Update: As soon as our post went live, a teaser trailer was released. Check it out below:
The Future is Coming. @MLBTheShow 18’s cover athlete: Aaron Judge! https://t.co/XDuX2Yugka #TheShow18 pic.twitter.com/2j5Qa6XL4G
— MLB (@MLB) November 7, 2017
Original Story: It turns out that the next MLB The Show cover athlete is a member of the New York Yankees. While not officially announced by Sony yet, the cover athlete was unveiled due to an early PlayStation Store listing. It shows New York Yankees outfielder Aaron Judge as the MLB The Show 18 cover athlete.
Listings also unveiled that there’ll be three different versions (standard, MVP Edition, and Digital Deluxe Edition). The regular edition will launch March 27, 2018. Meanwhile, the deluxe edition will launch three days prior on March 24, 2018.
Check out the MLB The Show 18 covers below:
Three versions of @mlbtheshow 18:
Standard
MVP Edition
Digital Deluxe pic.twitter.com/aU5Sr5iuxr— T.J. Lauerman ? (@ThatSportsGamer) November 6, 2017
Not much is currently known about MLB The Show 18, but last year’s edition was pretty great. It added a new arcade mode, which was a great pairing with Ken Griffey Jr. on the cover. Check out our MLB The Show 17 review for more information on the baseball simulation:
As for the gameplay itself, throw everything that you know about MLB The Show out the window. The entirety of the game is played using only the d-pad and a single face button. Pitchers can be moved from left to right on the mound and batters can be moved around in the batter’s box. Other than that, the movement options are fairly limited. It’s hard to believe that there was ever an era where baseball was this straightforward to play, but I’ll be damned if it isn’t still tremendously effective and entertaining. The one blinding exception to this rule are the fielding physics. While the mode is designed to feel old-school, the underlying physics model mirrors the main game. So instead of the crisp and responsive input that was a retro staple, controlling fielders feels more like slogging through solidified bacon grease. Sometimes realism isn’t all that it’s cracked up to be.
After years of consistent quality, it almost goes without saying that MLB The Show 17 is a great game. The simulation makes several significant evolutionary steps forward, while still not losing sight of the genre’s storied past. Both newcomers and veterans will find something to appreciate in this year’s outing, along with a little bit of nostalgic appeal sprinkled throughout for good measure. There has never been a better time to become a card-carrying member of The Show Nation.
