MVP Baseball 2004

"Baseball at its finest."

MVP 2004 gets you so close to the action you can smell the grass. Last year's edition was great, but still had many things to improve upon. The developers of this year's game deserve an award. In my opinion, if you play one game this year, this better be it.

Features (10/10)

At the top of the features list is EA's Pure Swing System. You wanna drop the shoulder and punch the ball the other way? No problem. Inside fastball coming at you? Pull it down the left field line. Pitcher throws a hanging curveball? Blast that mother outta the stadium! EA Sports Big Play control lets you control just about anything. Uh oh, you see the throw to home coming in from the cutoff man. Do you try to barrel over the catcher, or avoid the tag and go for the right side of the plate? Either way, the CPU got nothin on you! Big Play control let's you do it all. A new feature added, Player Happiness, affects yet another new feature, Team Chemistry. This tells you what players feel and if they are happy with the team, or want to be traded. The higher your Team Chemistry, the better your players play together as a team, just like in real baseball. With the immense amount of new features added, you can't go wrong with MVP 2004.

Graphics (9/10)

There is minor frame-rate slowdown for some players, but that doesn't hurt the game's overall greatness. Most player models (80%) are pretty accurate to their real life counterparts, which is good by video game standards. As always, the X-Box version is going to be smoother and better graphics wise, but that's a small price to pay for the Playstation 2 Gamer. The stadiums are rendered with tremendous accuracy. Seats on the Green Monster, specific signs in Miller Park, and the detail put into Yankee Stadium not only puts you deeper into the game, it is a feast for your eyes.

Presentation (7/10)

This is where MVP falls behind the rest. You won't see any dazzling ESPN visuals, but the batter walk-ups are up to par. If MVP has a weak point, this is it. However, its gameplay definitely makes up for the weakness in this category.

Gameplay (10/10)

The throwing system is the same as last year's with a bar over the fielder or the pitcher. Hold the button of the pitch down, release, and press again in the green zone. Same goes for fielders, but you hold and press the button of the corresponding base you want to throw to. The Big Play control lets you slide and dive with no slowdown, and it is done perfectly graphics wise.

Sound (7/10)

In game music is great if you like bands such as Good Charlotte and Blink 182, as all songs sound like they could be on one of their CDs. Mike Krukow and Duane Kuiper perform pretty well, but it gets a little boring and repetitive once you've played through a season.

CPU (10/10)

CPU tendencies come into play very well. If you keep throwing outside fastballs, the CPU will pick up on it and make you pay. If you make a mistake the CPU will most likely get a hit or a homerun, so make sure you don't throw any cheese. Diving catches for the CPU come 2 or 3 times a game, but that doesn't make the game any less enjoyable.

Game Modes (10/10)

In the Game Modes you can either play an exhibition game, lead your team through 120 seasons, or do numerous other things. Dynasty Mode takes you 120 seasons through your favorite team's future. Player Happiness and Team Chemistry play a big part in Dynasty Mode. There are 3 year goals which you have 3 years to complete and 1 year stretch goals you need to complete to get more points to sign players and to keep your job. Dynasty mode is extremely deep and will keep you entertained for the whole season. Roster Management is easy to get the hang of, and for the first time, there are real minor league teams. If a player has appeared in one major league game, he is featured at either the MLB, AAA, or AA level. EA really hit spot on with this years Dynasty Mode. Pitcher and Batter Showdowns let you go head to head in an all out war raking up strike-outs or breaking out the long ball. Gameplay sliders are there so you can change everything from the Pitcher Fatigue Rate to the User Outfielder Speed No matter which Game Mode you play, it will keep you entertained for hours, even days on end.

Replay (10/10)

On-line roster updates only for the Playstation 2 not only allow but make you want to play the game more. On-line play, though, is stll a little buggy. Tons of unlockables including stadiums, teams, players, and retro jerseys are a fun challenge to work to unlock.

Overall (10/10)

This game is the best baseball game released to date. Of course, we have yet to see this year's versions of All Star Baseball and ESPN Major League Baseball, but it is great nonetheless. If you are trying to decide between games this year, let me make this decision a little easier for you...GET MVP BASEBALL 2004! It is simply baseball at its finest.

Reviewer's Score: 10/10, Originally Posted: 03/18/04