PS3 Fanboy

We're very apologetic when we admit that none of us on staff at PS3 Fanboy really play sports titles. Especially when we hear such good things about MLB '08: The Show. Guilt, maybe. We're missing out, but since it's not our forte and would feel stupid for passing judgment on something we're not particularly experienced with, we decided to give The Show a metareview instead of a full review. So, what are other sites saying about this game and how it stacks up compared to last year's rendition? Take the jump to find out.

This year's edition of MLB The Show looks fantastic. Sporting a bevy of features on both PS3 and PSP, The Show looks to be this year's most comprehensive sports game. For example, both the PS3 and PSP version support custom soundtracks, as demonstrated in this new PlayStation.blog post.

The PS3 version in particular has grabbed our interest. Why? It looks absolutely stunning. You'll be able to tell us what you think tomorrow, as a demo launches on the PLAYSTATION Store -- for PS3 and PSP! The full game launches on March 4th.

MLB 08 The Show is a thing of incredible beauty. Yes, although the build we recently played was still early, we saw some truly impressive technical feats on display. This game easily has the best character models we've seen in any sports game. They capture the not only the look of each player, but the feel. We were surprised to see the players come to so much life on the screen, with unique animations for a wide variety of situations. For example, when the Braves were in the lead, 3-1, we saw their defense start taking a fancier, more relaxed stance. Their catches had a bit more flair to them, as if to emphasize "we're better than you." Ouch.

Each batter has unique mannerisms when at bat, and it's those subtleties that baseball fans are going to love. Notice how the bat is held, and how it's swung. Each player feels as different as they should. Perhaps we shouldn't be so fixated, but the clothes in the game are remarkable: they actually fall atop of the characters, fold when players move. The clothes pick up subtle amounts of dirt as the game progresses, and is location specific. If a player lands on his knee, expect to see dirt there for the rest of the game. Attention to such minute details shows the San Diego studio's commitment into making this a real "next gen" baseball game.

The crowd is also much more alive than ever before. It's all fully realized in 3D -- no more sprites here, folks. But, even better than that, you'll notice that the crowd intelligently responds to what's happening in the game. If a fly ball goes their way, you'll see a small mob fight for the ball. You'll see people throwing around a beach ball in the stands. You'll be surprised at how much the crowd will do. Yes, there are some canned animations and repeating character models -- but, we were that much more engrossed by this feature.

What's better than a celebrity endorsement by Philadelphia Phillies star first baseman, Ryan Howard? Checking him out doing some motion capture for the upcoming MLB '08: The Show might be a good start. Howard's gracing the box of the game and hearing his experience about the motion capture is pretty interesting. If he says it's a good game, then it must be true! Don't forget: you can make custom soundtracks in this game. It'll be a home-run, for sure! Did we really just say that? It would appear so.

MLB 08 is getting some all-star treatment from SCEA. Sony's first-party baseball effort is looking to outdo all competitors on the PS3, with graphics that seem to be unparalleled by most. Each year adds a few more features, subtleties, to the game -- and this year is no different. We've been playing with a near-final build for a while, and hope to give you a preview soon. Until then, enjoy this new trailer.

We hope you really like Ryan Howard, because our updated gallery of MLB 08 The Show is a virtual shrine to him. The Phillies first baseman was selected as the cover man of SCEA's upcoming baseball game. It will be his first time appearing on the cover of a video game.

"Ryan Howard's personality and work ethic exemplify what our baseball franchise is all about and we are thrilled he has chosen to represent MLB 08 THE SHOW," said Scott Steinberg, vice president, product marketing, SCEA. "Howard has worked hard to establish himself as one of the most exciting players in the game and we look forward to him continuing the tradition of MLB THE SHOW athletes having amazing years while being featured on the cover of our game."

Check out our gallery below:

Seriously, Sony's upcoming MLB 08 may have the longest list of features we've ever seen for a game, regardless of genre. The massive fact sheet released today has us scratching our heads in bewilderment, so much so that we simply had to provide you the entire list (after the break). Highlights include the ability to add your own custom soundtrack, online integration with MLB.com, and online stats tracking that will match players with similarly skilled opponents.

The game will be available on PS3, PS2 and PSP this Spring. Check out the first PS3 images in our new gallery.