Looking for a gift for your finicky sports-loving friend? Does he or she have a PS3 or Xbox 360? Click through for a list of games that've been in heavy rotation in my game console of late – and a few I'd like to get my hands on.

Having lived in the shadow of Sony's ultra-impressive The Show for years now, 2K Sports' Major League Baseball 2K10 finally steps into the light to compete for bragging rights as the standard-bearer of baseball simulators.

The 2008 Little League World Series has narrowed the pool down to four teams and four final games to be held this weekend. It's Japan versus Mexico in the International Championship game (11:30am, Saturday, ABC) and Hawaii and Louisiana playing to see who's best in the U.S. (2:30pm, Saturday, ABC). The Championship Game will take place Sunday at 2:30pm with the Consolation Game being played at 11am (both on ABC). For more on LLWS schedules and scores click here. If you got a young'un who's not ready for the Little League action to end, Activision has got you covered. Little League World Series 2008 is out now for the Wii (and Nintendo DS) and is the first officially licensed LL game for next-gen consumers. The motion-sensing controls allow easy accessibility for players of all ages and all skill levels. Sixteen teams from around the globe are featured (eight from the U.S.) as well as three Little League stadiums (Lamade Stadium, Volunteer Stadium, and All-Star Field). LLWS 2008 also features fun power-ups, World Series mode, skill challenges, and much more to keep the young baseball fan fixated until next season.

My apologies to the fine folks at 2K Sports in taking so long to post my review of their baseball sim MLB 2K8, but honestly it has taken me this long to try and figure out their new pitching mechanism. This glitch-ridden and almost unusable new mechanic makes playing this game as frustrating as your worst workday of the year. After a month or so of trying to get this new technique down and throwing countless "meatballs" I simply gave up and reverted to last year's pitching scheme. The new system is supposed to mimic how the actual pitch is thrown but has a serious learning curve and flat out doesn't work most of the time. Unless I am a complete idiot (which is debatable), I would have to imagine that most other gamers have had the same experience with this piece of crap "improvement." The new fielding mechanism isn't much better and the new batting system only works on the power swing and doesn't even respond to the contact swing. Lame!

While Sony’s The Show and 2K Sports’ Major League Baseball 2K7 pride themselves on replicating the intricacies and subtleties of an actual big-league game down to the most minute detail, 2K’s The Bigs prefers the fireworks and flash of arcade-style ball and the power-ups and special effects that accompany this fun and fluffy style of gameplay.

Much like the casual baseball fan prefers the thrill of cover boy Albert Pujols knocking the ball out of the park over a well-placed bunt or exquisitely turned double-play, the casual baseball-video-game fan will prefer this quick, action-filled, bells-and-whistles-packed version that more resembles a pinball game than a baseball sim.

OK, I may have been a little too harsh on MLB 2K7 for the Xbox 360 – that game has certainly grown on me, and the jump from 360 to PS2 for this game was slightly painful – but The Show has my heart when it comes to video-game baseball. Aside from console differences, The Show is still the baseball game to beat. No crazy hitting mechanism, all the managerial options that Phil Garner and his ilk have to weigh, and still the most realistic hard-ball sim on the shelves. The biggest weakness here is its lack of availability on the Xbox 360 – it can only be purchased for the PlayStation2, PlayStation3, and PSP.

If you follow sports at all, you've most assuredly seen the commercial for this game featuring Nirvana's "Breed." I'm a huge fan of baseball, video games, and Kurt Cobain, but while I can think of a few less-appropriate uses of Nirvana's catalog, this certainly ranks pretty high on the list. I'd rather not speak for a dead man, but it's highly unlikely that Cobain would have given permission to use his music to help sell a sports-related video game – or any video game – especially considering the contempt in which he held most jocks. Just the jerky ones, of course. Oh well, whatever, never mind.

Those hoping 2K Sports makes up for this depressing blunder with a totally kickass baseball game will be further disappointed. Major League Baseball's biggest failure is its hitting mechanism. An awkward combination of stepping back and following through with the right stick to accomplish either a contact swing, power swing, defensive swing, or checked swing. Maybe I just suck at it, but I've never felt so feeble and frustrated at the virtual plate. I could be upset that Chronicle Music writer and baseball blogger Christopher Gray is finally able to consistently kick my ass on the virtual diamond, but I choose to believe the fault lies with the game. (Gray: "Of course it does.")

The debate over whether professional or collegiate sports is more exciting to watch lingers as a water-cooler topic and has no end in sight. Some argue that professional athletes are prima donnas who slack off once they've made their money and that college athletes play with hustle and all their heart. Others feel that college players have inferior skills and that, therefore, the quality of the game pales in comparison to the pros. While that argument stalemates, the battle between MVP 06: NCAA Baseball and MLB 06: The Show steps into the batters box.