MLB 16: The Show Reviews
Simply put, MLB The Show 16 is the best baseball game available on any current-gen console. It looks, plays, and feels amazing, offering many ways to play the great American pastime. Franchise and Road to the Show modes have made incremental but impressive improvements, while Diamond Dynasty offers entirely new ways to play. Not every mode works, but it's encouraging to see such a radical new mix of gameplay.
PS4's biggest sports exclusive delivers a moonshot home run, thanks to perfectly balanced fundamentals, astonishingly lifelike presentation, and little details that few rivals – past or present – have come close to getting right.
The long-running series needed new experiences, and Sony delivered two that will make you spend more time in Diamond Dynasty
MLB 16's appeal lies mainly in tried-and-true features
Another year of subtle improvements and gameplay additions make MLB The Show 16 a must-buy for baseball fans.
For better or worse, MLB The Show 16 focuses heavily on Diamond Dynasty this year. The on-field action is strong as ever, and the bullet time-like Showtime is interesting, but the bulk of the improvements are in Diamond Dynasty-centric additions like Captains and Battle Royale. If you're a curious newcomer who likes baseball, you will find an extremely strong baseball sim; but if you're a returning player, your mileage will probably vary depending on how willing you are to indulge in The Show's card-collecting mode.
Whereas NBA 2K16 found a way to take a step back last year with additions that didn't feel wholly meaningful, MLB The Show 16 is a shining example of exactly how to make a great game even better.
Yes, MLB: The Show 16 is more of the same in a lot of ways. However, new features like ShowTime and modes like Conquest give this entry enough new toys to feel like a meaningful improvement over last year's entry. If you're a fan of the series, this year's version is worth checking out unless you're suffering from the most severe of digital baseball boredom.
The Show looks good, plays great and is deep enough to overshadow moderately unbalanced visuals and a slight void of personality. If you've always loved the series, the fire will still burn despite the minor infractions.
Once you deduce how to use the multifarious forms of interactivity, The Show is wonderfully calming when the rhythm of pitching becomes zen-like. As the controller beats like a frantic heart when the bases are loaded, the physiological feeling of vibration sends you inside yourself.
Big on feature, major in community activity, and strong in replay ability, this year's Show certainly has done well. For Sony, like EA's Madden series, there are few to no challengers to the genre so success lies within their own hands. So the question is, if it ain't broke, will they still try to fix it, or if it is broke, do they still care to fix it?
[T]he baseball itself is as good as ever, and one of the better modes, Road to the Show, is far less clunky this time around.
It almost goes without saying, but MLB The Show 16 knocks it out of the park yet again.
Not only did I get to bat and run bases (my favourite part of baseball), I also got to do some position-specific fielding – sometimes calling on a neat feature called Showtime that let me pull off plays worthy of a highlight reel – and make quick tactical decisions based on the runners and number of outs. I felt like I was playing second base, and the strategy demanded of that position – which I'd learned decades ago playing ball as a kid – came rushing back to me.
While last year's game may have been really one of the first outings for the series that felt like little more than a roster update, the series has truly returned to form once again this year with MLB The Show 16.
MLB: The Show 16 is one of the best baseball games I have ever played.
San Diego Studio continues to show love for baseball with MLB 16 The Show, taking its historic limelight and bringing to it a multitude of new options, features, and enhancements. Every annual release should be better than the last year, but MLB 16 The Show expands on all fronts with dividends and adds even more reasons to crack the bat.
Sony's undisputed king of virtual baseball games suffered a slight set-back last year but the franchise is back in fine form in 2016.
Another year and another good outing for SCE San Diego Studio. MLB The Show 16 has some great improvements for Road to the Show, but some problems still persist. Baseball lovers will definitely enjoy the game.
MLB The Show 16 could've been a disappointment, just another entry with an updated roster. Fortunately Sony San Diego brought improvements, innovations, and some (potentially) fun experiments to the table. The Show remains the only real player in the baseball simulation realm, and while unfortunate for Xbox owners, and the only choice for PS4 players, it would fare well against any competition that were out there.