There’s a famous quote about the game of baseball. “The baseball mania has run its course. It has no future as a professional endeavor.”-Cincinnati Gazette, 1879.



That was 136 years ago! It’s safe to say this prediction did not come to fruition. The first game I loved was baseball. It’s safe to say most people have played catch with a family member or friend. In fact, that simple form of baseball is the way millions of people were introduced to this great game. My first dream was to play professional baseball. I never played baseball professionally, but thanks to this video game my dream feels real.

MLB ’07: The Show gave everyone a chance to become a pro ball player. When you play baseball in real life, you only play as yourself. This game brought that back. I played third base as a kid in a small town in Iowa. Not far from where I lived was a couple minor league affiliated teams. The stadiums are small but the field looks so big. Back to the video game, you create yourself or how you imagine yourself. Pick your position and pick your team. This mode is known as “Road to the Show” (RTTS). Next thing you know, you’re in Spring training. You only play your position and bat when it’s your turn. You try your best to make “the show”, but like most young players, it’s not going to happen. You play for professional teams — actual minor league affiliates. This one game mode is very addicting. You work your way up to the big leagues and track your progress towards a trip to the Hall of Fame. The one glaring problem was that when the next game would come out in this annual series, you had to start over. That all changed with this year’s release. All of your RTTS data is transferred from MLB ’14 to MLB ’15. No more starting over! RTTS is the game mode for the fan with limited time. A game in RTTS can take only a few minutes to half-an-hour. The longer games are if you are a pitcher, since you throw every pitch, and catcher, since you call every pitch thrown as well as bat for yourself.

The game does have a traditional franchise mode. For those new to sports games, this mode is where you run your team from top to bottom. It’s a lot more time-consuming, but for diehard fans this mode has it all. For someone that is curious about this mode the game has a very slimmed-down rule book on how to run your team. Franchise mode also allows you to continue your franchise from MLB ’14, just like RTTS. This feature makes buying this game each year completely worth it. Case and point would be how MLB ’15 has added licensed equipment for the first time. You earn “contracts” from equipment companies that you can use to increase your teams’ budgets. That’s very important for veterans of this series when you are trying to build your team. Franchise mode also has a “daily” radio show. It’s pretty entertaining to listen to. The host mostly goes over the other franchise game scores, but he’ll talk about milestones when they happen. It brings life to the offline mode. There is an online franchise but it’s more cut-and-dry than offline. No equipment contracts, and every team is alloted the same budget to start with. To increase your budget, you need to win. Sadly, there isn’t a radio show for the online franchise.

Another mode similar to franchise mode is Diamond Dynasty. In this mode, you’ll run your team from top to bottom, but it’s a fantasy mode. MLB ’15 adds to this mode with the ability to earn “baseball player cards” and use those cards to build your team. In this mode, you can play offline against the CPU or online against other users. This mode is gaining popularity due to the fantasy aspect along with worldwide leaderboards.

The game does have mini games, like the always-fun Home Run Derby. You can hit dingers online or offline, however online has a leaderboard which adds the competitive element. There are also weekly challenges which are only online. These are highly addictive in nature due to the challenge, and the fact that if you win the challenge, you win a prize will keep players coming back. The prizes change weekly and to win you have to have the highest score at the end of the week. Good luck, since you are playing against the world.

The only downfall in the game is the broadcasting. It’s repetitive from over the years, with some new lines added each year. As a huge fan of this game, this problem is fixable. Add a second broadcast team or even a third. The cost wouldn’t be outrageous, and I’m sure some of the minor league or independent league broadcasters would love this opportunity. I would drop everything if given the opportunity to be one of the voices of this great game. This would add more depth and realism to this great game. The graphics are amazing, with real-time shadows as the game moves on. Mix that in with real life skylines like the Pittsburgh Pirates’ home PNC Park or the ivy-covered walls of Wrigley Field that aren’t green until Spring has really sprung. Even the sounds of the stadium make it feel like you are at the ballpark. The crowd reacts to strikeouts and home runs. The crowds flow with the season. If you struggle, expect to see more empty seats at home games. If you make the playoffs, expect a full house of enthusiastic fans, minus the long lines.

I give this game 9/10! For those that aren’t sure though, you can find most of the games from earlier in the series for under $5. No more excuses!