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- Sony Interactive Entertainment
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- Sony Interactive Entertainment
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- Sony Interactive Entertainment
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- Sony Interactive Entertainment
MLB The Show 18
Released On: Mar 27, 2018
82
6.3
All Platforms
Metascore
Generally Favorable
Based on 38 Critic Reviews
82
76% Positive
29 Reviews
29 Reviews
16% Mixed
6 Reviews
6 Reviews
0% Negative
0 Reviews
0 Reviews
Metascore
Generally Favorable
Based on 38 Critic Reviews
82
76% Positive
29 Reviews
29 Reviews
16% Mixed
6 Reviews
6 Reviews
0% Negative
0 Reviews
0 Reviews
MLB: The Show 18 is a refined experience that stands tall as the best baseball game currently on the market. Of all the iterations of the title, this is, to my eye, the definitive best and, I imagine, exactly what fans of the genre are looking for.
This year's entry plays it safe, improving the gameplay without taking any risks. We always miss new additions, but the core remains excellent.
User Score
Mixed or Average
Based on 105 User Ratings
6.3
52% Positive
55 Ratings
55 Ratings
17% Mixed
18 Ratings
18 Ratings
30% Negative
32 Ratings
32 Ratings
User Score
Mixed or Average
Based on 105 User Ratings
6.3
52% Positive
55 Ratings
55 Ratings
17% Mixed
18 Ratings
18 Ratings
30% Negative
32 Ratings
32 Ratings
Best MLB The Show ever! Batting has **** the game just simply looks and feels more realistic this yr!
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PlayStation 4
Absolutely the best sportsgame ever...period! Dont understand why some people give this game a low rating, cause its a very good game, despite some server issues in the beginning, this game is a must have for baseball fans.
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PlayStation 4
It’s difficult to improve a game which is already the best in its own genre, but SIE San Diego Studio achieved a good result with a few, but meaningful, changes. MLB The Show 18 offers an even more solid and consistent experience than its predecessor, although the devs cut off a couple of game modes. The new most important core element is the brand new progression system in the Road to the Show career, which offers the chance to live the tough dream of a mid- to late-round draft pick prospect.
MLB: The Show 18 is an incredible game with as much depth as you are willing to handle. It has incredibly intuitive and nuanced controls, entertaining commentary and a swathe of freedom that allows you to traverse the immense depth of the game as you feel comfortable doing. This is a game you can enjoy whether you’re a hardcore baseball fan or someone looking for something new in the sporting genre that isn’t FIFA 2018.
This 2018 episode is still an excellent baseball game, but it hasn't change much compared to last year's edition... MLB The Show series would definitely need a serious competitor to surpass itself.
It’s far from perfect, but, as I said earlier, it offers a solid baseball experience that can’t be found anywhere else.
Load times for all avenues of play are better, and the play on the field is once again a showpiece of iteration, but the online aspect of the game – where Sony is focusing the most for additions – remains unpredictable at best and completely broken at its worst. As the season goes along, the experience will hopefully get better, but for the hardcore baseball fans that purchased the game early, it can be a nightmare.
Ok let’s get down to brass tacks. It’s not leaps and bounds better than The Show 17, so that’s that sorted. But if you’ve been lucky enough to play the brilliant The Show 17, you’ll be excited to know you can continue all progress from 17 to 18, including your player in the show and your franchise too. Graphics are improved but only slightly; the sounds including commentary again only slight improvements but the commentary doesn’t offer anything new, sometimes gets a bit samey and repetitive. Only new updates could improve this but I don’t think so. The gameplay is like last years offering, brilliant, exciting. Is it worth the £45 I spent on it, no. Is it better than last years, no. Is it worth waiting for the usual price reduction YES. Cos for me this more like 17.5 than 18. But still by far and away the greatest baseball game on console. And don’t fall the annual garbage R.B.I. 18, it’s apparently woeful compared to this. So to sum up, wait and get cheaper and continue playing 17.
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PlayStation 4
I liked the new direction of Be A Pro, leveling your player up by how well you perform on the field, but its still lacking the immersion youd expect from a career simulator. The micro-transactions are ridiculous but the game play is smooth, hitting and ball physics have been improved but many of the game modes haven't.
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PlayStation 4
Pros: Must play for avid baseball fans/only viable triple a baseball game. So-So: Not much changed from last year. Cons: What's up with the glitchy fielding? You run to a ball to have it bounce right past you.. the A.I in prior installations would auto pick up when your close to it... Hitting is a lot easier, reaction time is increased, and the contact percentage is up by alot ( i use zone). This year's version takes a step down a little bit from last year, not much new, some refinement, but it is a lot more noob friendly, and fielding is glitchy as f. It's also impossible to strike someone out this year, me being a veteran, playing competitively is not as challenging, you can hit any ball into play this year it seems.. this being a baseball sim; it's not realistic.
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PlayStation 4
Looks good plays bad. Random results in pitching and hitting. Slow players, and no online franchise.
Diamond Dynasty is loot box hell.
RTTS went to archetypes instead of letting players play the way they wan't.
Garbage animation fielders seem like they really want to show how cool they look pushing off the wall. Even when a normal human being trotting to a fly ball could stop, they need to go the extra 8 feet and push off the wall.
It's the only baseball game, so enjoy the **** if you need some baseball.
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PlayStation 4
A once proud series strikes out with a runner on third.
Being the only actual MLB game (No, RBI Baseball doesn't count) it should be fairly easy for San Diego Studios (SDS) to put out the best baseball game each year. For the first time in the series, it feels like SDS phoned it in.
The game looks and feels really well done. The player models and uniforms are exceptional and the slight improvements to graphics prove you don't need an overhaul to make a noticeable difference in how the game looks and feels.
All the right modes make their way back, except season mode. Season mode was a nice touch, but SDS decided to pull it along with the online Franchise. While alone this wouldn't be enough to worry, but along with the other issues in The Show 18, it only seems like laziness.
Here's the real issues: The "improvements" made to any mode other than Diamond Dynasty are broken, inefficient, or don't make a difference.
RTTS, the series' flagship mode, is repetitive. Progression is broken and flawed. Rather than allow players to make their player a 99 overall in every attribute, SDS has introduced player archetypes with attribute caps that vary amongst the archetypes. For instance, a "Plain Filthy" pitcher can put some serious movement on their pitches that, one would think, would lead to more strikeouts, yet because of the archetype's low K/9 cap (the ability to generate swings and misses) it doesn't matter. As an example of a "Plain Filthy" pitcher, Greg Maddux is used. While Maddux wasn't a 200K/Year guy, he still amassed 3,371 strikeouts in his career. The game's limits on its player archetypes significantly hampers players.
Franchise mode is nearly broken. The "phases" improvement is useless. Rather than going to the calendar and simming to the draft, you click a button and sim to the draft. It doesn't make things quicker. In fact, it makes it longer to do the same task in previous games. This is because a bug which was eliminated years ago makes its return. The CPU will always attempt to "fix" your roster, even if roster management is set to manual. That's right, we are back to the bug from the early mid 2000's. The CPU will sign, re-sign, call-up and demote players as it sees fit. This means, during free agency, players are forced to move a day at a time to make sure the CPU doesn't sign players. If the CPU does manage to sneak a signing, players are forced to choose between keeping a (more than likely) below average player or cutting the player and keeping the dead weight in salary.
If the CPU signs too many players, it can put the player in an impossible spot budget wise. This alone nearly breaks franchise mode. Roster management is supposed to be the highlight of the mode, but SDS utterly fails. Again, it seems like laziness that led to this point.
And, for the umpteenth time in a row, there is no jersey number selection screen. Now, this isn't a major issue, but when taken in context of the rest of the issues in '18, it is more than annoying. It's nothing more than laziness on SDS's part.
Now let's talk in-game issues. When playing a game in "Hybrid" mode, cut scenes that show real-life clips of a city cause the game to loop and forces the player to close the application. It took less than 10 games for this to happen multiple times, showing SDS didn't even attempt to test their game.
At times, fielders refuse to bend over to field ground balls right next to them. Again, this is an issue from years ago that was removed but has once more made its way into the franchise.
If this installment is any indication of how SDS plans to treat the series moving forward, there needs to be a real discussion of what's next in sports gaming. There is little attention to detail as numerous bugs and mistakes make their way back into the franchise. The Show 18 is a lazy, half-done game and clearly shows SDS is moving towards the Madden/FIFA/NHL strategy of only putting effort into its pay to win mode. If this is going to be SDS's effort moving forward, a change in leadership is needed.
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PlayStation 4
Summary Your team. Your rivals. Your buddies. Your hometown. No matter why you play or why you love baseball, MLB The Show 18 is for a fan like you. The Show 18 delivers baseball just the way you want it, from fielding a roster of past Legends and current Superstars in Diamond Dynasty1,2, to crushing homers with friends in Retro Mode games to me...
Rated E
for Everyone
Platforms:
- PlayStation 4
Initial Release Date: Mar 27, 2018
Developer:
- Sony Interactive Entertainment
Publisher: Sony Interactive Entertainment
Genres:
