MLB The Show 16 Released Just in Time for Spring Break

I love baseball. Really, I do. Being born and raised in and around Baltimore, I’ve been a lifelong Orioles fan for as long as I can remember. I’ve been to countless games, both at the old Memorial Stadium and their current home at Camden Yards. I have an O’s shirt for every day of the week. Hell, I’m wearing my Adam Jones shirt (pictured above) as I type. I buy a new O’s hat every year. I don’t shut up about the Orioles as soon as spring training starts.

You get the idea.

That being said, the primary selling point of the Playstation brand (to me) as of late has been MLB The Show. Last year’s offering did very little to differentiate itself from its previous iteration, but MLB 16’s new modes have me jazzed to dig right in. The problem is that I’m heavily invested in Final Fantasy XIV right now and I’m busy with school, but I just found out today that my spring break starts next week. Perfect!

After today’s 6 hour road trip to the campus for two exams (I take online classes, but I’m required to visit the campus to take exams in a controlled environment), the girlfriend convinced me to stop over at Best Buy and pick up MLB The Show 16. It came out yesterday, and while I’d normally snatch it up on launch day I decided against going out in favor of being responsible–studying for today’s exams.

I’m glad she convinced me to pick it up while we were out, because Best Buy had one copy of the steelbook MVP Edition in stock. Using my Best Buy GCU discount, it ended up being slightly less than the standard edition and comes with a fair amount of digital extras (in-game currency, card packs, avatars).

So far I’ve only managed to play two games in my Orioles season, but it plays phenomenally (as expected). The batting, pitching, fielding, and batter-versus-pitcher duels are top notch, and the presentation is pretty mind blowing. I’ve noticed that broadcast mode has a bit of stuttering during replays, and there’s been a few moments where players teleported around the screen while in the middle of a celebration animation, but that’s all stuff that can be patched in. The important stuff works just fine.

I’m definitely waiting until next week before checking out Road to the Show and Diamond Dynasty modes, since I know both will be huge time sinks. But man, I can’t wait.