Customer Reviews

MVP BASEBALL 2004

5 star:		(19)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Baseball fans, you no longer need to cringe everytime you hear EA Sports and our favorite pasttime in the same sentence. Gone are the days of the lowly (once decent) Triple Play series. Last years offering, MVP 2003, ushered in a new era in baseball games; this game takes it to another, never before seen, level. Simply put, this game is amazing.

First off hitting is easy. Not necessarily easy in the sense of being able to launch a small, white ball over the wall everytime, but easy to understand. The strike zone is divided into nine sections and you simply need to swing towards the section that the ball is pitched in. Of course that's not so easy as the ball comes whizzing in at 95 mph with some nasty spin on it. The hitting system makes perfect sense and really puts you in the eyes of a Major League batter!

Pitching is also intuitive, yet challenging. You choose your pitch, hold down the appropriate button until the meter fills, and tap the button again as it goes through the green accuracy zone. It feels very natural and is fairly easy to execute, but like real life, if you choose the wrong pitch or location...

Fielding in this game is the best of any game I've ever played. Hold the button to throw to the appropriate base. Hold it longer for more power, hold it too long and the throw could go sailing into the stands. It's a perfect risk/reward system. Of course better fielders are less likely to miscue than some 2nd year outfielder turned shortstop.

Among the other details included in this game are intentional walks, sliding to either side of the bag, barreling over the catcher at home, the ability to charge the mound EVERY time you are hit, and countless others that I don't have the time or space to put in here. There is an incredibly deep dynasty mode, several jerseys, players, and stadiums to unlock. (The old time stadiums are absolutely breathtaking!)

Don't get caught in a rundown; run out and pick this one up today! If you love baseball games then this will NOT disappoint you!

For years I have been a fan of the "All-Star" baseball games. When 2004 came around, I was hoping Acclaim would release All-Star 2005 for Gamecube and they didn't. So I was stuck with All-Star 2004. Then this new game came out called "MVP Baseball 2004" created by EA Sports, which was the game that was to replace All-Star. I finally rented the game because all my friends were bragging about how great the gameplay and graphics are. THEY WERE RIGHT! After 2 days of using the game, I was hooked. I bought my own copy before the rental was even due back.

I started my season with Baseball's greatest team, the NEW YORK YANKEES. I created my player to replace Soriano at 2B. I got my whole bullpen of All-Stars and my ultimate line-up of MLB's greatest players.

Here are the Best Features of the game:

Graphics - The faces, the uniforms, the stadiums, everything looks so real. Every time I play this game on my 36" TV, my parents mistake the game for a real-life Yankee game.

Gameplay - The pitching is unbeatable. The different types of pitches are extremely realistic as to the movement, the spin of the ball and the speed. The cool thing is if you pay close attention in instant replay, you'll notice the spin of the ball goes with the pitch. If the pitch is a curve, the spin is the real-life spin of a curve. The amazes me a lot. The small details like that are cool. The pitching gets a few tries to become an expert at. Also the baserunning and fielding is extremely realistic. The awsome jumps, dives, slides, and flips are utterly amazing. If you see Derek Jeter in action in this game, you'll see what I mean. The hitting does take some time to get used to. You don't have a hitting circle to line up with the ball to hit. It's not too hard to adapt to.

Features - This game features some gameplay modes that no other baseball game features. The first one is Homerun Showdown. Your up against any batter of your choice. The object is hit up to a certain amount of distance total from all your hits before your opponent does. For example, the total distance is 1 Mile. With all the distances of your hits adding up, you have to hit a total of 5,280 feet before the other guy. Be careful. If you hit a foul ball, you total will decrease based on the distance of the foul ball. If you miss a pitch swinging, you lose 100 ft.

The next feature and my personal favorite, the Pitcher's showdown. You can be any pitcher you choose and you pick the pitcher you're up against. You have to get a certain amount of strikeouts against any batter you choose before the computer. If the batter gets a homerun, you lose a strikeout.

There are so many new features in this game I can't even list all of them. This game definitely has All-Star Baseball beat by a mile.

Buy this game and you will find out why EA Sports is the BEST and always will be.

I picked this game up recently after hearing mixed reviews. I popped it into my GameCube, and I was pleasantly surprised! This game has a little bit of everything, which I'll go into in detail:

Graphics: Not the best I've ever seen, but certainly not the worst. The various overlays and Jumbo-tron screen are nicely done, and the player models look very well-rendered. However, the crowd is poorly animated, somewhat flat and cardboard like. This really isn't much of a complaint, but it can get to you if you play from the pitcher's perspective. And speaking of perspective, the camera angles are also nicely done and I rarely find myself struggling to figure out where the ball is, so it's overally a nice effort. 9/10

Controls: EA Sports wanted to make this game as realistic as possible, and they succeeded. The controls do take a little getting used to, but after a few games you'll wonder how you lived without them. You choose a pitch using any of the four buttons (and sometimes the R trigger as well), hold it for however long you want and then release it, (the longer the harder the throw but the more stamina it drains), and then press the button again when the cursor moves back into the green zone. It sounds complicated, but it's really not. Likewise, when batting there's no cursor to "lock on" to the ball, or anything like that. If you can time your swing right, you'll put wood on the ball. But it's placement that will get you the big hits. Finally, fielding can be a little awkward sometimes (the ball will go through a player's legs for no real reason), and baserunning can get a little confusing, but it's a solid effort that's fairly easy to learn but difficult to master. 8.75/10

Game Design: Ah, the heart of the game. The various modes have their own little perks, like the Pitcher Showdown, where pitchers try and get to a set number of strikeouts, and each homerun or walk results in a strikeout getting taken away. But it's in Dynasty Mode where MVP Baseball really shines. Here, you can take the helm of a franchise for up to 120 years, controlling everything, from trades to free agents to budgets, and you get a nice baseball game thrown in. Additionally, you can control not only your major league team, but your AAA and your AA team, and move people up or down as you see fit. This is probably one of, if not the best, franchise mode I've ever seen. 9.75/10

Sound: The sound is fairly solid. Like most sports games announcers, the commentary is strong, but some phrases are repeated often, and it can become tedious listening to them. The crowd sounds are appropriate; the shout of the vendors, the heckling by a fan, the crack of the bat and the slap of the glove all sound cool. 9.25/10

Satisfaction: Basically, is the game fun to play? To put it simply, yes. You'll enjoy it even if you really don't like baseball that much, and the layers of depths will keep you entertained for a long time to come. 9.5/10

Overall, this is a game that everyone die-hard baseball fan should get, but even the casual fan like myself will like it and play it for quite some time before it gets old. I applaud EA Sports for their great effort, and if you check this game out I'm sure you will too.

Having attended a few games of MLB for the first time last year on a visit to the States I was suprised how easy it was to understand the game - not bad for a Brit!!

EA Sports have done a great job of recreating the excitement of baseball, from the big hitters to the sly pitchers this game has it all and more!

Not only does the game concentrate on the Major League but incorporates the two minor leagues as well - the Dynasty mode has plenty of depth and I can see myself playing the game for a long time yet. You can call up future stars from the minors all the way to the "big time" and vice versa, make trades and even create your own players who can be added to your favourite teams.

There is a very challenging Pitching and Hitting showdown element - which needs alot of practice!!

Having only visited Shea Stadium and US Cellular Field last year the stadiums as far as I could see were recreated very accurately, and home run celebrations are worth it too!!

The graphics are fantastic - the animations and player models being the best but unfortunatley EA never can get the crowds and spectators right - but you only notice that if you manage the home run - or hitting a foul.

The true swing batting system is fairly easy to understand, and with a little bit of practice you will be hitting the ball into the stands for a home run. The Pitching system is easier than I had expected and gives you a lot of variance with pitch placement and the use of different pitching combinations.

On the whole a great game, you will be playing it for ages - and easy enough to learn for all Baseball novices like us Brits, yet challenging enough for all you die hard fans.

The game is the best there is out there right now. The graphics are solid, although not as crisp as one would prefer. One of the nice additions is the ability to control your team's respective AAA and AA clubs. While there is no ability to create an expansion franchise as there is in All-Star Baseball, this minor league feature sort of makes up for it.

The announcing is terrific and the stadium replications are perfect. It's nice to see the big apple at Shea Stadium go up after hitting a homer in NY, or watching the eyes of the tiger light up in Detroit. The game requires some attention in dynasty mode as you need to really run three teams (MLB and Minors) and call up and send down regularly. Players wil send you e-mail complaining of playing time or contract status through out the year and will be annoyed if they find out they have been put on the trading block.

All-in-all, the game would be a nice addition to any baseball fans VG library.

I've played quite a few MLB games on the old Playstation and the Nintendo 64. From "High Heat Baseball" to "Triple Play," I've played my share. One thing that I really enjoyed about the "Triple Play" games is the fact that you had to warm-up your bullpen to get them ready to pitch. "MVP Baseball 2004" has that and all of the other great aspects of the "Triple Play" games, plus loads of other features that can't be matched by other baseball formats.

One of the neatest things about this game is all of the throwback uniforms, legendary players and stadiums that you can earn by performing certain feats during a game such as winning a game in extra innings, getting ten runs, hitting .600, etc. For every feat you perform you earn a certain amount of points. After you accumulate enough points, you can "purchase" throwback uniforms, from the cool ones(Astros) to the wretched ones(Pirates), or players. Once you've acquired all of the players, you then have access to some new stadiums. You can also play in the minors. The Zephyrs are still part of the Astros organization on this game, and they give you access to players like Brandon Backe.

The gameplay is as close to the real thing as I've ever seen. Multiple camera angles capture every move, every slide, and even little things like eye movement and spin on the ball. You recognize pitchers by their throwing style and hitters like Jeff Bagwell and Gary Sheffield by their unique batting stances(Craig Counsell's unorthodox stance is also included). Ichiro looks like Ichiro. Jeff Kent looks like Jeff Kent. In fact, I'd say that ninety-percent of all of the players actually look like themselves. Only a few that I've seen look nothing like their actual selves(Morgan Ensberg and Adam Everett come to mind). Players make diving catches and barrel through the catcher as if you're seated on the third baseline. Pitches are delivered with perfection(if you throw it properly) and you can differentiate between a curve, slider, knuckleball, etc. when your waiting at the plate.

If you can't already tell, I'm a big Astros fan. Minute Maid Park looks beautiful on this game. When you hit a homerun, the train takes off across the tracks just like the real deal. You can see Seahawks Stadium in the outfield of the Mariner's Safeco Field. The Green Monster at Fenway has the newly installed seats on top of it. In other words, a lot of attention was given to details that many other games look beyond.

Bat control is very good. You can pretty much put the ball wherever you want if you have a player at the plate who can handle the Rocket's pitches. Bunting is also pretty easy to master.

I highly recommend this game for its lifelike presentation of the grand old game. It's pretty easy to learn and the control is excellent once you have it downpat. Also, there are tons of features and playing style to choose from.

A great buy.

By the way, the Expos will live forever on this game!!!!!

Hats off to EA on probably the best baseball game ever made. Graphics are amazing, gameplay is exellent, depth is incredible. You can, play manage and lots more. Any avid baseball fan would love this game. But I do have two gripes. One is that when I created a player, I had to actually negotiate with him to set a salary! It was cool, yet really annoying, because one of the two players I created nearly emptied my bank before he would sign with my team. My main gripe however, is a problem that was present in the 2003 version and is still present in the 2004 version. The hot/cold zone feature has some serious bugs, especially concerning the opposing team when controlled by the cpu. The computer teams batters, just rope the ball in the field for doubles and triples or hit homers. No matter where I threw the ball, it was the same. Makes it hard to enjoy the game when the cpu team is up 8 runs by the 3rd inning every time. But overall it's a truly amazing game, with amazing depth into America's favorite pasttime, Baseball

Graphics 8/10
Gameplay 8/10
Sound 9/10
Replayability 10/10

This game is great, it is a little annoying though when you have to keep messing with the settings because it is insanely hard one time, then it is wicked easy the next time when you are scoring like 20 runs in a game. But overall this game is great.

This title is very good practice required to make a rom jon wagon and make it their own machine but is good friends I recommend it

This game is outdated obviously since I am reviewing this in 2009 but its still my favorite game of ball on any system that I have ever played. The gameplay is still great and works good enough for me. The graphics for when this were released were outstanding and in 2009 they might be outdated but I do not mind in the least.

The core mechanics of pitching and hitting are near perfect. While fielding is not perfect it does not put a burden on the game in the least. One feature I like is if you are playing your team in dynasty mode and say as the years go by you can create a player and edit his stats fairly comparable to how he plays in real life. Dynasty Mode can last 120 seasons which is a bit ridiculous but its there if you want to go that long. I like doing the contract negotiations and trades which sure you can do in the newer games I have but I love it when the player is mad when you offer them a low amount of money and they sign regardless of if they really want to.

This game is purely gameplay driven and offers an addictive experience that is only partly rivaled by the Show series on Playstation. I wished EA could of kept the MLB license as I feel overall this game is 10 times better than 2k's efforts in 2009 even.