As I expressed in my review of MLB The Show 24, the new edition of the game was another solid iteration in a series reliably been churning out hits for years now. However, the assessment wasn’t entirely positive and there were a few areas where I expressed some concern about issues that could ultimately hinder people’s enjoyment of the game.
As we get further now from when the game was released, there are some lingering doubts about how and when those shortcomings will be addressed (if at all during this game cycle). This is especially true of Diamond Dynasty, which had typically put other card-collecting modes to shame in how it made all cards accessible through grinding without needing the use of a credit card to keep your team competitive. While it may still be true that you can assemble a respectable squad with no money spent, there’s a troubling indication that Diamond Dynasty may in fact be following in the predatory footsteps of Madden 24 and NBA 2K24 in some of its practices.
Here’s a look at some key areas of the game that has the community fearing that SDS may be dropping the ball and trending in the wrong direction.
Diamond Dynasty
Since you were previously able to obtain all of the available cards in Diamond Dynasty through completing programs and collections or accumulating XP, the community is understandably sounding the alarm over some of the recent decisions within the mode. When they unveiled the first Awards program of the year not long ago, it couldn’t help but be noticed that some of the program’s best cards were only available in packs. This forces anyone who wants these cards to spend the necessary stubs on those packs in the hopes that they eventually are able to find they ones they want. This might even entail putting some real money into the game because stubs are a little harder to come by through playing the game this year.
It’s an unfortunate move that can’t help but signal that Diamond Dynasty is starting to edge towards the unscrupulous practices of Madden 24‘ s Ultimate Team and NBA 2K24‘s MyTeam modes that have been relying heavily on microtransactions like this for years now from anyone looking to assemble the best team possible. It’s obviously not nearly as reliant (yet) on microtransactions as those other modes, but the cynical view can’t help but look at this as the potential beginning of the end of its free-to-play ethos.
Foul Balls
Two years ago in MLB The Show 22, there were a lot of complaints from within the community about the prevalence of foul balls that could prolong at-bats for what could seem at times like an eternity. This was largely rectified last year in MLB The Show 23 with more swings and misses or balls being put in play. But just as with other horrific monsters like Freddy Krueger or Jason, the foul balls have proven they just won’t die and instead returned with a vengeance in MLB The Show 24.
It’s likely their re-emergence can be chalked up to an attempt to balance the game’s difficulty (especially on the game’s competitive default All-Star difficulty) for both newcomers and veterans of the game alike. Newbies who don’t want to experience constant failure are given a reprieve by being able to foul off balls even when their timing and plate coverage indicator aren’t all that well executed.
The elite players, meanwhile, will now almost never strike out at the plate because they’re able to keep at-bats alive with foul balls indefinitely on the rare occasions when they’re not perfect with their input. The CPU will get in on the foul ball act as well, compensating for their general incompetence at the plate on most difficulties by staying alive just long enough to drive you bonkers.
Fielder Urgency
After yet another year of being reassured by developers that work had been done to reduce the amount of times your fielders would be far too casual when delivering a throw to base when a runner is headed that way, it seems that we may have been duped yet again. There are still too many incredibly frustrating instances when a fielder will seemingly twiddle their thumbs before a throw.
It’s an area of the game that can really break the immersion and produce a jarring lack of realism since you know that any major leaguer would certainly rush a throw if a play at any base is going to be even somewhat close. This can lead to online opponents being more aggressive on the basepaths and racking up unwarranted runs while we’re too often left screaming at our player to throw the damn ball already as the fielder instead stands there looking like a complete dummy.
Co-Op
A classic example of a great idea in theory that’s marred by shoddy execution, the introduction of a co-op mode in MLB The Show has been botched since jump street. For friends would would prefer to play with each other on a team and compete against other squads of 2 or 3 people, co-op makes for an enticing proposition. It’s unfortunate though that those who want to partake are forced to deal with some hurdles that range from minor to major.
For one thing, the co-op mode in MLB The Show 24 continues to offer less incentives because, though there’s a ranked mode similar to 1-vs-1, you’re still unable to earn any player XP to progress programs. Then there are the freeze-offs that plagued the mode last year and haven’t quite been eradicated this year despite patches identifying the problem. To add to the dismay, there was a peculiar bug at launch of MLB The Show 24 (which has thankfully now been addressed) causing teams to have access to the real 99 overall cards that are designed to be used only by actual MLB players so they can wield juiced-up versions of themselves.
Graphics And Repetitive Animations
When I reviewed MLB The Show 24, there was some chatter in the comments section about why there was no mention of the graphics. Sadly, this was missing largely because there wasn’t really that much to report in this department (beyond the fantastic hair) as there were so few substantial changes that warranted mentioning. Yes, some player models were improved to have the likenesses of high profile names looking a little more accurate, but it also shows that some lesser-known prospects haven’t had their faces scanned into the game just yet.
As for the non-gameplay animations, you’d be hard-pressed to find many ways that a game unfolds any differently than it did in MLB The Show 23. There are the same cutaways to home runs and players trying to urge deep foul balls to stay fair that we’ve been seeing for years now. Meanwhile, batters will also remain in the box and runners will stay on their bases on hits that look to have a chance to stay fair just as they have in the past — somehow aware that it’s predetermined where a ball will land the minute it leaves the bat.
