The latest entry in the annual MLB: The Show (PS4/PS3/Vita) franchise arrived just in time for the start of the season and fans of the game and the sport had plenty of reason to be excited.
MLB 15: The Show offers new features like improved graphics, licensed equipment, enhanced player personality, additions to Franchise mode, a revamped Diamond Dynasty mode, and the ability to continue saves that were started in last year's MLB 14.
MORE: Team Rankings in MLB 15: The Show
The result is a game that is even better in areas which it already had been recognized for excellence, but aspects that were troubled or insufficient didn't quite get the attention they require. Those interested in MLB 15: The Show can get a complete understanding of what to expect — making it one of the easiest in the genre for someone to judge whether it will make for a good purchase or not — and that in itself can be appreciated.
HITS
Gameplay
The biggest draw of The Show has always been its realstic gameplay experience. There's a reliability to the series that few other sports games even can even argue they approach.
That has only been enhanced by the changes made with MLB 15. There isn't much that has been dramatically altered but some that are notable include: new ball pursuit logic for outfielders, which adds a more dynamic feel, framerate issues that plagued certain situations in previous iterations have been cleaned up, and manager challenges have been introduced for close calls at first base.
The biggest new gameplay feature for the series though is "Directional Hitting". The approach at the plate with Directional is to influence where the ball is hit. Holding inside will mean trying to pull the ball, while pushing outside is an attempt to take it the other way. Holding up is done with the intent of lifting the ball and down trying to keep it on the ground. Timing is still critical with Directional, that is what has proven most difficult to get down this year, but this method of hitting can be useful for those who have a plan for each at bat. Previous options for hitting remain in the game for anyone who prefers them. To its credit developer Sony San Diego tends to leave in past features as options even when new ones are introduced.
There is a level of sloppiness present in some of the new gameplay tweaks that have been made, and a greater number of bugs than usual, but gameplay remains the primary reason to pick up The Show and few will be disappointed by that aspect of the product.
Depth of Modes and Content
Outside of the NBA 2K series, The Show has arguably the most content of any sports game available. There's the traditional Franchise, the Road to the Show career, the Ultimate Team clone Diamond Dynasty, Community Challenges (both built by users and with weekly studio-generated events), Home Run Derby and of course Online Play. Anyone could dive into just one of those and get their money's worth out of the game.
A new incentive program has been introduced this year called Universal Rewards. The design is smart in that it actually promotes playing the game with card bonuses (players, equipment, rituals) being awarded for completing them in any of the modes. Those cards can then be used within the main modes. Equipment and Rituals are used in Road to the Show and Diamond Dynasty, players are added to Diamond Dynasty squads, and "Sponsorships" play a role in Franchise.
Diamond Dynasty gets the bulk of the changes for this year. The card-collecting, team-building mode is in much better shape now. It's more inviting to beginners and is now hitting on what has made similar modes so popular in other sports games. The main drawbacks are that Diamond Dynasty is server-based so slowdown in menus and server errors have been causing many people problems in the early days of release, and the actual packs that are purchased with in-game currency don't offer up the value expected from them.
Legends also make their way into the series for the first time. 30 legends, each representing one franchise, are available to acquire for Diamond Dynasty mode or use within Franchise mode. Though the pool of legends is somewhat lacking they fit well in the game and there's good reason to pursue them.
MORE: Most anticipated features of MLB 15: The Show
Visuals
The Show has consistently been among the best looking sports games over the last decade. What it lacks in areas like player models it makes up for in lighting and other technical achievements. That is the case in MLB 15 which will look similar but the level of detail found is extraordinary.
The lighting, with dynamic sun and shadows and much needed improvements to nighttime as well, is especially notable. You can even choose a particular month in exhibition games as the lighting and shadows change month-to-month. That carries over the Franchise, Road to the Show, and Season modes as well.
Other improvements spotted include accurate grass patterns and colors for each stadium. Most people may not recognize that but hardcore fans will appreciate them nonetheless. The crowds are also impressive with a huge number of unique models and a drastic reduction in the repeat of actions, most irritating the way some would walk up and down stairs or make the same motions constantly throughout the game. Atmosphere for postseason games also benefit with the return of the towel-waving crowd and amped up audio.
Licensed Equipment is another big addition to the game that will matter to some but understandably will not to others. Gear from Nike, Under Armour, Louisville Slugger, Franklin, Rawlings, Wilson, Mizuno, Sam Bat, and Marucci are all included.
Year-to-Year Saves
Those who played MLB 14: The Show have an additional incentive to buy MLB 15 due to the ability to migrate saves in Road to the Show, Franchise, and Season from last year's game to the new edition. It's the first time such a feature has been offered in a sports game.
The procedure works flawlessly and even carries over personalized settings. Going PS4 to PS4 it utlilizes the saves on the hard drive. Going PS3 or Vita to PS4 involves the Cloud Saves feature.
Considering how much time gets invested into those modes each year having the ability to avoid starting over from scratch makes buying the newest release far more appealing.
Loading Times
The Show has been plagued by having by far the worst loading times in all of sports gaming. Last year with the transition to PS4 they worsened considerably.
With MLB 15 the loading times have improved dramatically bringing the game in line with others in the genre. Booting to the main menu takes 27 fewer seconds, each game loads up 40 seconds faster, and the wait on features like the Community Challenges is now cut by over half.
Faster load times benefit everyone that plays the game no matter the manner in which they do so. Those seconds saved really add up over the weeks and months. In addition the PS4 just added the Suspend/Resume feature which means the game can be left in "Rest Mode" and started back up almost immediately.
MISSES
Staleness of Modes
While The Show gets credit for the depth and variety of content the game provides, the primary modes are showing their age. Only minor changes have been made over the years and reboots may be in order especially when considering the Road to the Show career mode.
The only change for RTTS this year is the addition of equipment and rituals. Otherwise it is practically identical. While other games have innovated with career modes this series has been stuck in what was a popular design model from a decade ago.
Franchise fared a little better in MLB 15. New features include the introduction of "Sponsorships" which help to raise the team's budget. General Managers can now have contracts with goals they have to meet to stay employed. Legends can be added to the free agency pool or added to Fantasy Drafts. There's also a Radio Show while that plays while in the menus and provides updates on scores and league news (sim through the day to get it to start). It's a smart concept that isn't fully realized here as it debuts but seems to have potential for the future.
Hopefully the Year-to-Year Saves feature won't halt advancement from being applied to the modes going forward. It's just not going to be possible to have Road to the Show evolve into a story mode like found in NBA 2K's MyCareer. However it would be acceptable to have new innovative modes introduced while the legacy modes stick around.
Weaknesses Linger
The Show has struggled mightily with Online Play since the series' inception and has been in need of a commentary refresh or reboot for several years now. Some improvement has actually been found online but the commentary sadly remains the same.
Online games remain unreliable. Crashes to the dashboard, disconnects, and the two opponents seeing wildly different things happen on screen are issues to be addressed. This is the case in Play Now/Ranked games as well as Diamond Dynasty games. However when the games work to completion they are playing out better than ever before.
MORE: Top-rated players by position in MLB 15: The Show
Lag has not been a factor — it feels almost like playing offline. The responsiveness means people are having much more success at the plate. As opposed to past years where even the best players were lucky to hit .220 and strikeout only 15 times a game, now the leaderboards are showing those people hitting .300 and striking out maybe 4 times a game. That's a huge difference. The games are finally playable! As long as they stay connected through the lengthy period of time it takes to complete them of course.
Online Franchise is different concern. Introduced in MLB 14 the feature was broken then and may very well be categorized as broken now. There has been trouble even getting them started and inconsistency in recording results of games means it's a big risk to take investing any time into it all. There are also some features missing from normal offline Franchise in Online Franchise.
For someone playing the series for the first time the commentary will sound pretty good. However those who do so year after year are sick and tired of hearing the same things and not having the emotion from the announcers to match the big moments. It's well past time for SCEA to make a change in this area.
Lacking Highest Level of Authenticity and Personality
Most years The Show is lauded for its level of authenticity. This year some of it has to be brought into question. The reason why flaws tend to stand out is because the series has taken such inititive in getting the small details right, that when they're not they are unavoidable.
As a Mariners fan, several were noted within minutes, or known even prior to release. The new teriffic Sunday uniforms are not included. Fernando Rodney's hat isn't tilted and he doesn't do the arrow celebration following a save. The King's Court, probably the most unique crowd ritual focused on a single player in the league, has not been represented in the game for Felix Hernandez starts. Fans of every team in the league will probably be able to spot things of this nature missing. That's the next level of authenticity that The Show needs to achieve.
Retractable roofs do not close in The Show so Safeco occasionally will see rain in Franchise. There are no rainouts or delays in any modes however. Wrigley Field and Progressive Field are missing renovation details. In the case of Wrigley, the new jumbotron is absent but the park actually looks complete unlike real life.
A lack of player personality and emotion is also somewhat disappointing considering that was a marketing point for the game. There are some instances where you see it but the expectation was for more than what has been given. Witnessing some of the same cut scenes play out (the team walking off the field together after every game) has gotten old. Players need to stand out more from each other and not just have the same celebrations or reactions to events as they unfold.
One other questionable addition as far as authenticity goes are ratings boosts tied to equipment and rituals. These can be applied to players in Road to the Show and Diamond Dynasty. Whether it's the authetic equipment, four leaf clovers or chewing gum, giving them "powers" is somewhat at odds with the realistic nature of the game.
MLB 15: The Show will appeal to:
•Baseball purists who are especially passionate about the sport.
•Those who have been happy with purchases of The Show in the past.
•Consumers looking for excellence in gameplay and graphics.
•Anyone seeking long-term value out of a full priced sports game.
MLB 15: The Show will not appeal to:
•Those with little interest in baseball or understanding of the sport.
•Casual players that get easily frustrated or that don't have a lot of time to invest in learning the game.
•Anyone coming from past editions expecting new and innovative features.
Rating: 
Bryan Wiedey posts sports gaming news and analysis daily at Pastapadre.com, is a regular participant in the Press Row Podcast and Press Row Hangout shows, and can be reached on Twitter @Pastapadre.