PSP

MLB

As far as baseball titles go, MLB has everything that a diehard baseball fan will love, as well as the casual fair-weather fan. With officially licensed rosters (Sorry, no Barry Bonds!) teams and logos, this title brings you into the ball park and will keep you involved even in extra innings. MLB offers unprecedented visuals, intuitive gameplay, as well as online multiplayer. 989 Sports has traditionally released a solid baseball title for Sony and on the first pitch with Sony’s PSP, MLB is a long drive…way back…and you can put it on the board… Yes!

I'm sure there will be other Baseball titles, maybe even ones that take the game to the next level, but in the mean time, no Baseball fan should be without this title. It is well rounded, filled with features that you wouldn't expect in a handheld, and it is a blast to play. No handheld game has captured Baseball to this degree; it is a worthy addition to any sports fan's library. Play Ball!

After an underwhelming showing of sports titles on the PSP, 989 Sports finally managed to get a hit with MLB. And, although it’s not a grand slam, it’s certainly not a strikeout.

MLB delivers for baseball fans looking to take their game on the go. With a few tweaks to the gameplay, this franchise has the potential to be a third pillar in the world of baseball videogames. It's just too bad that the recent exclusivity trend in sports games may prevent that from happening. Regardless, baseball fans shouldn't hesitate to give this title a try.

For a launch-era title, MLB is a solid and frequently outstanding baseball game for the PSP. The features scream of a launch sports game, but the gameplay is polished like a late-gen powerhouse. Built primarily as a pick-up-and-play hardball sim, it straddles that line very well, providing realistic gameplay without being complex or cumbersome. 989 has struggled in years past to provide great games to compete with EA or Sega/2K Sports, but on the PSP, 989 is wise to use MLB as a springboard for a return to the form they had on the original PlayStation. I can only imagine how good future PSP (and for that matter, PS2/PS3) installments will be once they figure out how to put the same robust Franchise onto a UMD disc for the ultimate in baseball on the go.

If you love baseball and want to take your game on the road then MLB is the obvious (if not only) choice. Even when something eventually does come along to challenge it, 989 has set a very high bar for baseball simulation with MLB.

Overall I am very impressed with the game in handheld form and it gives some console games a run for their money. Unfortunately some of the features I enjoyed in the PS2 game have been removed but for a first try on a baseball game for the PSP, I’m really enjoying the game and highly recommend it. It’s a great ‘show off’ game for the PSP.

MLB on the PSP is a very enjoyable baseball title that will satisfy any fan of the sport. You may want to wait for EA's diamond game to release before you make your final choice, but just know that if you go with Sony's title, you won't be disappointed.

This is a delight to play and while the point has been belabored, still, to have this type of game in a handheld is a wonderful treat for gamers. MLB may stumble a bit rounding first, but it easily makes the turn at second and barrels into third with big league-style graphics and intuitive gameplay.

MLB may not be the perfect baseball game, but it is without a doubt the greatest offering we’ve ever seen on a handheld and that’s saying a lot. If you’re a fan of baseball, there’s definitely something you will appreciate about taking this one on the road with you; excellent gameplay, lots of stats and graphics that will make you appreciate your PSP even more. A few mini-games would have helped a bit since we don’t always have time to play full games, but there’s still enough here to keep anyone busy for a long time. Highly recommended.

With fun and solid gameplay, 989 Sports’ MLB does baseball justice. The game looks good visually, is easy to pick up, and makes you want to come back and play more again and again. The real drawbacks for the game are that there are few options and the online play is all but nonexistent, but at least 989 came through with a solid title. If you’re looking for a way to kick off the baseball season there’s no need to wait for MVP Baseball because MLB has stepped up to the plate and hit a homerun.

Baseball fans will be right at home with MLB 2005. SCEA and 989 Sports hit a homerun and offer a lot for the PSP.

Overall, MLB for the PSP is a good choice for baseball fans looking for a fix on the go. 989 Studios may have had to axe some graphical nuances and memory-intensive play modes (namely the mega-deep franchise mode) from the PS2 version of MLB 2006 in order to cram it onto the PSP, but everything else was brought across relatively intact.

All told, MLB is a solid portable hardball offering that should satisfy almost everyone who wants to play baseball on the go. Even though the PSP version is missing many of the features and graphical embellishments the PS2 game has, all the really important stuff was left mostly untouched.

Even with the current problems of online gameplay, there's no denying that MLB is a lot of fun to play. Rookie and veteran players alike will find a lot to love in the game. Thanks to some great features and an excellent presentation, MLB ensures that all of the excitement of baseball season is never further away than your PSP.

MLB is very close to being a revolution in portable sports gaming. The gameplay is the best I've seen in this year's baseball titles, and the graphics all but equal those of the PS2. However, a complete lack of all the features we have come to expect from a modern sports game means that apart from exhibition games, MLB just doesn't have the depth to stand on it's own. It plays a great 9 innings, but it isn't a replacement to the PS2 version of the game - just a portable version of it. I don't know if the decision to limit the game comes from marketing or technology, but I do know that if it was more feature-rich, MLB would be a solid 5/5 title that set a new standard. I'm disappointed to see it come so close and fail, but it's still far and away the best baseball you can play on a portable.

Sure, the game doesn’t have a Franchise mode, a create-a-character Career mode or some of the other features of its console version. But what it does have is an extremely solid amount of gameplay supported by two well-developed offensive and defensive control schemes and an engaging amount of baseball to appease just about any sports fan.

MLB is a respectable game on console, and now it has a home on PSP. Baseball on the go is now just as powerful as it is on your TV.

MLB on PSP does good by its PS2 brother, and that's exactly what we were looking for after being so knocked out by the comeback of the PS2 edition. It's a fast, exciting and great-looking game of baseball. On PSP, MLB does have the occasional frame rate issue, but it's not enough to make the game feel broken. It was nice to see that we're getting the beginnings of a deep portable baseball game with a good Season mode in the game, and if 989 can get the screws tightened on the online mode, that'd be exactly what fans want out of a portable sports game. The only other things missing here is a tight and quick mini-game of some sort that you can play outside of the main stuff. But it's a small gripe, and there's a lot to enjoy here.

I applaud Sony's skillful replication of their PS2 MLB title (minus the franchise stuff), but it's so accurate that it even includes some of the bugs and inconsistent pitching. I thought that the movement of pitches and the tracking of strikes around the edges of the plate were off at times. Then again, it's a fast and entertaining on-the-go title that you will mistake for a home console game.

Overall, I have not had the chance to play a final build of MVP, but I do know what both of these games offer. While I still prefer MLB?s game play, the wealth of options and visual flare that MVP is bringing makes Sony?s game a bit stale. It still plays a great game of baseball, and for most, that is all that matters.