I'm pretty sure you readers out there know just how seriously I take my baseball. As is the case with many other baseball video game afficiandos, I believed that MVP Baseball 2005 was the pinacle of perfection when it came to America's game. Then MLB 08: The Show came out, and gave the Manny Ramirez covered game a run for its money. I hadn't had as much fun playing a baseball game in years, and with MLB 09 just around the corner, I have been revisiting last year's effort to sate my palete. When I found out a near-complete build of the game would be at the Sony's NYC Cocktail Reception, my excitement to get my hands on a DualShock could hardly be contained.

Folks, I know the demo is available now on the PSN, but let me tell you this: when you get your hands on the full game, you'll never need another baseball game again. MLB 09: The Show is quite possibly the best interactive MLB experience you'll ever get in your living room. The controls remain the same, and the graphics get just a bit of an upgrade. Since last year was so good, there wasn't a whole lot I was worried about them changing. With my limited playtime (understand that when I say limited, I mean I only got to play one full 9-inning game), I decided to try out their new extra hard difficulty setting to see just how serious Sony was about making an extremely realistic experience.

Combined with the new umpire AI (different umps will vary their strike zones), the new difficulty presents hitters with smaller sweet spots and tougher pitchers (they will work more of the zone than last year), as well making hitting your spots as a pitcher much more difficult. Playing as the World Champion Philadelphia Phillies, I was able to hang with the New York Mets at the all-new Citi Field for about three innings. Cole Hammels had thrown a lot of pitches getting out of some jams, and I was starting to see the toll that pitch count was taking on him. I was also able to notice a lot of new animations. Players in the field react a lot better than last year, and I thought animations were terrific in 08. Pitchers also have a lot more variation in their deliveries than in the previous incarnation. You might not think you'll notice these subtleties, but when you've played last year's as much as I have, you'll see just how different and improved 09 is.

Since I only got on base once (with a Ryan Howard walk), and was promptly picked off (I wasn't even taking a lead, but it was my own fault for not paying attention), I can't really speak on how different baserunning is this year. I can tell you that it's supremely hard to get on the bases on this new difficulty. I'm glad that it's so real, but regret choosing to play my early look game that way because I missed out on seeing some of the new offensive gameplay addtions. I did manage to catch that a bit more attention has been paid to the crowd reactions. They still look about the same graphically, but now really get into the game, reacting to nearly every pitch, call, hit, run... whatever. When there were two strikes on Carlos Ruiz late in the game, the crowd stood up and starting cheering for a strike-out. There was never a moment the crowd wasn't paying attention, and it made the whole experience that much more immersive.

I was already stoked for the new MLB: The Show game to hit stands, and after spending close to an hour with it, somehow I got even more stoked. MLB 09 appers to be the baseball game that sets a new bar for all other baseball video games to follow. Now, if only it was the first week of March so I could start playing the full game...

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