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Today we take a look at the pocket size versions of MLB 10: The Show and MLB 2K10, both which made their way onto Sony’s PSP this season.

First – and not really catching me by suprise – is that both titles have seemingly dropped infrastructure support for the long haul. This is a concerning trend among PSP titles these days and doesn’t seem to be letting up anytime soon. Only major releases with online multiplayer in mind (like SOCOM Fireteam Bravo 3) seem to be getting infrastructure support these days. Both games allow for ad-hoc play, and I’m not sure whether you can play through the PS3 on ad-hoc party for these ones – but if you wanted to play online for PS3 you probably are playing these games for PS3…

Also, I still don’t understand why SCEA eliminated the King of the Diamond mode from the stellar MLB 08. For a quick blast of fun on the go, that was easily a better choice than the quite stale Home Run Derby that is included here. As for 2K’s response, the Home Run Derby career is a cool little mode (that hasn’t changed since last year) that at least offers a little bit of the mini-game style diversions that are almost necessary for handheld games these days.

Read on after the jump…

Graphically both games are so-so. I’ve seen better on the PSP, but apparently baseball games aren’t priority in that department. Of course, we all remember High Heat Baseball – a PS1 title that suffered graphically, but was so rrreeaal. The point is, their is precedent to graphics not besetting quality gameplay when it comes to baseball purist’s choice of game. The thing is, with the current-gen version of The Show producing hyper-real visuals with solid gameplay, people are expecting a bit more effort these days. That said, MLB 10 looks a bit more polished – and maybe even a tad upgraded over MLB 09 to be honest. MLB 2K10 is the same old story, it’s an eyesore and the textures and animations are quite raw.

Presentation also rocks MLB 10, with the Vasgersian-Hudler-Campbell trio back. Not much of it has really changed from last year but it gives the feel of the current-gen game with tight, on-the-spot commentary. With 2K you get Gary Thorne and Steve Phillips slipping in and out of sleep. Barely a sentence introduces the game (“We’re here for exhibition baseball…”) before dead silence hits. Can you at least mention the teams? Commentary often lags with loading as well. “And he is…..” (chug chug chug, meanwhile next batter takes a swing already) “out!”. Even if it worked on key, it would be pretty standard, rote commentary at best. And what’s up with replays of pitches getting played twice, even if you hit X to skip the first one…

OK, let’s get to gameplay, where it really counts. The biggest element (just edging out pitching) is batting. If you can’t score, you can’t win, and it seems to be the biggest issue when it comes to gamers deciding between which game to pick. In this instance, I’d gladly take MLB 10: The Show. The controls mimic those in the current-gen game, something installed in MLB 09, and to great benefit. Predicting pitches and location is all here. While I have never fallen truly in love with this system, I still think it’s one of the better batting interfaces used and I’m happy with it being included in the handheld version as well instead of some archaic structure. That’s where MLB 2K10 comes in, which uses the classic reticule batting. The aiming reticule becomes larger as your able to hold off from swinging at balls and predict pitch locations. This is all fine and good, but even as my aiming reticule started to fill the strike zone, somehow the pitchers would find a way to paint the corners just outside the edges of my reticule. It’s almost like they knew where it was. Needless to say, I’ve had far more trouble adapting to hitting in this one compared to The Show.

Pitching is where I prefered MLB 2K10. While it’s tough to follow the catcher’s lead – sometimes he doesn’t call actual pitches, just locations – it’s generally an easy sytem to get the hang of. If you’ve played current-gen MLB 2K10, this system essentially removes the analog pitching for just holding down the selected pitch’s button through the same circular power/accuracy meter. Nothing snazzy, but it works. While MLB 10: The Show is again similar to it’s current-gen counterpart with its more traditional meter. I found the CPU tended to hit me a lot easier when following the catcher in The Show, though. Either way, I can’t complain too much about the pitching in either game.

Fielding brings about a couple issues. One is in MLB 2K10 where 2K continues to insist on the stupid camera that faces the hitter after a sharp ground ball, then turns around usually way to late for you to see your fielder and make a play on it, turning what should have been a routine out into a single. I’ve also seen some wonky throws – like my shortstop chucking a rainbow floater 20 feet in the air to my first baseman as if they were practicing pop-ups. Usually I’ve still managed to get the out on plays like these, but they certainly don’t add to the realism factor.

MLB 10: The Show isn’t perfect in this department either. While the basic stuff is generally pretty good, I noticed a pretty big glitch in Road to the Show. Playing as a first baseman, my player was not allowed to make a running catch on his way to first. You better be covering first (or whatever base you need to be covering if your an infielder) before a fielder starts making his throw, or you’ll stop well short of the base and wait there for the throw to be completed. This allowed for typical outs at first base to turn into infield singles multiple times. Thing is, unless you plant yourself right next to the base before the batter swings – not necessarily the best fielding strategy – you likely will have this happen to you many times in one game. To me that is a pretty major glitch that takes away from the fun of playing as an infielder in The Show.

Baserunning is much prefered in 2K10, it’s just generally easier to select and move individual runners around the bases. In The Show, something that even plagues the fantastic current-gen game, is the fact that the runner’s have this glaring one second hitch that can turn a run into an out and really prevents you from running aggressively (and tends to lend itself to leaving a lot more runners stranded during the course of a game). It’s generally easy to direct your runner to where the CPU thinks he should end up, but if you feel you can get that extra base, you’ll often have to wait through the running slowing down his initial run before speeding back up. It’s even more noticeable in Road to the Show. Baserunning has never been a gamekiller, at least when it comes to selecting a title for purchase, but I’ve always felt that it’s underrated in that regard. It’s extremely frustrating to have twitchy baserunning ruin your game and the general ease of use of 2K10’s formula goes a long way. I’ve definitely seen worse, but The Show needs to smooth it out in this category.

The only things I haven’t really tackled yet in the handhelds are the franchise modes. My personal interest in those lies with the current-gen games, but I’m willing to give them a go if you guys have any specific questions about them. As usual, my coverage doesn’t end with just one blog post. Comment away if you need some loose ends tied up.