Alright, folks, let’s dive into my little adventure with MLB The Show 24’s controls. I wouldn’t call myself a pro gamer, but I do enjoy a good baseball sim, and this year I decided to really get the hang of the controls.
First thing I did was fire up the game and jumped straight into a practice game. No tutorials, no guides, just me and the virtual diamond. Big mistake. I was swinging at everything, missing pitches by a mile, and my fielding? Let’s just say I probably gave up more inside-the-park home runs than actual outs.
So, I swallowed my pride and went to the in-game tutorials. Okay, hitting… Timing is key, that much I got. They have these different hitting interfaces, like “Zone,” “Directional,” and “Pure Analog.” I started with “Zone,” which seemed like the most popular one.
- You basically gotta move this little circle (PCI) to where the ball’s gonna be and time your swing.
- Too early, you’ll probably foul it off. Too late, and you’re whiffing.
- There’s even different swing types! Normal, power, and contact. So many choices!
I spent a good hour just trying to get the hang of placing that PCI and timing my swing. It was rough at first. I was popping up, grounding out, basically doing everything but hitting solid line drives. But, slowly but surely, I started to see some improvement. I was making better contact, getting a few hits here and there.
Then came the pitching…
Oh boy. This was a whole different beast. Again, so many options! “Meter,” “Pinpoint,” “Pure Analog,” “Classic”… I decided to try “Pinpoint” because it felt the most engaging.
- This thing has you tracing patterns on the right stick.
- It’s like drawing little shapes for each pitch type.
- Circle for a fastball, a weird squiggly line for a curveball, you get the idea.
It’s tough! You gotta be pretty precise with your stick movements, and your timing has to be on point. Mess up either, and you’ll be throwing meatballs right down the middle. I spent another solid chunk of time just practicing different pitches, trying to get the hang of the gestures and the timing. My arm actually got a little sore, haha.
Fielding was next on my list. I set the options to “Buttons” because this is the one I used to play and familiar with.
- Use the buttons to select which base you want to throw to.
- Use the left stick to control your chosen fielder.
- Make sure to keep your eyes on the ball.
I kept practicing these. After I felt I did well enough, I tried playing an actual game and tried everything that I learned.
Finally, there’s baserunning. Honestly, I still haven’t fully mastered this. There are buttons to control individual runners, buttons to advance all runners, buttons to go back… It can get pretty hectic when you have multiple runners on base. I mostly just try to be aggressive and hope for the best, which probably isn’t the smartest strategy. I’m still fumbling around with it, but I’m getting there.
So, that’s my journey with MLB The Show 24’s controls so far. It’s been a learning experience, for sure. I’m definitely not a master yet, but I’m having fun, and I’m slowly improving. I suggest to try all the control types and see which one you like best, and get your own experience with it.
