Baseball season is now in full swing, with every team beginning their long road to a crack at the World Series title.
See Our Impressions Of MLB 15: The Show So Far
This makes it a better time than any to look back on the best baseball video games of the past, which have given us an array of experiences. Some are deeper than others and some intentionally less realistc, but there have been plenty of ways to enjoy digital MLB action. In no particular order (and with a mix of old and new games, here are some of the best:
RBI Baseball (1988)
One of the all-time greats, many players today would rather whip this title out of storage than launch one of the newer baseball sims. Simplistic by today's standards in terms of depth and visuals, RBI Baseball was still the crown jewel of retro baseball games. With eight teams and real player names thanks to the official license, RBI Baseball is a classic.
Ken Griffey Jr. Presents Major League Baseball (1994)
This title had the odd combination of an official MLB license but no players license, forcing the developers to create facsimiles of everyone. They all had similar statistics to the real life players, anyway, so fans could figure out who was who, as well as a name editor so fans could manually end the charade. That all aside, this was one of the best baseball titles on SNES, complete with individual venues and modes such as a home run derby.
Backyard Baseball 2001 (2000)
Anyone who played the Backyard series as a kid no doubt has fond memories of each game. Backyard Baseball started it all, and gave way to its soccer, hockey, and football brethren. I selected 2001 because it added the real pro-players-as-kids to the games, which only made things more fun. It's not a serious baseball sim, with zany powerups and arcadey mechanics, but drafting and playing as a team was undeniably fun either way.
MVP Baseball 2005 (2005)
The last of three in a series of quality titles from EA, MVP Baseball 2005 was simply a very good baseball title. Deep modes, licensed major and minor leagues, and solid gameplay made this one of the best titles of the decade, and arguably ever. Unfortunately, the series came to an abrupt end when 2K signed an exclusive MLB rights deal in response to EA tying up the NFL, and this was the last entry in the franchise. Perhaps it went out at its peak that way.
Super Mega Baseball (2014)
A game unlike any other modern titles, Super Mega Baseball is a surprisingly great arcade-style title that released last year. It forgoes the real license and realistic visuals for a cartoony look, but nails the simplistic version of the sport.
MLB 15: The Show (2015)
Yes, it's easily the newest on this list and yes, it won't be a classic like some of the others. But for a fully featured, realistic baseball sim, The Show has been hitting it out of the park for years. The biggest knock against MLB 15 is that it doesn't improve or change that much from the previous year's effort. While that might be a downside to those purchasing games year after year, it's still an improvement, and viewed on its own one of the best titles to date.
