MLB The Show 24

The baseball season has begun to creep up on the other side of the Atlantic and, as usual, that means it's also time for this year's virtual version of MLB. I have long thought that this is the best sports series on the market. This year's version does not really change that opinion, but at the same time I'm starting to feel tired of the series as very little has happened in recent years.

It can be hard to tell the difference between this year's game and last year's except for the new look of menus and the like. Fortunately, there are improvements where it matters most, on the pitch. There are apparently over 400 new animations and while you'll notice at most a handful, it's always good to make something good even better. Something that will be much more noticeable are the changes to the Pinpoint pitching style. This is one of the styles you can use to throw the ball with your pitcher. As an example, the classic three-press is another choice. Press once to start a meter, press a second time to choose how hard it should be when the meter reaches the top and then try to time it with another press in a small zone to get good accuracy. Pinpoint was introduced a few years ago and can be very difficult to master. It involves moving the joystick in a specific pattern, with different types of throws having different patterns. Also, different players have different speeds of movement, so the pattern has to be made faster for some. This year, a special look has been added for left-handed pitchers. Which is basically just a mirrored pattern from what right-handed pitchers have. Still, overall, MLB The Show 24 is the game that does the real sport the most justice.

When I started to examine the different game modes of the year, there were no surprises. There were the old standard game modes, which are basically the same in every sports game. There's a career mode, a franchise/manager mode, and an Ultimate Team-like mode. I wasn't expecting much from the Road to the Show career mode as it has looked exactly the same for quite a few years now. But much to my surprise, I was immediately given a choice to play as a man or a woman (I'll come back to the inclusion of women later), with two different story descriptions. But it unfortunately turned out to be just a nice package without any fun inside. Everything is still entirely text-based with cheesy SMS messages. After the introduction, where the female story is the most interesting one (become the first woman in MLB!), it's back to the old standby, with new-look menus. Play games, upgrade the player, get some meaningless message. Repeat. At least you get to play a lot of baseball, which is always a plus.

Flipping on to Franchise mode, it's a similar story. Take over a team, lead them to success by drafting the right players, make smart trades, and maybe jump in and play the occasional game. The only really big news, however, is something I personally think is a great addition. It is possible to pre-set the grounds on which you can jump into a simulated match. For example, you can choose to never enter before the seventh inning and only in crucial situations. Think 3 - 2 lead with two outs, but the bases are full for the opponents in the eighth inning. All simulated games will now stop at these points and ask you if you want to jump in. Games that these situations do not happen in will just be simulated straight up and down. This is similar to the game's other type of Franchise mode, March to October. This is a much faster mode where basically three quarters of the season is simulated. Depending on how well you do in a game, the higher your momentum will be and the simulated games have a higher chance of being a win. Lose matches you are thrown into and your momentum will be the reverse.

Skipping over to Diamond Dynasty, the game's Ultimate Team, as usual gives the feeling that this is where all the action is in the sports games. To San Diego Studios' credit, however, this is the most rewarding mode of this form. Plenty of free players are given out and there is constant new content with challenges and other things to keep the card collection alive.

I mentioned earlier that it is now possible to play as female players in the career mode, but otherwise there is only one other woman in the game. It's a player called Toni Stone who was the first female professional baseball player. She is one of the players whose story has been told in the fantastic documentary-style game mode Storylines. Last year, the story of the Negro Leagues was included, which is an incredibly important time period for the sport and the league where blacks were forced to play because they were not allowed in the MLB at the height of its success. We now get season two of this where we get to follow four different players, including Stone. All narrated by the president of the Negro League Museum, Bob Kendrick, who is a very good narrator. There will also be more stories added throughout the year up to a total of ten. This year Derek Jeter also has his own story in Storylines where we follow him during his New York Yankees career.

The problem I have with MLB The Show 24 is nothing on the pitch, where it is fantastic. Instead, it's that it's starting to feel old. Every year I get a sense of deja vu. It's the same game as last year. I'd love to see the series get a real fresh start next year. Start with the graphics. They're still okay, but worn out. Just take a look at the recently announced Pro Baseball Spirits 2024-2025 (exclusive to Japan) and compare the player models. That's what I want from what should be the world's greatest baseball game.