So it's now been officially a week since the release of the annual MLB the Show for the Playstation 3 and Playstation Vita. I'll not only be conducting a review for the Playstation 3 version of the game itself, but also dropping a lot of information that the creators of the Show have on the Arizona Diamondbacks. So this will be split into parts: part one for the game review, and part two for the Diamondbacks bit. Feel free to skip to one or the other, as I know both won't appeal to everyone.

PART 1: A Review

So the big thing for MLB 13 the Show was a matter of realism. After drastically improving the physics in '12, they improved in various areas in which the "feel" of the game is much more different. Newly added were the extra wild-card spot, along with a revamped post-season system. No longer do the playoffs have the same atmosphere as a regular season game, as there has been music included to enhance the playoff experience.

Also, commentary is much better with Steve Lyons added to the booth, and I love that they manage to bring the previous game stats into play when a player comes to bat. It doesn't seem bland like before, and definitely gives you a much better experience.

Road to the Show

In the Road to the Show, you are the player. You create, manage, and play your way through an organization's system while trying to complete goals and gain the necessary tools to make it the "show" and become a hall of famer. There are various new elements that the developers added to this year's Road to the Show feature.

This year, you can personalize your player a bit more than years past. There still is the change of shoes, color of your bat, and whether you want pine tar on your hat, but there have been some additions. Now, you can personalize anything from how you take a pitch and how you do your walk up. Do you follow your swing through with one hand or two? Or do you stride forward drastically during your swing? You can personalize these, along with how you want to practice your swing. To me, it isn't too significant, but it is still cool nonetheless.

Also, with this year the announcer seemingly takes more of an interest in you and your in game achievements. For example, in my first start, the commentators spoke about my player in the pregame show stating that I was making my Double A debut, and that I would be looking to climb the organizationa; system. They also commented on my first Double A strikeout, and noted my first Double A win, which I thought was pretty cool. Throughout my starts, the announcers also speak about the organization and how my player is progressing which I find pretty cool.

In previous games, when your Road To The Show character would play, you would still hear the announcers, but this year they removed the announcers while playing this mode except in between batters or innings. Their approach (from what I read somewhere) is to give the player that experience. as if they are truly that player or that they are a spectator at the game. Again, I don't find it too significant, but I do wish that you could toggle it on and off.

A throwing meter also has been added. Previously, you would have to just hold the button you were throwing to and hope for the best. Now a meter measuring how hard you throw it along with a color revolving around red, yellow, and green. Red typically means either really strong, or really weak which typically causes an error. Yellow, just a bit too strong or too weak, which can be sometimes an error, but also can be outs. And green usually means a balanced throw which often times does not lead into errors.

The last thing they have changed is the angle of fielding and batting. What does that mean exactly? Well, when you hit a fly ball for example, it shows an over the shoulder look of your player running to watching the ball travel. Same thing when you're a fielder. For example, let's say your character is a centerfielder. A ball is hit behind you, what you'd be seeing is the ball traveling and with the help of some arrows, you have to judge the distance on where to be when the ball lands.

Franchise Mode

If you prefer being in the GM's chair and making all the decisions from line-ups to contracts to even how your team travels, then this the mode for you. Personally, it's my favorite, it gives you a bunch of perks of being the GM, plus more.

Now for the new additions in this mode.

The scouting department has been completely overhauled in this game. In '12, you had 4 scouts (East, Central, West, International) and you could assign them which positions to scout for or you can ask them to individually scout a certain player. Come draft day, the target next to the player's name indicated who has been previously scouted, and predicting non-target players were pretty much a crap shoot.

Now, you still have those 4 scouts, but you can specify what you want your scouts to look for. Are you looking for a left-handed pitcher with control, or are you looking for a shortstop with good make-up? The options are much broader and you can scout according to your club's needs. Also, now there is a rating system as to how accurate your scout is on a player, compared to how good his potential really is. This is where having better scouts is useful, as they now have much more meaning in this game. When draft day comes along in franchise mode, the players that were scouted show up along with an Estimated Time of Arrival, so it helps your organization strategize. Do you currently have someone locked for another few years, and can take your time with a prospect? Or is there a gaping hole and you need someone soon? Well, luckily, you can now know as to how soon a player can contribute.

The other upgraded area in this particular mode is the training assignments. Previously, these assignments were a hassle to keep on top of and were very limited. For example, let's say that you wanted to have Goldschmidt in the batting cages, but instead of just having him, you'd have every first baseman in the organization in the batting cages. It's a bit comical, as not all position players are built the same. Now with this year's edition, you can individually have players work on something different. You can have Didi Gregorious working on his contact skills, while Pennington is working on his power, and Bloomquist on his baserunning skills. Also, results are actually immediate. I have had players progress and regress multiple times in a season and by a loy. I remember having Roy Halladay and he was ranked in the early 90's, by the end of the year, he regressed to 82 and pitched much like a number five starter (5.43 ERA, and 59 K's in 100+ IP, Ouch). I enjoy how quickly up and down a player can go, but I also dislike how much and how far they do. It is bittersweet.

One last thing I'd like to touch on in franchise mode is the new top 50 prospects. Throughout the rosters, there will players with a label next to player's names indicating that this particular player is a top 50 prospect. It's a cool little feature, and often times play a big role when making trades or making promotions. For example, I had Jason Kipnis struggling in the bigs, and had a particular third base prospect in a guy named David Ortiz (no. not the DH). Well, with him being in the top 50 and lighting up Triple A, I demoted Kipnis and called up Ortiz to immediate positive results. I have also seen it where I have called up a player in the top 50, but they were called up too early, and immediately struggled. So beware, and manage wisely.

Overall, I think it's a great game, and definite buy for any baseball video game fans. 9.6/10

PART 2: The Arizona Diamondbacks in MLB The Show

Overall team rankings for the Diamondbacks for the past few years have always been iffy as this year they are rated 22nd overall out of the 30 teams. Here are the aspects on how the team ranks based upon the game and where they rank throughout the MLB.

• Contact 14th
• Power 13th
• Speed 20th
• Defense 20th
• Pitching 15th

Don't look too much into these rankings, they rank the Rockies 5th overall (2nd in contact?) and the Royals 8th overall (1st in speed?), so again - don't look into it too deeply.

Anyways, let us continue to now to individual players and statistics.

First I'll post the projected Starting Rotation (first five along with depth) and Bullpen along with their statistics (based out of 99) and pitches.

Starting Rotation Depth

I included Hudson in this since he was still in the depth chart, and he'll eventually come back from Tommy John in July. The top 4 were to be expected, but with this latest roster update has the D-backs using Skaggs as their fifth starter over Corbin and Delgado, both who are rated higher in the game.

Now for the bullpen.

Now to clear up a few things. 1. If a player has not reached the majors, then he will not be in this current update. So you won't see Brewer, Chafin, Bradley, Meo, Holmberg, Anderson, etc on the game until they have reached the big leagues. 2. Typically the first pitch is their main pitch, and goes from 1(main) to 5 (which is the one they rely on the least).

Some interesting things I've noticed is Hernandez slider is his fifth best pitch, quite the head scratcher. And another thing to note, The Show hasn't really been ever particular high on Ziegler, personally I believe he deserves a higher rating rise, but what to do I know?

Now for the hitters. I'm going to start by posting the Show's generated line up and again putting stats.

Interesting that they project Montero hitting third and Prado hitting seventh. Also, I feel that they rated Eaton way too low against righties, he should be around 68ish. Kind of funny how low they rated Montero by giving a 1 in baserunning ability and 2 in aggressiveness.

Now for the other hitters starting from the projected bench on down.

Some interesting notes: Barajas is a better baserunner than Montero. I find it quite funny, and I think that was a goof on their part. Bloomquist, I feel, is rated a little too highly, especially for his contact, which seems to be much more in the 70s than in the 80s. As to McDonald and his high potential, that seems a bit of a stretch, but often times when I play, he regresses rather than progresses.

So what does MLB 13 The Show predict for the Diamondbacks?

Well, I'm probably going to do another Fan Post predicting April following the last roster update after Spring Training is over. I apologize for the little analysis on the Diamondbacks side, but I figured you guys can make intelligent arguments involving the Diamondbacks and how well they are viewed in others in the comments section. Anyways, I hope you guys enjoyed this read, and I'll see you next time with MLB 13 predicting April for the D-backs.