MVP Baseball 2005

"This game is so good it has to be on steroids"

EA may be trying to monopolize, but let me tell you, they certainly know how to make good sports games. MVP Baseball 2005 is undoubtedly the best baseball game I have ever played. It could just be that I am still happy over the Red Sox historic season, but this game is near perfect.

Graphics- Unbelievable. That is the best way to describe the graphics in MVP 2005. The real highlight is the player's faces. They are amazingly accurate, and will have you stunned at how much your favorite players face in the game is near identical to that in real life. What I really want to know is who was in charge of designing every player in all of the MLB's faces. That poor sap must have spent thousands of hours designing all of those faces and still getting them right on the ball. Stadiums need some tuning. Although they don't look bad, it is just that they are not accurate to how they are in real life. In the end though, you probably won't notice it, so stadiums are not that big a problem. The fans are a problem too. I highly dislike how only the first couple of rows ever react to the game. For example, you are playing at home and you smash the ball down the line, the people in the front rows will stand up in clap, while everyone else will do nothing. This is just a pet peeve I have, so it may not affect you as much as it does me.

Sound/Music- The sound effects in MVP 2005 are very good. Especially the crowd. Unlike the graphics, the crowd sounds very realistic, hit a homerun, you hear a roar, make a diving catch, hear the crowd let out a sigh of relief, etc. The commentators are also good. They have good conversations, and aren't to annoying to listen to. The only time you ever hear music is in the opening screen and when you are in the menu where you can manage your team. When you do hear music, it is average. Some songs are good, while others will perforate your eardrums. Luckily, as mentioned, you hear music very rarely.

Gameplay- This is what separates MVP from the rest of the lackluster baseball games. There is no weak aspect of MVP's gameplay. Batting, pitching, fielding, and base running are all very good. Batting is fairly simple, but complex at the same time. When the pitcher releases the pitch, for a brief second you will see a color. This color indicates what kind of pitch is being thrown to you. For example a fastball is white, slider is red, etc. Thus, you can read the pitch and decide where the pitch will end up. To get a hit you need to read the pitch, swing at the right moment, and have the ball be in the strike zone. You can also hit different kind of balls. Such as if you hold up while swinging, you are more likely to hit a homerun or pop out. Same goes for the other directions. If you hold right you will pull the ball to the right, etc. This may sound complicated, but it is not. Pitching is also fantastic. You pitch by using a power bar and an effectiveness bar. Your pitcher will almost always throw it where you till him to, your part is to fill the power bar all the way, and release it in the “effectiveness” area. The better you do this, the better the pitch is going to be. This is pretty hard to describe, but once you play you will understand. Fielding is straight forward. Field the ball by moving towards it, and throw it to the correct base by pressing the right button. If you press X, you will throw it home, press O and you will throw it to first, etc. The best feature about fielding is the right analog stick. If you press the right analog stick down, you will dive or do a shoestring catch, press it up while near a wall and rob the opponent of a homerun. These are just a few of the things you can do with the right analog stick. The weakest part of MVP Baseball is base running, but it is still above average. To steal press the d-pad to the corresponding base. To lead tap the right analog stick towards the base you are stealing. This about as complicated as it gets. Stealing is very hard, as it should be, but sometimes it is a little too hard.

Controls- Very simple and easy so don't let the manual scare you. When I first skimmed through the manual I thought the controls would be a heaping mass of crap. But after a few games you get used to it. Utilizing the right analog stick correctly will definitely take some time. You have to learn how to time your dive/wall climb/whatever just right, or else you will be too early or too late. Learning how to pitch will take some getting used to also. At first you may find yourself constantly pressing the button too early or too late, then watching as a homerun flies out of the yard.

Replayability- One of the major problems I have had with baseball games since I have been playing them is replayability. I have owned a baseball game every year since 1999, and I don't think I have ever once finished a season. I get bored way too fast. I mean, there are 162 games! But somehow, someway, I never got tired of MVP Baseball. I am currently in the middle of my 2nd season. If playing a whole season isn't for you, you can play owner mode and utilize the Manager options, where you don't play the games, you watch and make the important decisions. Or, you could sim the unimportant games, and just play the important ones. This makes replayability not a problem.

Difficulty- Of course, you can change the difficulty from the unbelievably easy Rookie mode, to the unbelievably difficult MVP mode. There are also sliders that you can use to adjust the game to just the way you like it. If you have ever played Madden, you know what I am talking about, if not, you will understand once you play it.

MVP Baseball is one of the greatest and most fun baseball game I have yet to play. EA finally creates a baseball game as it really should be.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 03/23/05