Major League Baseball 2K5

"These Games Just Keep Getting Better."

First off I"ll explain the game modes. There are three different season modes. season, dynasty and GM mode. Season mode allows you to play one full year while franchise and gm mode let you play forever. There is a difference though. In gm mode you are supposed to complete a certain amount of goals ranging from releasing players, turning a profit, and increasing overall ratings. Dynasty removes this all together. Other modes include home run derby where you play against others or a cpu with your favorite home run hitter. There is a tournament mode which is self explanatory. You make a bracket ranging from 4 to 16 teams and set the series length to 1,3,5,or 7. Game cast is another mode which is similar to the ESPN NBA 2k5 one. You tell the hitter to hit or tell the pitcher to throw all by hitting the A button. You can join the game anytime by hitting start. After the game you are brought to the post game screen. Also there is a mode called in your face which is just a regular exhibition game. The last mode of this game is called situation where you select the inning, the number of outs, the score, the batting order and the men on base. From here you jump into the game and finish it. There is a sky box which has a game room, a list of challenges you completed, a tv room where you watch un-lockable videos. Also you can unlock classic teams, secret parks, cheats, and classic jerseys. The hall of fame holds the records you have broke. Lets say you hit a bases loaded grand slam that wins the world series. You can go into instant replay and take a picture and it will go into your picture book into the sky box. There are two different sky-boxes to unlock also.

The game play and graphics in this game are done very good. Everything from diving catches to swinging the bat and the way the players pitch the ball all look very realistic. There are some glitches though. The biggest one is when watching two CPU's play there will be lots of wild pitches thrown whenever there are runners on base. Other than that the game playing graphics and game play are some of the best in any baseball game ever.

The sound is not that entertaining but there are custom soundtracks for the menus and while you are playing. Also, the best feature in this one is the ability to clip a song when a batter or pitcher comes in. This adds to the realism of the game.

The controls are very easy and if you can't figure anything out the manual covers everything. In the extras section there is an in game tutorial explaining how to do everything. If you still can't figure it out there are training videos for batting, pitching, fielding, and base running.

Overall I would recommend buying this baseball game over the other two. I have played all three and find this to be the best one. Another reason to get this game is because it is only $10 right now in most video game stores. I hope this review was helpful and you make the right choice and buy this baseball game.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 07/07/05