Parents' Guide to MLB The Show 16

This year's baseball game is nearly flawless and is easily the best baseball simulation money can buy. How was this achieved? Sony took last year's already excellent game and improved it in almost every department. Load the game, and right off the "bat" you'll see the slick production values as you scroll through the menu and select which kind of baseball experience you feel like. Whether you’re a seasoned gamer or new to the franchise, some of the new additions worth noting are tied to the Road to the Show mode. One is a feature called ShowTime, which lets you slow down major game moments and replay them with more cinematics and drama. Plus, the Road to the Show mode now lets you play out a string of games without having to return to the menu.

New modes include Battle Royale -- which is similar to Madden 16’s Draft Champions -- which lets you build a fantasy dream team for hours of fun -- and then there’s Conquest, a strange new mode that has you compete against 30 other teams to see which can build the biggest fan base and “conquer” North America through short, three-inning games. Players also receive in-game rewards through every mode, earning XP and Tickets (think Chuck E. Cheese's), which you can use toward unlockable goodies such as special players, player cards, bonus stats, and more. Franchise Mode is as meaty and challenging as previous MLB The Show games. Plus, there’s new AI, new pitcher and base-runner controls, new animations (including the José Bautista "bat flip" on the Toronto Blue Jays), classic stadiums, new broadcast-like presentation, and more. Other than there being no PS Vita version as in years’ past, there’s nothing really to complain about in MLB The Show 16. It's a grand slam of a baseball game.