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48 of 50 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars EA's MVP Baseball Franchise Goes Out On Top, March 31, 2005

D. R. Jeanclerc "Reader, Listener & Obsessive... (Brunswick, OH USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE) (TOP 1000 REVIEWER) (REAL NAME)

= Fun:5.0 out of 5 stars

This review is from: MVP Baseball 2005 (Video Game)

Too bad for every fan of baseball videogames that this year's installment of EA's "MVP Baseball" franchise is likely the last for a while. Rival developer Take Two has agreed to exclusive third-party rights to all MLB properties, i.e. player & team names, stadiums, logos, etc. beginning next year. Unless EA partners up with a game manufacturer to release it on one platform or another, you can kiss this gem goodbye. The good news is that MVP Baseball 2005 is a game so deep and enjoyable, it might be the last baseball game that you need to buy for several seasons anyway.

First and most importantly, MVP makes each game a lot of fun for baseball fans of all skill and interest levels. Controls are deep but intuitive - as the cliche goes, they're "easy to learn but tough to master", so you can either just sit down and quickly begin playing at a basic level or else put in some practice to begin hurling some nasty stuff and running your opponent silly on the basepaths. Basically, the left analog stick controls player movement and the right one control actions. The right stick is an especially nice touch. When you're batting, you use it to try to aim your hit - lob it deep for a sac fly, ground a line drive past the pitcher, pull one down the line, etc. When you're running the bases, the right stick control slides: head-first or foot-first, aiming away from the tag, even steamrolling the catcher to try to knock the ball loose (you'll go crazy the first time you pull this one off). When you're in the field, the right stick controls big moves such as lunging for a line shot, sliding for an outfield shoestring catch or even climbing the outfield wall to reel back a would-be homer.

You've also got a full roster of in-game manager controls at the ready via the shoulder buttons: set infield/outfield depth and position, send in subs, call pitchers down to the bullpen, etc. You can also view tons of data on your opposition very easily: season stats, ability scores, hitting tendencies, and even the pitch history of previous at-bats for the current game. Very deep and very useful once you get to a highly competitive level vs. friends.

BATTING

When a batter is at the plate, you see a grid of squares covering the strikezone; each of these squares may be tinted either red or blue to indicate a hot or cold zone for that batter's swing. It's obviously helpful to the pitcher to know where the batter doesn't like his offering. It also helps you learn patience as a batter, helping you decide when to let one go by. Unlike other baseball games, there's only one button for the batter's swing, i.e. you don't have to decide in a split-second whether you're hitting for contact or power. This is instead determined more by the position of the right-analog stick, your timing, the position of the pitch and the batter's natural characteristics. All in all, this sets up a much more realistic batting scheme and makes offense an enjoyable challenge. It also keeps players' results realistically in line with how I'm playing. For example, if I keep aiming Sean Casey's swings for the far wall, I'm going to have a terrible average due to lots of outfield fly balls - very un-Casey-like. However, if I'm playing like Casey really plays and aiming shots at holes in the infield and the shallow outfield (as in real-life), then I'm a candidate for the batting crown. To help you with the timing aspect of pitching, there's a picture-in-picture window after all missed swings showing you a slo-mo replay of the point at the pitch was at its most hittable and where your swing was in relation.

PITCHING

Pitchers have individual arsenals of pitches based on real-life capabilities. The act of pitching is very similar to most golf videogames: the circular arc containing a moving line that you try to time your presses to. The first press begins the pitch and sends the line in motion. The second determines the amount of "oomph" on the pitch, i.e. raw speed on fastballs or break on off-speed offerings. Once you make this second press, the line shoots back the other way. Your third press determines how pinpoint the pitch is - miss this third tap by too much and you'll hang a breaking ball over the plate or bean the batter on an inside fastball. Using the analog stick to paint the corners coupled with mixing up fastballs with breaking balls makes pitching a really fun chess match against opposing batters. You also need to keep baserunners honest by throwing to their bag occasionally or else the game will steal mercilessly on you (I've never picked anyone off, though it's hypothetically possible).

FIELDING

Fielding is a bit disappointing compared to the super pitcher/batter action at the plate. First off, control is analog but still very touchy - jerk the stick a little too much and you'll run right past an infield dribbler. Plus, the right-stick functions are very unforgiving. If you slide into a sno-cone catch in the outfield and mis-time it, the ball will likely roll all the way to the fence. I gave up a lot of inside-the-part homers this way during the first couple of days of play. A little experience will solve this frustration, though. Double plays are exciting but not easy to pull off because a lot of opposing runners will hard-slide into second to break up any potential throw - very realistic. When throwing, you get a meter similar to that of pitching: how long you hold the button determines how hard you hurl it but the harder you throw, the more likely you'll be off-target. You may pull your first baseman off the bag or even worse toss it into foul territory. Each player has a different threshhold of risking an error based on real-life characteristics. The game automatically decides which player is in best position to make a play but doesn't always make the choice that I would. The L1 shoulder button is always available to switch to the next closest player if you don't agree with MVPs initial decision.

GAMEPLAY

Playing the computer is a handful because the AI is no pushover. The opposition knows when to bunt, when to steal, how to position defensively and will keep you on your toes. It also fields flawlessly, which can be frustrating when you see your infield laser knocked down and converted into a rally-killing double play. There are plenty of game-tweaking sliders available to customize the gameplay to suit your sim vs. arcade tastes. But even with default settings, you'll run into a lot of exciting game scenarios - close pitchers' duels, come-from-behind wins, etc.

There are numerous game modes: quick game, tournament, dynasty (the traditional multi-season mode with basic GM duties) and the new Owner mode. As an owner, you not only play all of the games that you choose to and perform all of GM tasks but also try to make money for the franchise. This idea was initially trotted out in EA's Madden football franchise. It certainly adds a new challenges for those who can't get enough out of their sim experience, but some aspects of it are lacking, such as the create-a-stadium feature. You don't have many choices when initially building your field and the upgrades are so expensive that you'd have to play or sim several very successful seasons to afford them. Owner mode looks like the start of something good, but most will prefer to play the Dynasty mode rather than continuously decide how much to charge for popcorn and when to schedule team magnet giveaway day. MVP 2005 also adds several enjoyable mini-games, the best being a hitting drill that's part home-run derby part shooting gallery. You can play under a user-specific profile and earn points for performing well on the field; these points can then be traded in for locked goodies such as older stadiums, classic/retro uniforms and all-time great players. MVP 2005 also supports online play (broadband recommended).

GRAPHICS

Graphically, MVP is top-quality. There is a seemingly limitless supply of smooth and realistic player animations to handle all situations on the field. Some of the transitions are choppy, though. For instance, if you hit a line drive off of the pitcher, it results in a animation of him recoiling from the hit (looks good), followed by a lightning-fast cut to put the ball in his hand (looks not so good), followed by the throw to first (looks good). Still, these situations where the game doesn't quite know how to string multiple actions together in the absolutely prettiest fashion are few and far between. For better or worse, players inherit their physical characteristics - sorry, David Wells, but EA is on to you. Player faces are generally well-rendered for close-ups, although facial movement has that "mechanical zombie" quality that is typical of all videogames right now. The stadiums are highly detailed right down to specific celebrations (the outfield train at Minute Maid) and the city visible beyond the outfield (Cubs fans are in for a treat).

SOUND

The commentators are about average: the play-by-play guy is just what you'd want for a baseball game while the color announcer quickly becomes a little repetitive and annoying. Still, there are a lot of audio clips and the game does a nice job of mixing them up from pitch to pitch and inning to inning. The commentary content is questionable at times - they are both of a mind that virtually everybody should bunt every time at the plate and they're also very high on almost everybody's ability to steal second. The sound effects are fine. The now-familiar trend of EA Trax music offerings are a pretty mix of modern-slanting rock. The main problem is that there aren't many selections, so you're going to hear a lot of repeats, especially if you turn off some songs that you just... Read more ›

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5.0 out of 5 stars MVP 2005 vs. MLB 2K5: Which is better?, March 7, 2005

A. Fanchi "AdmiralACF" (United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)

= Fun:5.0 out of 5 stars

This review is from: MVP Baseball 2005 (Video Game)

The big question for me this year was which baseball game to purchase: MLB 2K5 (to be referred to as MLB) and MVP 2005. Sure, I could have shelled out $50 for both games, but that didn't seem to be a good solution when I don't have the free time to dedicate to two seperate baseball games. Here is my own take on the matchup.

Presentation: I give MLB 2K5 a slight edge here for a number of reasons. First, the commentary is better, hands down. The real-life commentators from ESPN blow EA's fakers out of the water. There is an issue with the booth guys calling every hit a rookie makes his first hit of his career, but that's not nearly as bad as the repetitive banter of the MVP guys, which is just rehashed from previous years' games. The ESPN presentation in general is just awesome and every game feels like a real ESPN broadcast. MVP's got its own good points. I really like the ability to check out previous at-bats to see how the pitcher is handling your hitter. Both do pretty well with the accessibility of pinch hitters, the bullpen, etc.

Graphics: Again, I gotta go with MLB here, but only by a little. I like the style of the graphics in MLB better. MVP seems to be more cartoonish. Both have issues with players diving through walls or missing the bases, but such things are rare. MLB has some awesome animations for dives.

Sound: The sound in both games is good enough for me. MLB is much better in terms of commentary, as mentioned before, but both are good with ambiant sounds. MVP has the advantage in terms of menu music, though it does not have very many songs, so it can get repetitive quickly. However, MLB's constantly looping Baseball Tonight tune gets quite annoying, especially since changes screens causes it to restart from the beginning.

Gameplay (in game): Gameplay is really a toss-up and I'm afraid I'll have to declare it a push. MVP gets the edge with the hitter's eye, which comes in fairly handy, but I do like MLB's pitch-guessing. Slam Zone for MLB is kinda cool, though it can be unbalancing in gameplay and the computer is very difficult to beat in button mashing, at least for me. MVP's arguing calls feature is a neat little add-on, but not something I would have to have in a game I bought. As a veteran of MVP games, the K-Zone in MLB is a nice change-of-pace pitching mechanism, and the option of being able to use an MVP knock off pitching style is nice.

Gameplay (franchise/dynasty/career): For me, this is the most important factor in a baseball game. I'm a hard-core sim fan, and I want realistic stats from my franchises. This one was hard to call, but in the end all the little nuances of MLB won out over the extra features of MVP. For those who have played previous installments of MVP, I'll address some of the new additions, and then compare with MLB.

MVP has added position player fatigue, which means that your guys in the field will tire the more games they play in a row. However, it did not appear that the computer would sub in bench players to give your every day starters a break. MLB, on the other hand, lets you set up depth charts with percentages of playing time for each player at that position. For instance, you can give your start 85% of the starts, and his backup(s) 15%. The computer will then actually make these substitutions in simmed games. One drawback to the depth charts, though, is that you cannot assign a backup to more than one position. However, you can get around this by setting your starters, and then telling the computer to auto-generate the depth chart, which leaves your starters in there but inserts your bench players into the chart as backups to every position the player is pretty well rated in.

This leads me to another difference between the two. MLB actually has fielding ratings for every player at every position, whereas MVP only has a primary and (sometimes) a secondary position for players.

Speaking of ratings, MLB has a very nice potential rating for players, indicating how good the player will become (at least, in the opinion of your scout). MLB's overall rating is also very nice since it is an actual number rather than a red bar that makes it difficult to compare players.

Both games are pretty similar in terms of including injuries and suspensions, and neither game lets you have a pitching rotation of less than five players. If you want to pitch your rested #1 instead of your #5 (or even #4), you have to manually plug him into that spot and move the rest of your staff accordingly. Both games let you plug in a pitcher or spot start when going through game by game, but neither will then change who is scheduled to pitch the next game.

When going through game by game, MVP is at the advantage. Its manager mode is a really robust way to go through games quickly, yet maintain some control over the performance of your team. MLB has Gamecast, which is similar but has far fewer options.

MVP has brought back its Franchise mode, in much the same form as last year, but has added owner mode. This is a cool feature that lets you run the business side of a ballclub, but it has a big drawback in that it REQUIRES you create a stadium to start. This stadium is much smaller than any other in baseball, and does not really have all that many options for personalizing it, at least not at first. This seems to put your team at a disadvantage. MLB has two options for going through multiple seasons as well. One is very similar to MVP's Franchise mode, with team goals to reach, etc. The GM Career mode, however, is the one that I really like. You play as a GM (or up to 4, unlike MVP, which limits you to 1 in both modes), trying to take your team to the World Series while pleasing the team's owner at the same time. Your owner will give you certain objectives to complete, and if you fail, his mood will sour and you may find yourself on the chopping block. Succeed, however, and you'll find a lucrative contract extension in your future. If you build a powerhouse with your first team, or if you fail miserably, you can sign a contract with another club.

Both games include an in-game e-mail system, neither of which is particularly dynamic. You'll find yourself receiving the same reports over and over, but in MVP at least you can change the filters to get rid of the seemingly endless stream of injury reports coming from other teams.

Both games include minor league systems, though MVP is much ore robust in this aspect. MLB has AAA and AA, but you cannot play games. MVP has all three levels, 90 teams in all, and you can play games for all three. However, it can become rather tedious setting four lineups each for your three minor league teams. You can let the CPU do it, but who knows how well it can be trusted? MLB has fewer minor leaguers (which may or may not be a good thing), with handy arrows that tell you if the player is improving or suffering at their current level. This makes managing your own minor league rosters in MLB much less tedious.

Stat-wise, both games are pretty robust. They have most of your basic baseball stats, but none of the in-depth splits. There is no way to know how Jeff Bagwell is hitting against lefties at night, in domes, on the second Tuesday of the month. However, all the most important stats are there and are kept for past seasons. MVP's season-by-season stats only go back five years, but the career totals are accurate. MLB keeps track of a players stats for as long as they have played.

Both games also have a number of post-season awards to hand out, from the Cy Young and MVPs to Reliever of the Year and Rookie of the Year. MLB also has a hall of fame, which is very cool.

In terms of menu layout and accessibility, MVP is the clear winner. It has brighter, cleaner menus that load without the lag time that MLB has. MVP also makes every bit of info about a player available every place you find that player. In MLB, you have to move constantly between menus to find out different info about your players. MLB does have a player card for every player, but this is not all-inclusive. For instance, it will tell you that your player has a C+ range, but does not say what positions (other than his primary) he is able to play well.

Winner: MLB 2K5

I hope that you have found this long and rambling review at least moderately helpful. Thanks for reading!

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5.0 out of 5 stars The Elite of 2005's Lineup, March 13, 2005

G. Guberlal - See all my reviews

This review is from: MVP Baseball 2005 (Video Game)

MVP Baseball 2005 is the closest game currently on the market to give you the most in-depth baseball experience possible. In my opinion, the only people not liking some aspects of this game will be New York Yankees fans. It's not only Manny on the cover, but also the intro video, cracks and comments throughout the games and even a song praising Boston's first title in 86 years. Well, all I can say is, if you can't overlook those things, you're missing one fantastic game. Let's break it down:

Owner Mode:
New this year is Owner Mode where you begin with picking a stadium (not one of the existing ballparks, but a starter stadium) and making a few upgrades (seating, lights, whatever you can afford before opening day). You can add a restaurant, set ticket prices, make promotional days and on and on.

You have a financial advisor for the season, budget reports, player contracts, etc. One note: Yes, you can be the owner and play the game just like you would in Dynasty Mode. You can sim, play individual games, manage the game or sit in your luxury box and watch it all take place. There is so much to this mode that I couldn't possibly fit it into this review.

Dynasty Mode:
This mode is essentially the same as last year. Keep the owner happy, the players, do contracts and play the games. It's been updated and tweaked for more user friendly experience. And I can't leave out that this year, you even have single-A teams in addition to AA, AAA, and MLB.

Mini Games:
Instead of just a Home Run Derby, EA has included a variety of features that can teach you different aspects of the game. There is batting practice, pitching practice and also a scenario editor. To me, I found it to be an enjoyable experience especially when hitting the cars and busses over the outfield wall. This seems like a throw back to Triple-Play 2000 when you had target practice.

Graphics:
Simply amazing. Need I say more? The players faces and stances are mirrored to their real-life counterparts. Cutscenes, and animations are gorgeous. The only thing I found a proble with was the crowd...even in 2005, they are still wooden-looking. That's a sacrifice you have to make and it doesn't detract from the game experience.

Gameplay:
What a shift from last year! Pitching is now a lot more realistic with the way you use the meter. Instead on the old meter where you set power and tried to hit right spot, they have upgraded it to you having to stop it and exactly the right moment, if not, you risk and early or late breaking pitch. In rookie mode, it's not as big of a deal as it is in MVP mode. Make some mistake pitches in the higher levels and you're asking for trouble.

Batting is great! When you foul off a pitch, a little screen comes up and shows you how you hit it. Fouling off a pitch is a mistimed swing, same as a swing through. Gone is the animation where you swung, missed the ball and it popped up the crazy box to show you missing it. Instead, this year, they have the popup box, yet include the ball trail so you see how you missed it.

Fielding & baserunning is comparable to last years version with some great upgrades to visuals. There are plenty of dives, showboating grabs, wall jumps, and take-out slides.

Ok, I could go on & on with this review because, like I said, this is the most in-depth baseball game I have ever seen. If you want the best out there, MVP Baseball 2005 hits a Home Run.

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Most Recent Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars MVP Baseball 2005
I can't believe I only paid 38 cents for this game. 38 cents; are you serious? The shipping cost more than the game. Read more

Published 2 months ago by Jeffrey A. Smith

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Game
It is to bad that EA Sports does not make baseball games anymore. This is one of the best.
Product came nicely packaged and arrived quickly, just as advertised. Read more

Published 24 months ago by Marcia A. Amen