MLB: The Show 17 isn't quite a home run.
A home run for the Corpus Christi Hooks at Franco Park is not exactly a dinger over the Green Monster at Fenway but in The Show you have your stripes, or pinstripes, if you're a Yankees prospect.
The Road to the Show mode, where you work your way from high
school prospect to potential baseball star, is still the best feature in one of the best sports games on the market. There's certainly something gratifying about working your way through baseball's minors before making your big-league debut.
However, the new style of having a fake documentary with a narrator explaining every one of your player's off-field interaction is not exactly a welcome addition. A theme that runs through MLB: The Show 17.
The game is moving into that similar territory as the Fifa franchise, of how to make enough changes to warrant a new title without alienating fans or being dubbed "just a roster update". This year it's in the not-enough-changed category.
It's still a beautiful-looking game with every detail of every stadium covered and the gameplay upgrades with added animations and hitting capabilities making the onfield play near flawless (I still have trouble tracking fly balls with decent accuracy). But other little changes aren't needed. The retro mode, for example, is pointless, and franchise mode isn't dramatically different.
