MVP Baseball 2004

"The most realistic baseball game out there"

When I picked up MVP a few months ago. I was expecting another run of the mill type game. For example, In the fifth inning of a nine inning game I am winning fourteen to nothing. Three people on my team have hit for the cycle, and two more hit three homeruns. Oh and Freddy Garcia is pitching for his fourth consecutive perfect game. Those are the type of baseball games, or videogames, that are annoying and boring. MVP is not even close to being one of Those games.

Graphics 8/10- While the players themselves look like they should, great uniforms, facial expressions etc, the emphasis could have been on the crowd here.. It is vaguely annoying to see a few people in the stands and the rest little dots on the screen.

Gameplay- 10/10- Imagine this, One hundred and twenty years of a dynasty mode.. If that is not enough baseball for you, times that by three to include both a teams AA farm system and AAA system. You can end up playing roughly four hundred baseball games in a season if you wanted to, and if you times that by one twenty. MVP`s dynasty will last you a long time.

Dynasty mode lets you control almost every single aspect a GM controls. You can bring up, or send down, players in your system. Make trades, and sign people from free agency. The only problem that I have with dynasty mode is once a player retires, he is done. I wish that somebody would bother to implement a hall of fame or something to make the game just a bit more entertaining.

For the gameplay itself, It takes a few baseball games to get used to the game. If you want to lead off or slide, you need to do that yourself. It is not very hard once you get the timing down, but for a beginner it is troublesome. The hitting takes a bit to get used to as well, as a pitch is not directly visible like in other baseball games.

In the first few modes of difficulty, the game is obviously a little easier. However, as the difficulty is upped, it gets harder and harder to master this game. For a first time mode player, your pitcher is sure to get less than four strike outs in a game. You will probably also be lucky if you do not get shutout in your first gameplay in a new mode. The one thing that I love about MVP is that it is a very realistic game. Paul konerko may hit thirty or forty home runs a year, but he won't come near eighty or ninety.

Sound- 9/10- The commentary is great. The announcers do not get repetitious, and that is always a great thing. The crowd also adds to the pot by chanting the players names if they are popular.

Rent Or buy- For a good ol' twenty bucks, I would say this definitely needs to be in your collection. If you can get this game for anything less than that, purchase this game, it is a steal. If you like other baseball games, MVP will give you a challenge that you will make you never regret your purchase.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 06/13/06