MLB 15: The Show review: It's the perfect baseball game... perhaps a little bit too perfect

Casual fans and newcomers could be put off by truly comprehensive sim

PS4, PS3, PS Vita (£49.99)

This game is an absolutely perfect representation of baseball - it might just be one of the truest sports sims ever made.

The Show is gorgeous, every player has a distinct batting and pitching motion based on their real-life selves and you can feel the Americana in beautifully rendered crowds and stadia.

The devil is in the detail, this is a truly immersive experience that puts you in the thick of the action. The in-game physics are great, players react to situations on the field and each individual feels truly unique.

The franchise mode is as comprehensive (and ruthless) as it gets; after three seasons as the Boston Red Sox general manager I failed to get my contract renewed. I'd reached the play-offs but failed to deliver the World Series title that my virtual bosses craved - I'd opted to try and build a dynasty with young players full of potential rather than chase expensive veterans and win now.

If you want to see how you'd hack it in the big leagues then Road to the Show is the mode for you and it too is a triumph. The only problem is that your story lacks the kind of off-court narrative seen in NBA 2K15, for example.

It's extremely tough to find a fault with the game and therein lies the problem (for those of us in the UK at least).

Baseball might be America's game but it's never had any love over here. We don't 'get' baseball at all - it's just rounders dressed up in Americana.

Having not played the last couple of games in the series I'd forgotten how difficult this game could be. I'd selected a medium difficulty but just like with the real thing it is as much a test of patience as it is a sport.

As time went on I was exasperated with my struggles on the plate and went down to 'rookie', and promptly started knocking balls out of the park.

It's an extremely steep and testing curve that no amount of tutorials helped. It will put casual baseball fans off and with the sport hardly registering on the national psyche those who have no interest in the sport are flat out going to hate it.

These points are either criticisms or things to be lauded depending on your point of view.

If you are a casual gamer with a couple of hours to spare in an evening then you're not going to get the most out of this. But if you're a baseball fan, or have any interest in the sport, then it is a work of art.