Ok let me start off with saying I haven't got online with this game yet and I have around 15 hours played with friends.

I have been of the mind that baseball games just don't work. The Show has shown me what a baseball game needs to be. It needs to have all the extras. It needs to show off the park and the ppl in it. It needs to set the scene because that’s what baseball is. It’s a pitch by pitch scene. If you have a guy on 2nd and 3rd with 2 outs, you’re going to try and make the guy pop out unless this guy is a slugger and then you will feed him low and inside stuff to make him hit a grounder to that side of the field. You get my point.

I haven’t read much about this game and it’s one of the first times I went out on a limb and bought something on metric numbers. Last I seen it was 8.8.

Anyway let’s get down to the extras that make this game great.

The Umps all have their own style. They call timeout and they make calls in there own fashion. I tested one ump and he said timeout and play ball 8 different ways. I found that to be engrossing.

I don’t know the numbers but I'm willing to bet they have over a 1000 different batting stances and they seem to have gone all out with the little things. I seen Pauly K from the White Sox hit my inside fast ball and it looked like it did in real life. Every player I have seen have there own stance and style. If it’s not Nomars pre-swing antics, it's Big Pappi's post homerun style. I was using Carlos Zambrono and when he made the big K he did what he does in real life. He pumped his fist and it was exact to real life form. You get the point. The little things matter in a game like baseball.

With just 15 hours I can’t talk on the whole game but let me just say there is no franchise mode anywhere on any sports game that matches this game in terms of depth. I spent more then a few hours just getting my franchise on track with all its spending and such. This is where the custom sound track is awesome. Nothing like working the numbers to your fav song. I would have liked to hear my music over the PA but I guess you won’t hear much LOG at a MLB game anyway. It doesn’t take away from the gameplay so it doesn’t matter.

Let me share with you about the gameplay.

The controls are tight. You will need to learn your pitches b4 you think you can paint the corners. Turning double plays never looked so nice. Turning on that inside fastball that your friend thinks he is sneaking by you is a great feeling. Guessing the pitch and the location really adds to the feeling of being part of the game. Example: My buddy was feeding me sliders outside the zone so I started guessing slider outside. If I guessed right I wouldn’t swing. B4 he knew it I was guessing his counter and crushing his dreams of beating me. hahahahah sukr

But 4real this game is a must buy for anyone looking 4ward to the upcoming baseball season. I would advise to wait till you get rumble because it’s a great way to feel the strike zone but if you have a soft touch on the sticks you will have no problem painting the corners.

This is my first review ever so I’m sure I’m missing more then a few things the pros would say in their reviews. Just know I wasn’t a big baseball fan when it came to video games but this game has changed my mind in a big way. If you’re old enough to remember that Sega Hockey game, it’s in the movie Swingers, I feel this game is kinda like that. It just makes baseball fun again.