"The one constant through all the years, Ray, has been baseball. America has rolled by like an army of steamrollers. It has been erased like a blackboard, rebuilt and erased again. But baseball has marked the time. This field, this game: it's a part of our past, Ray. It reminds of us of all that once was good and it could be again."
James Earl Jones as Terrence Mann in Field of Dreams
MLB The Show '17 set's the benchmark for baseball games to come. Between the polished graphics, superior controls and the multitude of different game play options there has never been a baseball game released to even provide a comparison. If you are a baseball fan like myself this is the game for you. The possibilities are endless.
Let's cover some of the highlights. To start I can't emphasize that sometimes the graphics make you feel like you are playing a real life game. The controls are very straight forward and the in-game tutorials prepare you fully to use offense and defense. Hitting is definitely more realistically hard. Playing the computer is a breeze but if you play online against real life opponents and are not into concentrating this game is not for you. Defense definitely has the advantage as pitching is much easier online and offline. From my experience the hardest part about hitting is learning to be patient and wait to take bad pitches or not swing too early. For pitching the hardest part is basically placement and making sure you release the ball at the optimum time.
I am only going to cover some of the newer features as most people are probably familiar with some previous version of this game. Retro mode, this provides a blast to the past feel of the game we used to play around the turn of the century 2K. Great for nostalgia lovers. Diamond Dynasty, having small children and being familiar with Pokemon this provides a perfect detour to continue my deck building skills. Build your collection of cards and start your own team to compete against other players online. Kind of like smashing fantasy baseball and Magic the Gathering together. Road to the Show, start your own character and take him through a personalized career journey to the Hall of Fame. Last but not least Franchise mode, take control of a team from a managerial overhead view perspective. You also get to go hands-on in critically significant situations.
So if you like baseball stop waiting and get MLB The Show '17. I love it and you will too.