The young Phillies first basemen joins an elite team of MLB cover athletes and spokespeople, including New York Mets third baseman David Wright, Boston Red Sox designated hitter David Oritz, Angels outfielder Vladimir Guerrero. Howard’s definitely earned this honor, winning Rookie of the Year honors and a Most Valuable Player award in successive seasons. Last season, Howard became the fastest player in MLB history to hit 100 home runs.

Now that you know more about MLB 08 THE SHOW’s cover star, we’ll reveal more about the gameplay later in the week.

This week marks the release of Heavenly Sword – and after months of anticipation, weeks of “making-of” videos and the animated prequels, we’re fired up to see the game make its way to store shelves.

Considered one of the most anticipated PS3 titles of the year, the buzz around Heavenly Sword continues to build as review scores begin to pour in from leading gaming sources. A sampling of the scores thus far include: Play Magazine – 10/10, Game Pro Magazine – 4.5/5, Game Informer Magazine – 8.75/10, Electronic Gaming Monthly Magazine – 8.33/10, GameZone.com – 8.8/10, and 1Up.com – 8/10.

Here’s what they’re saying:

“Heavenly Sword is a fun, engaging, and most importantly, exclusive PS3 title that Sony fanboys can brag to 360 fanboys about.” – Game Pro Magazine

“…the combat in Heavenly Sword is frenzied and entertaining… The amazing cutscenes (with some of the best facial animations I’ve ever seen), a cool cast of characters, and the stirring musical score complement the gameplay to create an incredibly cinematic experience.” – Game Informer Magazine

“… there’s no doubt in our mind that Heavenly Sword is a winner and a work of art (eat that Roger Ebert!) that will help shift tons of PS3s come September. When it’s good, it’s truly magnificent and some of the final stages will have anyone with a 42-inch high-definition TV foaming at the mouth. No battle-scene compares to Nariko’s finale. Plus, Nariko’s home of the new face of PlayStation, going so far as to shunt Lara Croft from her throne as the ultimate game girl. Bring on Heavenly Sword 2.” – GamesRadar.com

“Heavenly Sword is among the rarest of treasures in the video game world. It is also an important game in the history of that entertainment genre. Why? Never have there been such compelling characters in the gaming world; characters you cared about, characters that could twist your emotions with the initial look in their eyes after a plot point is revealed…. Heavenly Sword is an amazing accomplishment. It is the promise of what the next-gen platforms can achieve in terms of breathing life into characterizations.” – GameZone.com

“Heavenly Sword feels like a summer action flick. It’s full of nonstop action, and it looks terrific. Heavenly Sword is a fantastic game from start to finish.” – GameSpot.com

“Heavenly Sword is the games equivalent of that showcase DVD you bought when you first got your home theatre system all set up; it’s The Matrix or Saving Private Ryan, but it also happens to be a damn good action game to boot…. one of the best experiences you can get on the PlayStation 3. Period.” – TotalPlayStation.com

“Heavenly Sword’s visuals are arguably the best the system has seen to date. I can’t talk up the graphics enough — not only are the characters and environments incredibly well detailed, but there’s very little of that typical (and easily abused) “next-gen gloss” applied to them, so you get a much cleaner-looking game than fare like Gears of War or Virtua Fighter 5.” – 1Up.com

Also, I’m embedding here the new Heavenly Sword trailer!

Lastly, I wanted to include a few reference links here to our previous Heavenly Sword posts. Enjoy!

Inside the Developers Studio: Nina Kristensen
Heavenly Sword Prequel – Part I
Heavenly Sword Prequel – Part II
Heavenly Sword Prequel – Part IV
Heavenly Sword Prequel – Part V

The annual MLB All Star Game, also popularly known as the Midsummer Classic, is an opportunity for baseball fans to see the game’s biggest superstars and most valuable players compete on a national stage.

The night before the game, New York Met’s All-Star Third Baseman and MLB 07 The Show cover athlete David Wright delivered an MVP performance of his own at the Childrens Unit at the UCSF Hospital. Wright surprised the children by showing up to sign autographs, talk a little baseball, and play MLB 07 with them.

The day was also highlighted by PlayStation’s donation of some PS3′s, PS2′s, PSP’s, an assortment of games, and a couple of 32″ Bravia TV’s to the unit’s All-Star room.

And although Wrights National League Team lost the MLB All-Star Game 5-4, the picture above and below show he won a lot of new fans at UCSF.