There’s one thing that bugs me about sports titles nowadays – the rut that they fall into when they stop making progression towards innovation and focus on updating what they already made the previous year and shipping it out as a new game. Majority of sports titles are susceptible to the Madden curse where they only rely on a new roster update and a few changes to the controller mapping. One case that broke away from this mold was last year’s NHL ‘09 from Electronic Arts; not only did they step up their game but they created one of the best sports titles this generation of consoles. Normally, Sony’s MLB The Show series could be included in this grouping, but alas, MLB 09: The Show doesn’t do enough to have it stand above the rest of the competition this year.

Last year’s iteration showcased the Progressive Batter Performance system and even the pitcher/batter analysis. This year, MLB 09 falters when it comes to providing new features and elements to experience. While it’s still fun to play, it doesn’t leapfrog last year’s version by any means. If you’ve never experienced last year’s two main features then you are in for a real treat. The pitcher/batter analysis is still in-depth to the point where you can determine a batter’s weaknesses and tendencies to help place your pitches to strike them out. Likewise can be said for the batter as he can use the system to see where the pitcher is comfortable throwing the ball, whether if they are on fire or on a cold streak, and much more. Last year’s version was nearly perfect, so it’s understandable that the development team didn’t want to fix something that wasn’t broken.

One element that the development team did decide to tweak that wasn’t broken was the “Guess the Pitch” portion. In the past, the batter would attempt to predict the pitch that was about to be thrown and in turn would effect the pitcher’s momentum with removing pitcher’s power and accuracy if the batter guessed correctly. Previously, it worked quite well with the pitcher having to make a good effort to conceal his pitch and the batter working hard to understand the pitcher’s pitch rotation. In MLB 09 the development team has given the batter the benefit of the doubt more often then not when they guess the pitches and the game now favors the batters over the pitchers. The pitcher must be as masterful as Nolan Ryan to keep momentum in his favor and keep his accuracy and power meter up. On the other hand, all it takes is an inexperienced batter for the pitcher to weave his webs of deceit when it comes to striking them out.

Baserunning may have been the weakest spot in MLB 08 and it hasn’t been touched up at all in MLB 09. Due to little hiccups, you’ll often be thrown out in close throws when stealing bases and rounding for doubles or triples. On the flipside, fielders will miss the ball more and make errors due to that the game relies on the stats of the players rather than following routes that they have to make. It’s a little disappointing to see Torii Hunter missing easy catches, but it happens to the best of them. Sure, Golden Glovers won’t make as many mistakes, but if my boy Torii Hunter is making errors, then you can expect what lesser players will accomplish.

Changes have been made to the game modes too. First off the King of the Diamond mini-game has been totally eliminated with no trace in sight. There is a Home Run Derby to spend some time with, but as a distraction, there isn’t much replay value. There has also been the addition of a Legend Mode where you’ll face off against all-star MLB players both in the box and on the mound. It’s not too thrilling, but it does help fill that void of King of the Diamond.

Outside of that, Franchise Mode and Road to the Show have returned and are basically what you’ve experienced from last year. The Road to the Show allows players to create a prospect to bring him to the major leagues to make a name on a team. With pitiful baserunning due to bad camera angles, it’s hard to recommend spending the majority of your time in the mode. The Franchise Mode has received implementation of coaching staffs to aide your team from pitching coaches to base coaches. The Franchise Mode is overly in-depth and fantastic that it’s a recommendation that any gamer that can’t get enough dynasty modes in their sports titles that they pick up MLB 09.

Online options have been improved upon with Infrastructure and Ad Hoc play. Lag has been minimal but then again, the lag does blip up on the radar from time to time. In addition, the graphics are somewhat lackluster with a lot of texture issues for the fields and stadiums. Also, the audio is still superb with customizable soundtracks and great commentary. So for the technical aspects, MLB 09 is a mixed bag. The best recommendation for gamers is that they only purchase MLB 09 if they need a new baseball game on their PSP and can overlook the flaws.

Gameplay: 7.0
Road to the Show isn’t like its console predecessors, but at least the Franchise Mode is up to par.

Graphics: 6.0
Even though there are solid animations, MLB 09 doesn’t have enough graphical power to show off the PSP’s power. 

Sound: 8.1
The customizable soundtrack is brilliant since the game’s own soundtrack is underwhelming.

Difficulty: Easy / Medium

Concept: 6.0
Removal of King of the Diamond was disappointing, but the lack of new features was even more unacceptable.

Multiplayer: 7.0
The lag may hinder your enjoyment out of the title, but if you can push through it and find great connections, then you’ll have some fun. 

Overall: 7.0
MLB 09 doesn’t set new grounds, but it does a serviceable job not screwing everything up. Last year’s version was somewhat better, so it’s unfortunate that this year’s iteration took a step back.