I consider myself a fair baseball fan. I'm a big fan of the Boston Red Sox, and I live in New York. The New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox have the biggest rivalry in probably all of US sports history, and I'm going against the tide of my state. However, even if you are a Red Sox fan, you can't turn down a Yankee game, as it's one of the most exhilarating experiences. You go to a huge stadium in the most famous city in the world and you see the players you've seen on TV; the feeling of seeing everyone in the park yelling and screaming is hard to describe. MLB '08: The Show doesn't portray this perfectly, but it does a pretty damn good job.

After an above average showing with MLB '07 last year, SCE San Diego upped their game for the release of MLB '08: The Show on the PlayStation Portable. This time around they decided to take the positives from both the PS2 and PS3 versions of the game and throw them into one small portable format. The big question however is did they strikeout while doing so or did they finally hit that round tripper? Even though the game is an upgrade from last year's installment, we'll rest pat with calling it a triple at best.

MLB '08 on the PSP does a lot of things right and finally removes a lot of the issues that plagued the title last year. The problem with this is the fact that most of the time when you improve upon one issue, another seems to spring up, causing a glaring problem. This seems to be a serious problem with The Show and actually detracts from the one mode that makes it so great to begin with - Road to the Show.

Everyone who played last year's version can attest to the reoccurring frame rate issues that cropped up during gameplay. This was a disappointing aspect that prevented us enjoying the full experience of Road to the Show. SCE San Diego cleaned this problem up but unfortunately introduced a new issue that detracts from the experience all the same; the camera angles, though customizable, do everything they can to take away from the full playing experience. The camera is often far too tight and zoomed in to make a great play on the ball. You'll often find yourself trying to make a break on a quick grounder, only to watch it trickle between you and one of your teammates because of the late jump. This all depends on which position you choose to play though, as each does seem to have its issues in regards to the camera control or lack thereof. Outside of this small snag, Road to the Show plays very well in comparison to its predecessor, and with a handful of new fielding animations it definitely adds to the authenticity that the title has to offer. You won't experience so many of the same plays over and over like you did last year, as they will begin to feel varied and offer up a much more enjoyable baseball experience.

Much like the console releases for The Show, the PSP version has been given a complete overhaul for the Career goals as well. No longer are you expected to always swing for the fences or to strike out an entire side of hitters. Instead, you now receive a balance of goals that are much more attainable and a lot more realistic. This was one of the bigger complaints from last year's title and I'm glad it was addressed. One of the other new implementations for the mode is the ability to make defensive adjustments on the field in order to get to balls that you may have otherwise been unable to reach. This gives you an advantage against hitters who are known to pull the ball or hit away more so than anything else.

If you're looking to get engaged within the other modes of play then don't expect anything new. Just like last year's release, you can expect to see the same season modes, King of the Hill mode, and Home Run Derby. Though they add a bit more to the replay value of the title, they're nothing new and nothing has been implemented within them that merits discussion; each mode does exactly what you'd expect it to do and you can't ask much more than that. When it comes to online play, you're going to see a lot of what you saw last year - immersing online leagues, decent lag-free experiences, and an overall enjoyable feel. You still have online message boards, downloadable sliders, and a ticker update much like the console versions and each works flawlessly. SCE San Diego really knew what they were doing with the online support of this title and I wish that other online sports games could offer the same thing.

As for the gameplay elements added last year such as the Adaptive Pitch Intelligence and Pitch Command System, there seems to be a bit more focus on the chess match between pitcher and hitter. This is never more evident than with the new pitcher/batter analysis tools that are found throughout all versions of this release. This addition gives you the ability to learn the tendencies, strengths, and weaknesses of the batter or pitcher you're facing. If the batter is known to chase a slider to the outside portion of the strike zone then the tools will let you know, while if a pitcher is usually found throwing a high fastball with a 0-2 count then you have this piece of information to use to your advantage.

The addition of this key component has definitely added an entirely new element to the gameplay portion and has allowed the battle of wits between the two positions to increase more so than ever before. Batters are also given a Progressive Batting Performance system to look into during season play and in Road to the Show mode. This system indicates how your hitter has been performing as of late; depending on whether or not you're in a slump, the indicator is blue for cold and red for hot.

Much like in the console versions of the game, you'll notice the new indicator when you can steal homeruns or foul balls that are headed into the stands. The three red rings appear and slowly count down as the ball approaches. This helps you time the jump and helps you perform a potentially game changing play. It's not a guarantee to work every time though, as the timing must be near perfect in order to execute how you'd like it to. Another fielding upgrade also revolves around the pitcher. Unlike last year where the pitcher allowed a lot of balls to roll by for easy singles, the reaction time has been greatly improved. Your pitcher now makes plays on the balls hit directly back to him, allowing for more putouts from the mound, much like the real-life game itself.

One of the fielding problems that does seem to rise to the surface is the lack of a throwing strength indicator. Unlike the console versions that give you a meter to indicate throwing strength, the PSP version of the game just throws the ball. This doesn't allow you to give the appropriate amount of power behind each throw and sometimes results in overthrows or wild throws in general, which can be very frustrating, as you can imagine.

The graphics and look of the title are as good as you're going to find and come to expect from a handheld. Though they are surprisingly decent, there seems to be a lot of visual tearing throughout gameplay and cut scenes that detracts from the authentic feel of the game, as well as some aliasing issues as well; the developers could have given the front end a bit more tuning in order to look like a more finished version of the game. Obviously we can't expect it to look as great as it does on the PlayStation 3; however, we can expect it to at least run smoothly and not have to experience all of the tearing throughout.

With the My MLB Music feature, you can pretty much customize the menu music to anything you'd like, as it syncs up with your memory stick. This is a nice feature to have with any game and definitely gives you reason to leave the sound on. As for the announcers, they're a big upgrade from last year's title; the majority of their calls are spot on, adding to the game's ability to draw you into the experience.

MLB '08: The Show is everything you'd expect from a handheld baseball title. It doesn't offer anything really groundbreaking or new, but it does offer the game of baseball you grew up enjoying and finding a love for. You won't have to deal with a steroid scandal or with players outing one another - instead you can just enjoy an authentic and engaging game of baseball, wherever you might find yourself.

Reviewed by James Fanciullo for AceGamez (All Rights Reserved).