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For the past couple of years, there has been some disagreement in the gaming community over who the better sports game developer is. Generally, the opposing sides in this discussion have been Electronic Arts and Visual Concepts. It seems that while all this has been taking place, 989 has quietly been working on improving their reputation. Their debut baseball title for the PSP is a solid title that baseball fans are sure to enjoy.

MLB features more than I'd expect from a portable title, but a little less than I would from a console version. All the standards are there: Season Mode, Quick Play and even Online play. When it comes to the micromanagement, there's not quite as many bells and whistles. You won't be getting e-mails from angry players or anything like that. It sticks to the basics of a Season mode, and I found that to be just fine for a portable sports title.

One of the first things you're bound to notice is the great in-game graphics. Stadiums look great, and 989 obviously cares about attention to detail. Kauffman looks identical to how it does in real life, from the fountains to the numbers of Brett, Howser and White on the scoreboard. The players themselves feature some realistic and smooth animations. Whether it's an underhanded toss to first or a huge throw from the outfield, the players move just how you'd expect them to. Uniforms will get dirty, bats will break and runners will be visibly upset if they get picked off. The only graphical hiccup in the game is when the action shifts to the outfield. The framerate drops a bit, and the player models look far more pixelated and choppy. Despite this, the game is still one of the PSP's graphical best.

MLB doesn't do anything particularly revolutionary with the gameplay. It seems like they stuck with the "if it's not broke, don't fix it" frame of mind. Elements of EA's MVP games are seen here, especially in the pitching meter. This meter works identical to MVP's version, and the strike zone grid is the same as well. It's broken up into a 3x3 square, with cold and hot zones depending on how the batter is doing. 989 has included an option to "guess the pitch" prior to the throw. If you guess successfully, a crosshair indicates exactly where the pitch will end up, helping you tremendously.

Baserunning is handled differently than many other games on the market. If you look at the diamond display in the corner, you'll see your runner is indicated by a face button. This face button will change each time he reaches a plate. Let's say your runner going to first is "X". You can tell him to go all the way home by simply pressing Down + X. It's not necessary to tell him to advance every single base individually, and it works well. Unfortunately, the "tagging-up" system seems somewhat flawed. The runners will tag-up automatically 9 out of 10 times, but inexplicably keep running the bases every once in a while.

Playing defense is a bit more frustrating. MLB doesn't feature a meter indicating how hard outfielders are throwing the ball. In MVP, this meter helped a lot when deciding how hard was too hard, preventing wild throws. The lack of this in MLB results in a LOT of wild throws, some whizzing right by the base and costing you runs. Handling pop flies is much easier. If a ball is popped up into the outfield, the game will first show you a general area of where it's going to land, indicated by a big blue circle. Within that circle will be a huge spinning baseball icon, which gradually gets smaller as the ball gets closer to landing. The ball can land anywhere within the blue, and the baseball icon will show you precisely where to stand. It's a nice addition, and it becomes second nature in no time.

Once again, a sports game features an awful soundtrack. I get the feeling that Papa Roach has signed some contract allowing his awful music to be in every game ever now. He's joined in MLB by similarly non-fitting bands such as Chevelle and Theory of a Deadman. I can't possibly express my confusion when I found out there's a Bootsy Collins song on this game. The soundtrack is mostly awful hard rock bands, and then there's a song by the great P-Funk legend Bootsy Collins? What?

Thankfully, most of the audio you hear will be in-game sound effects. They sound extremely crisp and realistic, and it's impressive to hear them coming out of a portable. The crack of the bat is dead-on, and the crowd noises might as well be recorded from an actual game. One of the most impressive aspects of the audio is the announcers. This game was obviously designed by some true baseball fans, as the announcers go above and beyond the required voice-over duties. Players' nicknames are included (they'll call Randy Johnson "the Big Unit"), and players will step up to the plate with introductions such as "former UCLA standout Eric Burns". 989 obviously did some research, and it really adds to the realism of the game.

MLB delivers for baseball fans looking to take their game on the go. With a few tweaks to the gameplay, this franchise has the potential to be a third pillar in the world of baseball videogames. It's just too bad that the recent exclusivity trend in sports games may prevent that from happening. Regardless, baseball fans shouldn't hesitate to give this title a try.

Graphics: B+

Sound: B

First Play: B

Last Play: B-

Gameplay: B

Overall: 84% B