The clouds may be gray, the rain plentiful and the temperature mild at best, but none of spring's less desirable features can override the excitement that comes from just one aspect of it - baseball. While many of the sports fans of America are in a state of despair during this time, as the nation's true pastime of football is in complete dormancy, those of us who live and breathe baseball are injected with a sense of urgency to devour all that carries its genes, from fantasy baseball to baseball cards to Baseball Tonight - anything to attempt to satiate the hunger.

That addiction easily transfers over to the realm of videogames. Back when anyone could make a baseball game, competition was fiercer and making sure you picked up the game most suited to your tastes was a necessary evil. Nowadays, we have but two choices when it comes to Major League Baseball - SEGA's stalwart 2K series and Sony's only remaining respectable sports series, The Show - and their differences are beginning to fade as their similarities continue to grow. So how can you know which game is for you, and if a champion could be crowned, who would take home the spoils? Well, that is where AceGamez comes in! Deciding to take a different approach to compiling reviews for both these games, instead of writing separate reviews, I've compiled my observations into one giant comparison review that reads less like a game review and more like a pull-out from Sports Weekly. I'll be comparing the heavyweights as though they were going to face each other in the World Series, going over their strengths and weaknesses in eight categories. So, without further ado…

Juuuusssstttt a bit outside

There are quite a few facets of a baseball team that can be considered make or break areas in the playoffs, but none quite have the impact of stellar pitching (ask the Red Sox or the Rockies what was the one deciding factor in the '07 World Series - Boston's vastly superior pitching). When it comes to video games, it is the exact opposite, as pitching is one of the least important areas, falling well behind offense and defense in refinement, execution and realism. Do either of these '08 offerings buck the trend?

MLB 2K8

Many different styles of pitching controls have been implemented since the invention of the digital diamond, but they all fail in comparison to what 2K Games has put forth here - Total Pitch Control. This new gameplay mechanic is the closest that videogame pitching has ever come to representing the real thing in all of its complicated, stressful, mathematical and overly satisfying glory. By executing two different motions with the right analog stick, such as a half circle followed by an up thrust, the pitcher throws the pitch, matching the motion. But don't think for a moment that it's as easy as that statement sounds, because it is nothing even close.

After picking where you'd like the pitch to go with the onscreen cursor, you pick a pitch type from your pitcher's arsenal - either based on your or the catcher's judgment - and begin the first motion. As you begin your motion, a circle begins to expand in the strike zone; once it is at its fullest, and flashing white at the edges, it is time to start the second motion. This causes the circle to decrease in size, alerting you to let go of the second motion once the circle has shrunk to a certain degree. The pitch you actually throw is based upon how accurate your motions are (which, thankfully, the game gives you a rating and a visual for what animation you actually did or didn't do right), as well as your ability to hit the accuracy and power circles.

Pitching has never, ever, ever been this relevant in a videogame. Each pitch is a battle of wits, hand to eye coordination, and sometimes just dumb luck - exactly how it is in the real world. You will never just click and throw as though you were spamming the attack option in an RPG, because every single pitch matters. If you get ahead of the count, your catcher sets up a sweet spot and calls a specific pitch - hit the target perfectly and not only will you most likely get the out, but you'll also increase your skill in the used pitch. Mess it up in any way and your skill in the pitch decreases. To make these moments even tenser is the insane about of rumble that happens if the situation is tense, such as two outs, the bases loaded and a slugger is up to bat. You might fail more often than you succeed for a while with Total Pitch Control, but you'll likely love every minute of it as much as I do.

MLB '08: The Show

Where 2K Games went out on a limb to reinvent the wheel, SCEA decided to play safe and simply tweak their existing pitching systems, the Pitch Control System and Adaptive Pitching Intelligence. In the past, a solid system only made better would have been more than enough to allow The Show to glide to a Cy Young Award. But as Johan Santana learned during the past two seasons, all the talent in the world isn't always enough to take home the gold. Despite how good the pitching is in this game, due to the changes that 2K Games has made, it can no longer be considered great.

That's not to say that what SCEA developed doesn't have aspects that are missing from or superior to 2K Games' offering though; while all of the pitching commands are button-based and status quo, everything else has a much needed depth that helps flesh out this entire aspect of the game. With the press of a button you can bring information ranging from the last twenty-five pitches thrown (and what happened with them), batter/pitcher stats and batter tendencies (prone to certain pitches, how they approach at-bats, etc.). Don't think that these systems are only yours to use and exploit - the AI has access to these on you as well and will begin to adapt itself (get it - Adaptive Pitching Intelligence?) to make sure you pay for those holes in your swing.

This wealth of information is priceless - if you are willing to utilize it. But therein lies the problem - stat nuts such as myself go crazy over features such as this, but there are plenty of fans who want the game to do the math itself and leave them to just play. This allows 2K Games' pitching to make an even bigger impact, because, aside from turning the feature off, it can't be avoided. Ideally, if the best features of both games were combined into one, we'd have the greatest pitching system ever, but alas that's just not meant to be this season. The Show has pushed button-based pitching to a point where it can't really be improved on any further, so if you aren't ready to move to analog pitching or prefer the strategic aspect of the two pitching systems here, this is the place to go.

Advantage: 2K8 (Large margin)

Swing batter, batter - sssswwwiiinnnngggg!

Don't get me wrong - no one has ever complained that their team has too much power in their lineup. Being stacked with hitters is one of those problems that every manager wishes for (you know that Terry Francona sleeps soundly every night), but it doesn't take nine sluggers to win a game - in fact, with the right players it doesn't take even one. Small bat baseball, clutch hitting and aggressive base running can be just as effective as station-to-station baseball (a.k.a. the Oakland A's ways of thinking). Because of that, the approach to hitting in a videogame isn't as important as the effects, unlike pitching, where the approach is the most important part.

MLB 2K8

To compliment the analog pitching is the return of analog hitting. Last year's 'bat stick' was a decent addition to the series that, after much practice, proved to be efficient, if nothing else. This year it returns it in a 2.0 form - but don't let that 2.0 fool you into thinking that it's new and improved. While the basic mechanics of pulling back on the right analog stick to step back and pushin forward to make contact in a timing-based maneuver, making contact isn't the problem - it's what happens after that that hurts 2K8's hitting game. The removal of the ability to alter the amount of power put into your swing proves to be a big mistake on the developers' part, as the way they have it is just not conducive enough for hit control. Sure, it works, but it leaves far more up to luck that one would like at this point, especially when set next to the vastly superior pitching setup.

MLB '08: The Show

Where 2K8 drops the ball, The Show picks it up and makes the out in the way that the Omar Vizquel handles shortstop for the Giants - in a steady, effective though generally unspectacular way. Translation - you use the buttons exclusively and it works just fine, it's just not as intuitive as analog hitting should be. The stats at hand when you are the pitcher are also at your fingertips when up to bat, allowing you to make the most of each at-bat by checking on a pitcher's repertoire, general location, and which pitches they feel best about. This depth of strategy is very much welcome, as approaching each at-bat and each pitcher is radically different instead of the usually simplistic, arcade styles of just swing and hope to make contact, then let the game handle the rest. But without that added depth, this game's bats would be mighty quiet.

Advantage: The Show (Small margin)

Flashing the Leather!

MLB 2K8

One of my biggest gripes over the years with 2K's baseball games has been the shoddy defense. It is either too slick or too sluggish, forcing the controls into the realm of annoyingly unrealistic. Double players are too hard to execute because the players don't release the ball quick enough. Outfielders are all Gold Glovers, catching everything that's not hit out of the stadium. After two consecutive seasons of unsatisfactory defense, you'd think that the majority of the wrongs would have been righted… right?

Unfortunately, all is still not right when it comes to the ground game in 2K8. Sure, the new throwing system is great, which follows pitching's lead and does away with buttons in favor of the right analog stick. You build strength for the throw based upon how long you hold the stick towards the base, all displayed via a circle gauge under the fielder. After I got the hang of how long I needed to hold the analog stick to make a strong enough throw without overthrowing, I found that the system worked pretty well and intuitively… except for when it came to preemptively charging a throw. When you want to prepare a double play or load up to throw to home from the outfield, there is a slight delay while the game cues up the throw animation, which can be just enough to give the runner the advantage.

But that gripe is nothing compared to the travesty that is being shown off as defensive AI. I have been playing baseball games extensively since the 16-bit era (Sports Talk Baseball and Ken Griffey Jr. Presents MLB for the win!) and I can't recall ever seeing a center fielder run into, and push, another outfielder who was preparing to catch a fly ball, causing the outfielder to miss the ball entirely. And I'm not talking about two fielders colliding while both trying to catch a ball that neither is closer to - no, no, no, that would make sense. What I am talking about is this: perennial Gold Glover Andruw Jones running into right field (not right-center) and pushing a fully plated and ready to make a routine play Andre Either over, causing the ball to fall to the ground and roll all the way to the wall. While I got a good laugh out of the play since it was in my favor during a multiplayer game, it was nonetheless a play I doubt the world will ever see. Just when I thought it was a fluke, playing through Season Mode as my Seattle Mariners yielded the same play twice in one game, causing me to turn off my Xbox 360 in disgust.

This is still the slickest defense that 2K Games' has trotted out onto the field in years, but there are just too many instances of blunders that should have been caught before the game hit the market to ignore or list.

MLB '08: The Show

To continue to flog a dead horse, The Show didn't make any major alterations to how it handles fielding from what was used last year and what was established as the status quo for button-based fielding. The AI is fairly solid for fielders, feeling far more realistic and precise when compared to the troubled defense in 2K8. The camera has been improved in the Road to the Show mode, making it easier to execute defensive plays, especially from the outfield where you would have had to fight with the camera just to get a read on the ball.

That being said, the game doesn't attempt anything radical, doesn't use any of the fancy stat-based items that are available to the batters and pitchers and doesn't feel unfamiliar. It is as safe as it can be, which works in their favor this year, but with 2K Games' moving throwing to the analog stick, the next The Show had better come packing a little more energy.

Advantage: The Show (Medium margin)

Not a bad seat in the house…right?

MLB 2K8

Of the two games, 2K8 has the thicker coat of gloss and sheen, as most of the game is displayed with high-resolution textures, slick animations and TV-style camera angles. Just watching the game from afar is a visual treat as players move with grace and realism, jerseys flapping in the breeze and accurately recreated stadiums hold thousands of rowdy fans. But all this seems to come at a price; the game is at times hard on the eyes because it is just too shiny and artificial. I had to stop playing during my first game because my eyes were having trouble focusing between the batter and the crowd during replay shots. Player models look great, but the faces are horrendous and hardly ever resemble the actual player's onscreen photo (many of which are horribly outdated, showing players in their 2006 team's uniforms). And finally, the game suffers from bouts of slowdown periodically, especially during camera changes. While continuing to put one foot forward in their work, it is a shame that it feels like the developers also took two steps back.

MLB '08: The Show

Where The Show played the ugly duckling last year, it has made strides this season to improve on its rather slightly upgraded over the PS2 exterior to a full next-gen effort. The stadiums look great, though the ugly low-resolution textures in some of their backgrounds stick out like sore thumbs. The player models might not have fancy jersey animations and other eye candy elements, but the fact that nearly every player holds at least some resemblance, if not more, to their player portraits. This simple feature goes a long way to pulling you into the experience, as there are very few things that a realistic baseball game can do to pull fans out of the experience than players that look nothing like their real world counterparts.

Where 2K8 attempts to bedazzle players with its glitz and glamour, The Show does more to impress with less fascinating but more realistic graphics that end up putting it on top. It may not have the TV-style presentation, the professional camera angles set up and all the other features that give off the feeling of a televised game, but it ends up making up for it by focusing on what matters before moving to the optional additions to the presentation.

Advantage: The Show (Small margin)

The sounds of the game!

If I had to pick one category where each of the games falters equally, it would be in the sound department. Both games follow the same formula of accurate sound effects, professional play-calling and 'indie' rock soundtracks, which on paper seems like a solid set of features. But there's more here than meets the ears…

MLB 2K8

2K8 returns with the same play-calling team as they have had in the past, Joe Morgan and Jon Miller, along with the return of many of the same calls from last year, or at least that's what it sounds like, as I was having déjà vu much of the time. Repeats aside, their play calling is no better or worse than it is on TV - not as bad as the FOX commentators but nowhere near as solid as the Sportscenter guys or your commentators (hopefully). Jeannie Zelasko and Steve Physioc provide enjoyable pre-game commentary that serves as a nice touch. There is still an abundance of odd, wrong or delayed play-calling, but that seems to be less Joe and Jon's fault and more that of the game itself.

The sound effects are great, encompassing all you would want in a baseball game. The crack of the bat, the roar of the crowd and slapping of the mitt, it's all there. The licensed soundtrack, on the other hand, doesn't add anything to the experience, with all of the 'indieish' tracks feeling out of place and uninteresting in their current circumstance. The ability to create your own batter introduction music is always a fun feature to mess around with and allows you to put together a far more engaging soundtrack for the game. As a whole it works more than it doesn't, but it just doesn't feel like any effort was really put into this side of the presentation.

MLB '08: The Show

The commentary team of Dave Campbell, Rex Hulder and Matt Vasgersian return for another season, and prove to be more than capable for the task. I was happy to hear their comments on player performance, especially during the Road to the Show mode, where they call out your player if he botches a play or lets the team down in any way on the field. Outside of those nifty calls, there's nothing that really sticks out as vastly superior to 2K8's calling team, though the amount of erroneous calls is definitely less. Sound effects are on the same level as 2K8, as is the included licensed soundtrack. The Show does allow for players to upload their own songs they have on their hard drive for use in the game via the new My MLB Music feature. Unfortunately, this feature is one that is not utilized during actual gameplay, only throughout the menus, slightly defeating its purpose. I would have loved to be able to create my own stadium soundtrack to boom over the speakers, but alas.

Advantage: Tie

…I don't care if I ever come back!

When it comes to baseball games, the lasting appeal portion is never an issue, as a 162 game season makes for a ton of potential gameplay. On the same hand, very few gamers actually make it through an entire full season, playing each game with the real world options, as it is very daunting and time-consuming. Features have been introduced, such as game simulation and manager modes, that have helped ease the pain, but generally it takes a little more than that to keep gamers' attentions. How do our two opponents fare in this fight?

MLB 2K8

The meat of the mode sandwich for 2K8 is again the Franchise Mode. Already bursting at the seams with features and options, 2K8's version offers even more things to manage and do, with the addition of ninety real minor league teams (with real players if they have major league experience), which leads to plenty of roster options. As a fantasy baseball nut, loads and loads of stats and roster management are my bread and butter, so I welcome as much of it as I can get.

Out of the remaining features, the only other one that isn't completely expected is the new baseball card reward feature. You can earn cards by completing certain feats (think of what you'd expect to complete to earn Live Achievements and you are right on track), which are collected in a virtual binder. These cards can then be used to create a virtual team to take online, allowing you to build a team how you want. But it's not as easy as loading up on superstars, as each card has a dollar value and your team cannot go over the $150 million cap. If you wanted that All-Star at every position team, don't fret at the word 'cap', as there are three different rarities for each card (black, gold and platinum), with black costing the most against your cap and platinum costing the least. Obviously gold and platinum cards are very hard to come by, so don't expect to ever own many, but it is rewarding when you land one.

MLB '08: The Show

Though it has existed for a few years, this is my first time ever playing the mode The Show has become known for - The Road to the Show. Here you create a player and do exactly what the mode's name says - build your way from Spring Training invitee to Major League superstar. The character creator is obscenely deep, so much so that I was wondering if I was playing a wrestling or RPG game as opposed to a baseball game. The sheer amount of facial features alone are astounding and this mode goes a long way to show just how much time and effort was put into facial aspect of the presentation. There are multiple skin textures for crying out loud! There are literally so many options that when I was creating my first character I got so overwhelmed that I just stopped using them so I could get into the game. If you ever wanted to see a digital replica of you playing baseball inside of a game, The Show is going to let you live the fantasy!

Once your character is created visually, it's time to adjust his stats RPG-style and head out onto the field and try to make the team. That's definitely not as easy as it sounds though, as your player certainly won't start as Barry Bonds, all roided up and hitting dingers with every swing of the bat. Each at-bat has an objective to complete, which earns points that can be used for training your player and improving your ability to field, hit and throw. Make the team and you'll have to fight for playing time and prove your worth, earning your spot as a starter. The entire mode is extremely deep and is a continued breath of fresh air when sat next to the overplayed and growing stale franchise modes from both games.

Multiplayer is great online, with a wealth of options and one of the best opponent-pairing systems in a sports game in place, called Scout. This searches for players that fit the parameters you set and is generally very quick in finding a match and putting you in a game. There is nothing worse than wanting to hop right into some online action and having to wait ten to fifteen minutes, stumbling through lobbies and attempt challenges to finally find someone to play. Internet play rolls with no serious gameplay hiccups, full stat tracking and roster updates, making it a sweet package. Is it vastly superior to what MLB 2K8 has to offer? No, but it is a bump above due to Scout.

Advantage: The Show (Small margin)

Is that AC/DC I hear?

If you've been following this review at all then I think you'll know which game is coming out on top - MLB '08: The Show. It may not take the risks that Major League Baseball 2K8 took (and generally succeeded in), but it made sure that what it did do was completely working, which is what ends up leaving 2K8 in the minors. This is a total shame, because the game's heavy use of the right analog stick is a near flawless victory for this baseball fan, as I have never utilized more intuitive controls in a baseball game, especially the pitching. But the bugs, AI tomfoolery and graphical oddities keep the whole package down. This game was obviously forced to meet a deadline that it was not ready for and a couple of extra months in development may have been enough to get the kinks out and put this game on top. But hindsight is a two-way street.

So, what can The Show take home with its victory and think about for next season? Well, it won more because it performed all the basics better, rather than dominating, and it is starting to show its age in many key areas. The Show has gone about as far as buttons are going to allow it to go, and with another year of experience under their belts, 2K Games' analog controls should be even sharper for the 2K9 edition. The Road to the Show and Scout are only getting better each season though, so if the gameplay can keep up with the strides the modes have taken, 2K Games are going to have to really step it up to avoid their career following that of Nomar Garciaparra's - one dangerously swift decline.

Reviewed by Tony Peters for AceGamez (All Rights Reserved).