Time For Baseball!

Hardcore baseball fans, dust off that PlayStation 2 because the champ is back.

Just in time for spring training, Sony's MLB 07: The Show builds on the success of its predecessor, "MLB 06: The Show."

Making its way to center stage once again in "MLB 07: The Show" is the expansive and multifaceted Career Mode.

For those unfamiliar with Career Mode, you take control of one of baseball's raising stars from spring training to the championships.

But this year, Career Mode takes a fork in the road.

You can play from two different modes within the career mode. In the traditional mode, you take a rookie through the development of his career on a team where you play regular games with your rookie in the mix. The other option is the "road to the show" where you take that player and you can only use him throughout the game. It's good because it creates a more focused center of play.

As a result, actual games are shorter due to a fast-forward feature implemented by the developers. Essentially, you only play on defensive plays that involve your created rookie. It kind of takes away a bit from the everyday fielding by other positions but keeps the focus on your player.

Sony has also given baseball novices another tool, which is called Adaptive Pitch Intelligence. Basically, the computer will help guide you as to which pitches are the best for this particular batter at that instant. Before you select a pitch, a selected pitch will be highlighted. It's as if the catcher is calling the pitch for you.

Another addition to "MLB 07: The Show" is a feature called the Umpire Personalities. The aim of this feature is to drive home the fact that every umpire calls a game differently. Each umpire will have unique tendencies and animations. Basically, each umpire will have a different definition of what the strike zone should be. This provides for very tricky play, especially when you're on the mound.

Graphically, the PS2 version doesn't change much from last years "MLB 06." Controls are fairly easy to learn, even for non-baseball fans. Also, MLB.com Headline News now features a Live MLB Ticker that will show the live status of all MLB games going on around the league.

All of the bells and whistles that made "MLB 06: The Show" a smash hit are back. King of the Diamond, Franchise Mode, Home Run Derby, and Rivalry Mode are all available, as well as playing a simple exhibition game against a buddy.

As with most sports games, the athlete on the cover is a big deal. If the publisher selects a player who turns out to be terrible, he will never hear the end of it. The cover honor for this baseball simulation go to an the New York Mets' young gun David Wright.

"MLB 07: The Show" can also be found for the PSP with most of the cool stuff included, such as Adaptive Pitch Intelligence.

Overall, "MLB 07: The Show" is a tight package and has much to offer. Online play is great with all new options.

We here at GameCore headquarters can't wait for the PlayStation 3 version, which sadly isn't available now, but should be available by opening day. For now, the PS2 version should suffice. The career mode expansion alone should be more than enough for gamers to pick this one up.

MLB 07: The Show is rated "E" for Everyone (content suitable for ages 6 or older) and is available exclusively on the PlayStation 3, PlayStation 2 and PSP game consoles.