I wrote a very lengthy review of an earlier edition of OOTP so I won't write as much here. Just when it seems as though OOTP can't get any better, Markus and company add in even more baseball greatness. The two I love this year are the Player Development tools and Drive For The Pennant. Let's take the latter first.

Drive For The Pennant is a way to play the current season but in a very unique way. You play as mostly the GM, but, you will be called into field manage in crucial games and situations. It's a blast! Who doesn't love second guessing a manager? What I am hoping for is the the devs will add a Drive For The Pennant mode for all past seasons. I think it's a fun way to play OOTP and especially nice for people new to the game to get in without feeling tidal waved.

The addition of Player Development is a baseball simmer's dream. This new feature works will all seasons - and remember that IITP gives you every MLB season and a lot more for one price. Anyhow, imagine you're doing a season replay or a draft league. You notice (no surprise) that Dave Kingman is striking out too much. Here's your chance to try to remedy that.

Using a slider systems that RPG players will feel right at home with, you can choose to have Kingman work on lowering his strikeout frequency, but, and here's the fun art: you have to take away focus from one or more of his stronger attributes to work on those KOs There is no other baseball sim I know of that has such a feature. Try it! I think you'll find it a wonderful tool for experimentation.

I will say that a lot of people feel intimidated by OOTP because there are so many menus, submenus, buttons, launch codes - well not launch codes but NORAD would love the complexity - and what not. My advice is to ease yourself in. Start perhaps by picking one of the included Quickstarts. Everything is set up for you and ready to go. OOTP is a game for the hardcore baseball fan. There is nothing casual about it, and, while the devs have made great strides to make this complex game more user-friendly since the first edition way back in 1999, with so much power, there is going to be complexity. Just know that going in, breathe, and remember that you can't break anything.

One of the first things you should do is get silvam's Stadium and Uniform mods from the Steam Workshop. His work on these mods is so superb that people are using his ballparks in OTHER PC baseball sims.

OOTP is THE king of digital baseball sims. It truly is an infinite baseball playground and if you love the National Pastime, you deserve to treat yourself to this amazing baseball experience.

I was a beta-tester for this year's edition, but, I have paid for and played every previous edition. OOTP is THE digital baseball sim. Stop reading my drivel and buy the game!!!

The best simulaltion baseball game out there.

best baseball sim, look at my hours played