IGN has the first video of MLB 07 The Show for PS3.  Go check
it out HERE.

I know this site, 1up, Gamespot, Time Magazine, IGN, and EGM have been quick to voice how "unimpressed" we are with the PS3 launch.  Well, if this MLB 07 The Show PS3 video is any indication of the "Next Gen Graphics Horsepower" of the PS3...

 ...um....

 It will be a LONG TIME before many people jump to PS3 just for a more realistic baseball game than MLB 2K7 360.  I can't help but think that the PS3 player models and animation look so much like a slightly more detailed version of The Show on PS2.  The animation, uniforms, player models all look very "late current gen".  This looks like a cleaned up port direct from PS2 with more polygons. Its nowhere near the visual quality of MLB 2K7 on either next gen system.

Now- don't get me wrong, visuals aren't everything.  I'm very critical of the veritable Home Run Derby that we call MLB 2K7 gameplay, but you'd think that Sony- having the most time with their own development kits, PS3 proprietary hardware, and all of their first party dev tools...

 ...could make a baseball game for PS3 that looks WAY better than what is shown in that video.  In the sake of fairness, I figured "hey, that streaming video from IGN might not do it justice".  So, I logged onto IGN with my insider account and downloaded the hi-def version.

Well...same thing.  These guys look like last gen mannequins and the stadiums, uniforms, shading and animation seems to be missing so much of the detail of the 2K baseball game.  Again, "The Show" has been a great PLAYING baseball game for 2 years now, but if this is the graphic treatment that a first-party Sony PS3 title gets on their $600 graphics workhorse machine...

..then Sony might need sent down to the minors.

 Quietcool72

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Last year's MLB 2K6 360 was a complete disaster.  There's no two ways about it.  Just getting the game to run was a chore, and what was there was a buggy mess.  Heck, you know it was bad when even 2K and Kush Games admitted this fact before the release of MLB 2K7.

So- that in mind, perhaps the bar was set at lets get the game to work correctly in 2K7.

Presentation/Graphics.
MLB 2K7 is a very mixed experience.  As is common with 2K Sports games, the graphics and presentation are top-notch. The players uniforms shine like polyester in the sun when they should, and the grass, textures, player faces, stadiums, etc- are all darn-near photo-real.  You won't find any better baseball graphics.  Unfortunately for this years' installment, that comes at a price.  The catching and "chain" animations of players diving to make catches or hitting into a wall tend to be overly drawn-out.  Often your outfielders will get caught in a very slow/lazy animation chain that should not be as involved or slow...while opposing baserunners round bases while your player struggles to get up from a big dive with no "hurry up" whatsoever.  Needless to say, this can cause problems.  Its a bit of a shame that with these spot-on graphics that many of the animation chains need re-tooled with an emphasis on speed and player urgency.  All other facets of the graphical presentation, including highlights, replays, and the new "view from the grass" replays are all unequaled in the sports video game industry.

Its just those sometimes-too-slow outfield animations.  They can be killers.

Sound.
In typical 2K Sports tradition, the audio and commentary are top notch.  Sometimes the fans will surprise you with comments directed at players.  Yankee Stadium is NOTORIOUS for this, and well that it should be.  This game really shines if you have a surround-sound system.  Jon Miller and Joe Morgan do a bang-up job with the commentary. I've read other reviews where the game has been criticized for over-used commentary tracks, but I personally don't notice it.  No complaints from me on the sound.  

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