It is a fun game, very solid sounds, nice graphics. Not perfect, but not many games are.
Obviously, my choices were limited having a 360, which is one reason I am tired of reading reviews on here comparing it to The Show, which looks awesome and I bet it is a very good game, but if you went and bought MLB 2k9 today and write a review in under a day of having the game and do nothing but compare it to The Show then A) there is no way you played both games in such a short time B) If you have played both games, did you really go buy both games?!? Why??? and C) If you love The Show so much, why would you get MLB 2k9 when you obviously have your mind made up?
Typically, I prefer to have a game a while before reviewing it, but with the two reviews already posted (a 2 and a 5) it seemed someone needed to post one who was neutral coming in. Seeing how I had not owned any previous versions of either The Show or previous 2k baseball games on the 360, I think I fit that description.
Since it is already lengthy and I haven't played it ALL that much, I will give a quick run down.
I played the demo with no intention on getting a baseball game, more like I was bored......and I was hooked. I played the demo about 5 times, with 5 completely different results to the game, some high scoring games, some very low scoring, close games, that impressed me. I saw some places claiming the AI hit anything close to the strike zone, but I have struck out Ryan Howard and pitched around the corners, but also got nailed for a homer when I mis-pitched and left it over the middle more than I would like, sounds like real baseball to me! These are pros, you leave it towards the middle, they hit you and hit you hard.
The sounds are awesome, announcing is some of the best I have heard in any sports game. Graphics are solid, a few glitches, like a slight drop in frame rate here and there, mainly when hitting foul balls, occassionally on a high pop fly, I think this is because they have so much going on in the stands and on the field, would be nice if it didnt do that, but it is brief and does not alter the actualy gameplay experience - at least not on my x-box 360! Biggest glitch is when they show the manager and there is some clipping issues, but I personally don't let a brief cut away from the main action alter my whole perception of the game. There is room for improvement, though.
I personally like the hitting and pitching, I have had my struggled and my 'hitting spree' moments, I would say balanced....not too east but not insanely hard, either. It was made for everyone to be able to enjoy, not just someone who spends 10-15 hours a day with their system! Plus, from what I read, people complained about last years being hard now they complain about it being easy?!? Can't have it both ways!
I mainly stick with franchise modes in my games, so I can not review multiplayer, so I will leave that untouched.
Overall, it is a fun game and I am happy I bought it. Would The Show be better? Well, doesn't matter since I don't have a PS3 and this isn't a 'please compare and contrast to every other baseball game' section, this is a 'review this game' section. I say pick it up if you love baseball or sports in general (like I do) and you'll have plenty of fun, with some style!