own last year’s entry, the attractiveness of the PS Vita title is considerably lessened. Making your own team, replete with custom players, really added an entirely new layer of fun and replayibility to the PS3 game, so it’s sad that the mode is missing, given that there is no real good reason to. Hell, an AR enhanced mode, which involved players scanning baseball cards into the game and unlocking special players, would have been a great Vita specific feature that would have made it so easy to recommend this game.

As much as I am complaining about the missing features, the Vita version still has a lot going for it, that makes it a good purchase for the dedicated fan, especially if said fan owns both the PS3 and PS Vita versions of the game. The marquee feature with which Sony is promoting the game is the ability to save your PS3 game on the cloud and then continue it anywhere on the PS Vita. This is a genuinely interesting feature, but one that is unlikely to see much use by anyone, given that the odds that you are a baseball fan who buys videogames, owns a PS3 and a PS Vita, and copies of MLB 12: The Show for both of them are incredibly low, if not outright zero.

Other Vita specific features, however, are much likelier to be experienced by everybody. The game, for instance, gets touchscreen controls while pitching, which require the player to just tap where they want the ball to go, and then pitch. It’s very snappy, and is actually an improvement over the dual analog setup that the game. Coupled with the fact that the Vita version also retains the PS3 version’s new pulse pitching controls, the game feels snappier to play and control than ever on a portable.

What else is there of note? The game looks great, and has the series authenticity that is at this point par on course for the franchise. The commentary feels a bit more repetitive than the PS3 version, although I’m not sure if that’s just my imagination. One big knock against the game is its criminally long loading times, which are inexcusable for a handheld game, and more so when you consider that past portable renditions of MLB games, which ran off UMDs, probably had shorter loading times than the PS Vita game, which runs off a cartridge!

MLB 12: The Show on the PS Vita feels a bit like a wasted opportunity. Given the capabilities of the handheld, the game feels confusingly compromised and scaled back, almost as if it were a PSP game which was switched to the Vita at the last minute. And yet, the game features great controls, and is full featured in what it has. If you take it for what it is, you’ll manage to enjoy it- a game capable of delivering excellent baseball experiences on the go, particularly if you own the PS3 version of the game too. However, it’s a bit hard to not look at what the game could have been, and feel disappointed by that. For now, MLB 12: The Show gets good marks, simply because it is at least as good as the past PSP games. However, next year’s edition better deliver on the potential of the Vita, or the handheld side of the series at least will be uncharacteristically weak, and an unnecessary mark against an otherwise great franchise.

This game was reviewed on the Playstation Vita.

The latest installment doesn’t reinvent the wheel- it’s the same familiar foundation that the series has been built on over the years. And yet, that foundation is so thoroughly excellent that it would be hard to level any allegations at the developers for being lazy. Indeed, SCE Studios San Diego find themselves in the unenviable position of having struck gold the first time around, and of having to justify the existence of multiple sequels ever since. As such, they have taken the path of annual tweaks and adjustments, something that sport games have been known to do over the years, and yet it is hard to blame them when the core game remains so thoroughly excellent.

Expect the series’ trademark authenticity and realism, expect great graphics, expect great physics, expect some finely tuned controls, expect faithfulness to the license, expect everything the way it was. Whereas sometimes the game might feel a bit too finely tuned for its own good, overall, this is the same game we’ve come to love over the years, and not much has changed this time around.

What has changed, apart from the usual messing around with the game’s physics, are the pitching controls. Gone is the pulse pitching meter seen in the previous games. In its place we have a pitching ‘pulse,’ a pulsating circle that fills on the screen, helping you determine the accuracy of your pitch. Time your pitch perfectly by pitching when the circle is at its smallest, and the larger the circle selected, the less reliable the pitch. The size of the circle offered to you by default is directly contingent on a number of factors, such as the pitcher’s fatigue level, his confidence, and more. It’s overall a faster, much more streamlined way of doing things, and it is a definite improvement over the previous games.

Batting controls were also reworked a bit to accommodate the reworked pitching, although that experiment might have been a bit less successful, since it’s harder to time hits with the ball using the new, rather flimsier, controls.

One way to alleviate this problem, of course, is to simply use Playstation Move. The criminally overlooked peripheral is fully supported and utilized for this outing, and it can be used for everything from batting, to pitching and fielding. However, as fun as it is to bat with Move, the pitching and fielding seem to suffer. It seems that one really has to make a choice while playing MLB 12- do they want more precise batting, or more precise pitching? Because while the game offers a multitude of control schemes, none of them is good for everything, and your preference of controls will ultimately also end up reflecting your style of play.

However, where the mechanics of the game haven’t seen a considerable change when all is said and done, there is a lot of new stuff on offer in the form of new game modes, as well as additions to existing ones. Diamond Dynasty takes a leaf out of recent EA Sports titles, and it lets players form their own teams using trading cards earned in game. Cards can be traded online, and the teams you make can also be used in competitions, either against other players or against CPU opponents. In the latter mode, the reward you earn is directly contingent on the risk you take, so if you defeat a team at a high difficulty level, expect a high yield of reward, even though your victory might have been narrow. If you defeat a team heartily and convincingly at a low difficulty level, however, the yield will be that much lower.

The fun of Diamond Dynasty comes from the fact that you aren’t just limited to existing players alone, you can make your own custom players as well. The fact that the game is online enabled adds that much to its appeal and value. It’s for the best, since the other modes remain the same as last year, except for minor tweaks to ensure they perform a bit smoother and more realistically.

Since this is a Sony game, you can expect a lot of support for peripherals and options that you probably don’t own, nor have interest in owning. Apart from the aforementioned, admittedly great Move support, MLB 12 supports 3D televisions. While it may seem like a gimmick at first- and let’s face it, 3D gaming still largely remains a gimmick- it enhances the game’s presentation that much more, lending its camera angles a sense of depth, furthering the great presentation that the MLB series has always been known for.

In addition to 3D and Move support, the game also supports cloud saving and sync gaming with the Vita version of the game. Assuming you own a Vita, and the Vita version of this game, you can save your game and transfer it to the cloud, then access and continue your game from exactly where you left it off, on the Vita, and vice versa as well. It’s a neat feature, but it assumes a big investment on your part- it expects you to buy a PS3, a PS Vita, and a copy of MLB 12 for each. As interesting as it is, it’s probably a gimmick doomed to be consigned to the same pages of history that Nintendo’s Gameboy Advance/Gamecube connectivity finds itself in.

MLB: The Show 12, then, is a great, albeit somewhat safe and expected, installment in the venerable franchise. It has all the bells and whistles that you expect an annual sport game to have, it has tweaks to the physics, changes to the rosters. It has a new control scheme that works well, it has a new game mode. Overall, for fans of the series, this represents a great investment. Those who weren’t convinced by the previous outings, however, are unlikely to have their mind changed this time around either. Regardless, even they will be hard pressed to deny that MLB 12 is, ultimately, an excellently made game.

This game was reviewed on the Playstation 3

We have a new trailer for MLB 12: The Show and it simply looks fantastic. It showcases the Miami Marlins Ballpark and the visuals are outstanding. Sony San Diego really did a good job in creating The Show franchise as it is one of the best Baseball game franchises we’ve seen.

The game will be released on March 6th and is a PS3 exclusive.  The trailer shows of the brand new Miami Marlins ballpark in MLB 12: The Show. Along with the move to the new ballpark the team also changed from the “Florida” Marlins to the “Miami” Marlins to signify the move. 

Tell us what you think in the comments section below.

MLB 12: The Show is a Major League Baseball video game which will be published by Sony Computer Entertainment and developed by Sony San Diego. The game was announced for release on March 6, 2012 and will be available on PlayStation 3 and PlayStation Vita. It is also the first installment of the series to be fully PlayStation Move compatible.

We have a new trailer from MLB 12: The Show which shows the player who will be in the front cover of the game case – Joe Bautista.

This version will be exclusive to Canada. Joe Bautista is the Home Run Champion.

The game will be available for the PS3 next month. MLB series is very popular in the US and Canada.

Tell us what you think in the comments section below.

We have our first glimpse at MLB 12: The Show, and it looks amazing. MLB as a series has always been intriguing to me, as someone who doesn’t know anything about Baseball, and for the main reason that it’s one of the best first-party series that Sony has in its arsenal, when you look at the critical and commercial reception, especially in the US.

The game will be released this quarter exclusively for the PS3. And it supports PS Move as well, that should be a good selling point for many. The game will also be available on the Vita, when the system launches in a few months in the west.

Tell us what you think in the comments section below.

We have the details for MLB 12: The Show. It seems promising and features some enhancements.

Tell us what you think in the comments section below.

Synopsis

They duck into the dugout as mere mortals, cleated, capped and humming with anticipation. But as the National Anthem echoes across the stadium, the lights blaze into life and the umpire squats behind the plate, something changes. Men no longer, the players — whether they be wearing pinstripes, red or blue — become legends, the embodiments of what it means to seek glory. Baseball is not just a pastime — it’s the epic saga that holds all of America in its grasp. Do you have what it takes to step up to the plate and claim your stake in baseball history?

Each year, only one MLB team earns the title of a champion. And each year, only one sports game scores the highest ratings in the world. That game is The Show. Calling you off the bench with ultrarealistic gameplay, intense season-long campaigns and the nitty-gritty details of the MLB experience, the highest-rated sports video game has forever revolutionized the way you see America’s pastime — and it’s about to do it again. Immerse yourself in gameplay that goes deeper than ever before in MLB 12: The Show.

The latest generation of the gaming phenomenon takes you the closest you can get to real-life game-day action, with innovative new features never before seen in a sports game. Pair up the game with your PlayStation Move, and feel the intensity of every crack of the bat and reach for the catch like you’re truly in the stadium. Discover if you have the endurance and the skills to make it to the top in authentic franchise and season modes that bring the rigors of Major League Baseball to life, or forge intense team rivalries with your friends in multiplayer challenges. Get up off the bench — The Show is back on.

Features

• Heighten your experience on the diamond as you swing into the latest addition to the revolutionary franchise that delivered the highest-rated sports video game four years in a row
• Get up-close and personal with the MLB in detailed, true-to-life gameplay that rivals the action in the stadium
• Swing the bat at exactly the right angle to drive the ball to the opposite field and dive to snag dropping line drives in the outfield, using your PlayStation Move to fully experience every hit, pitch and catch
• Use innovative new features to take your game to never-before-seen levels
• Team up with your friends or forge intense rivalries in multiplayer modes
• For 1 to 4 players
• Feel the pressure of training, game day and Major League trades as you fight your way toward the Hall of Fame in authentic franchise and season modes