Good lord. Ok. I'm buying this game. Thought it was like Madden where year to year, it really didn't matter if you got the new year's version.
It's a lot of little things. I will post my impressions:
Gameplay - simply the best it has ever been. the new animations with pitching and especially with defense is astounding. My son and I are marveling at the amazing plays being made and how life like the game has become over the years. The jump this year has been incredible and for me the biggest leap this game has taken since MLBTS 12. Ball Physics continue to blow me away. Balls going down the line, into the corners, the way you play the ball off the walls in different parks. It feels and looks amazing. Even nubbers off the plate look and sound life like this year. All-Star again is the level I play on with adjusted sliders and the game is as realistic as ever.
Presentation/Audio/Visual/Play By Play/Commentary - Let's just get this out of the way....Sounds Of The Show is by far the single greatest presentation feature ever for any sports game. I never used it on the PS3. I dove head first into the deep end this season and I am simply blown away. My immersion level has been taken to heights on a sports game I never knew existed. You can be as basic or deep as you want (I am going as deep as I can of course). The time investment is so worth the prize. Your level of immersion will be through the roof and your franchise will feel as close to the real thing as you can get on a console baseball game...hell on any sports game. Do yourself a favor and head over to the SOTS sub forum, download the starter packs, read the thread as the community is more than willing to help you get your sounds up and running (it is very intuitive and easy to do) and immerse yourself.
Play By Play and Color Commentary are improved this season. Much better than 15 in fact. Lot's of stories, insight and dynamic moments as I am playing through a test franchise while awaiting OSFM. Matty V has more excitement and some volume in his HR calls this season. Very easy to hear that.
Audio is improved as well. Ball of the bat sounds are incredible this season. Different hits have different sounds. You can hear when you hit that sweet spot as opposed to fisting it or hitting a nubber off the plate. The sounds of the bullpens while pitchers warm up even have different reverbs and pop depending on the parks they are in. Highly noticeable. It's always the little things that keep blowing me away with this game.
Visually the game is stunning. The parks look amazing, the PBR is making a monster difference. The lighting is gorgeous and life like. Hands down the best looking Show I have ever seen.
Diamond Dynasty - Seriously.....and this is coming from a hardcore franchise player. If your not playing Diamond Dynasty you're truly missing out on some serious fun. If you're a baseball card guy....you can't let yourself miss this mode. We have a supporters league going and are already having a blast talking cards, missions, etc. Conquest is a very addictive and fun mode. If you love table top games like Risk or Axis and Allies you must play Conquest. Battle Royale is The Show's version of Madden's Draft Champions. Again a highly addictive mode and well worth the rewards you get from victory! Diamond Dynasty is a break from the normal fun I have from Franchise mode. It gives the game so much more replay value than you ever thought before.
Franchise Mode Enhancements - Loving the Player Morale system. Loving the improved scouting using the 20/80 scale. I look forward to seeing how the draft plays out and my first off-season with Player Morale. Expanded and historical stat tracking is a huge addition.
Needless to say this game will not be leaving my PS4 till at least August (Madden 17) and even then....it will be a year round title no doubt till MLBTS 17. I feel SCEA has really poured a ton into the game this year and should be applauded.
A good patch and this game will be humming along.
But for me it is easily a 9.5/10
Yeah.....it is that good.
Here is a link to my slider set/playing options on Operation Sports. Enjoy.
http://www.operationsports.com/forums/mlb-show-sliders/877017-armor-sword-marinos-mlb-show-16-timed-classic-simulation-sliders.html
JoeT,
p00p1 and
countryboy like this.