MLB 13 the Show: Animations and Gameplay Set Video Game Apart from the Rest

A successful baseball simulation is not only fun to play, it also feels right.

MLB 13: The Show stands apart from the rest because it masters these concepts.

When you play The Show, you feel as if you are in a stadium. The animations are lifelike, from the home run celebrations to the pitching motions to the batters calling timeout in the middle of an at-bat.

And, yes, The Show even allows you to call timeout when you are in the batter's box. It's a small detail, but it adds to the realism of the game. 

And that is what The Show essentially excels in: attention to detail. You add up a bunch of small details and you end up with a game that is head and shoulders above the rest. The crowd is lively at the right moments, players tumble in the outfield trying to make plays, baserunners slide to the outside of the bag and even the individual swings of different batters are fun to watch.

But it's not just about the animations or the graphics or the presentation. The game play gives The Show staying power. 

Making a game that is fun to play is a great challenge. You want to make everything realistic, but you also don't want to make it too technical.

Gone are the days when you line up the crosshairs of a batting target and try to precisely hit a ball moving all over the place. The pure analog batting system feels like a real swing, where you sweep the bat through the hitting zone. 

Fielding is also relatively smooth.

There's nothing worse than trying to control an outfielder who doesn't fluidly respond to your commands. That doesn't happen in The Show and it even makes chasing down a fly ball fun.

Throwing meters have also been implemented, similar to those that were introduced by the timeless MVP Baseball 2005. You can control whether you make an average throw (increasing accuracy) or zing it from the outfield to home plate (where balls can go off line). It adds a fun element to the game which isn't too difficult to master.

Overall, MLB 13: The Show feels like a real baseball game. That's what matters. When a batter is walking up to the batter's box or a pitcher celebrates a strikeout, it can eerily resemble a live telecast. Don't be surprised if a friend who stops by thinks you're watching a real game at first glance.