"MVP Baseball is an example of EA at its worst"

Introduction
It is amazing that not even one aspect of MVP Baseball 2003 is done well. Every portion of the game leaves the gamers a few steps behind of their expectations. No game is perfect, but some games really come close. Sadly, MVP Baseball 2003 is not one of those games.

Graphics / Animation:
The graphics are everything you would expect from a baseball game. They are good enough to enjoy, but nothing too incredible. If you play many recent PC games, then the graphics of this game will not amaze you at all. The animation is smooth for the most part, but the frame rate is very slow when you are watching an instant replay or playing online, even if both players are using cable.

Gameplay:
This is where MVP Baseball 2003 really falls behind. There are only a few modes to choose from, and none will leave you wanting more. A big disappointment is the fact that the commonly used “Home Run Derby” mode is missing. However, EA added a mode called “Home Run Showdown”. You are given a specific amount of points you must receive before your rival does. You rack up points by hitting long fly balls. If you hit a homerun that is 400 feet in distance, you will get 500 points (400 feet + 100 homerun bonus) added to your score. The first one to achieve that specified score wins. Sounds fun? Well, it would have been. The one big problem with this mode is the camera angles. Instead of the usual camera angles (from the catcher’s perspective), the camera is tilted about 30 degrees. This does not sound like a significant amount, but it truly is. This tilt throws off your swing by a few seconds, which is enough to make you miss most of the pitches that come your way. The camera in this mode cannot be changed.

The regular mode and season modes are average at best. It is nothing that other baseball simulations didn’t have. If you have ever played a baseball game that was created in the past five years, then do not expect anything new. The fielding system is crazy, and the AI-based runners are not much different. The runners pretty much do whatever they want to do.

Unlike the ps2 version, the pc version is compatible with online play. In the first three months of my ownership of this game, I could not even go online. It gave me constant errors. After an hour or so with the EA staff, the problem has been solved, and I could finally get to enjoy online play. I was really excited, but my excitement quickly wore off. Nobody was online at that time. No big deal. I waited for another 20 minutes or so. Still, nobody has ever logged in. I have only caught players online on a few occasions. I regained my anticipation, but yet again, it faded off minutes later. Even if both players have extremely fast Internet connections, lag will still occur. Also, EA significantly lowered the frame rate during online play. Pretty much, do not count on online play to make the replay value better. Even if you do find some people online to play it, it wont be too much fun.

Sound:
The announcers are repetitive and the announcers are repetitive (see… it is annoying). Pretty much, EA programmed announcers that repeat the same phrases over and over again. Not only that, but they are sometimes incorrect with the phrases they choose to say. For example, I hit a long fly ball way back to the warning track. It was caught, but the announces said that it was a weakly hit ball. This only occurred a few times, so it is not a big deal. If you play MVP Baseball 2003 for more than a few days, you will become very familiar with the announcers.

The other sound effects are overwhelming. They sound very realistic, which is what makes a simulator what it is. Everything from a hit ball to a swing-and-a-miss has its own sound effect. The annoying announcers really destroy what would have been a good score for this portion of the game.

Controls:
The controls may be hard to master as first, but it is worth it at the end. You can completely customize your own controls, which is great, because the standard buttons are pretty much all over the keyboard. There are many different buttons, which may be difficult when customizing your own, because it is hard to keep track of which keyboard keys are already assigned. Expect some difficulties at first, but you should get used to them within a day or two.

OVERALL:
I would not recommend this game at all. Unless you have an uncontrollable urge to play a baseball simulator, I would skip this one.

Reviewer's Score: 5/10, Originally Posted: 02/12/04