Honorable Mention: MLB The Show 16
Baseball games aren’t as common as they once were. Go back a decade or so and you couldn’t throw a controller without landing on a platform that didn’t have at least one video game dedicated to America’s favorite pastime. But times have changed, and as the genre died out, the quality of the games went down with it. Yet there was one series that grew and refused to just be another baseball game, dedicating itself to realistic simulation, great visuals, and just all around fun systems. This year that series released yet another amazing entry: MLB The Show 16.
Thanks to a system that puts a lot of control in the players’ hands, you can tweak the experience to best suit what you want and your skill level. You can have the tough sim that has you fielding every ball and deciding on each perfect pitch, or you can simplify it all just so you can enjoy watching a good ol’ game of baseball on your PS4. It’s up to you. Behind the matches are franchises that offer tons of management opportunities to build your dream team or lead your favorite, already existing lineup to a World Series Championship. There were plenty of little adjustments this time around that just made everything work so harmoniously, keeping players immersed in the experience, and it was all wrapped in stunning visuals.
It’s easy to overlook MLB The Show 16 as just another sports game on the PS4, but once you give it a chance there’s so much more to enjoy. It’s one of the deepest sports titles out there, and if you’ve ever enjoyed baseball, you may want to check this one out.
