Play Ball MLB 14: The Show Sony’s exclusive baseball series has won the pennant for the past eight years and still remains the highest-rated sports franchise in gaming. Now with 2K Sports submitting to the mercy rule and cancelling its MLB 2K series, plus all the post-launch hype around the PlayStation 4 progressively building, the heat is on developer San Diego Studios to extend the championship run. Backed by astonishing visuals, multiplatform support, and a variety of new online features, MLB 14: The Show certainly boasts the talent to earn another ring. Most of Sony’s offseason was spent enhancing gameplay elements, most noticeably the graphics, which are powered by a new lighting engine that takes complete advantage of the PS4’s dynamic internals to deliver phenomenal next-gen visuals. The motion capture and facial structures of the players are ridiculously surreal to the point where you can clearly examine the hair follicles on Brian Wilson’s beard. Stadium crowds add to the game’s phenomenal sense of realism with over 1,000 crowd models drawn using 10,000 polygons in comparison to the 1,600 polygons current on the PS3. That means louder and spirited reactions from the stands. Franchise Mode is now made playable online—brining the same team-building aspects of the offline mode such as scouting and off-season contracts, while allowing gamers to customize schedules and set draft options. Players can also invite friends to step on the virtual diamond and compete via invite on the PS3 or PS4. Expanding on the multiplayer experience, Sony is introducing a Community Challenge feature as well, encouraging you to set creative goals and game scenarios as open challenges to the community. Another sweet addition to this year’s roster is the introduction of year-to-year saves. This grants long-time fans the luxury of carrying over any 2014 saved data from Franchise mode and Road to the Show to future games. And that’s just the starting lineup. Sony has more firepower warming up in the bullpen that be announced until launch. Already standing out as the best-looking IP on both home consoles, The Show is poised to set the standard for next-gen sports titles heading into spring training. MLB 14: The Show is available for the PS3 and PS Vita, with a PS4 release on May 31. By Alex Bracetti
2014 Milwaukee Gameday HQ
To see the actual publication please follow the link above