MVP Baseball 2005

Added March 21st, 2005 by echohype

Introduction:

EA Sports has slowly, but surely, secured itself a spot amongst the sports video game market, and MVP Baseball 2005 further solidifies its reputation. In the latest addition to the MVP series, EA has thrown in several new modes, features, boosted animations, more extensive game play, and the compatibility for Xbox Live play. Sadly, some less-than-spectacular elements remain, although these areas that are lacking are made up for in the superb game play.

The comprehensive new Owner Mode adds another weapon to MVP’s arsenal. In the Owner Mode, you can play out over 30 years of competition all while trying to run a franchise. It can be passionate! EA has polished some of the previous graphical blemishes into a smoother all-around product. They are still not as great as the competition in baseball games. MVP Baseball 2005 has also taken a page from the concepts of the Madden franchise with the implementation of “mini games.” Although the noted additions are minor, they pair up with the polishes and fixings to complete a wonderful product!

Gameplay:

Game play within the realms of MVP Baseball 2005 is unmatched by any other competitor in its field. EA has harnessed perfection and placed it into the game with perfection. The franchise and owner modes are very fun and pull you into the game. Mini-games provide you with a quick fix when you aren’t up to the stressful demands of a franchise. In this year’s product, the franchise mode has had minor upgrades in additions and polishing. The big change however, is in the new Owner Mode. In Owner Mode, you take the reins of a professional franchise and guide it to success. You have complete control to build a stadium, raise income, please the fans, offer promotional days, and choose the team lineup. If you elect to have a fantasy draft, you can now draft a managing staff of real-life managers, scouts, coaches, and even trainers. The owner mode places great emphasis on the fact that you must bring in a profit and keep your numbers in the green. If you continually operate in the red, you will be forced to sell your assets. Drafting the star players may help you win, but at year’s end, if your performance is lacking, your sales will reflect causing you to fall into the red. You decide -- are those star players and their enormous salaries worth it?

Within the Owner Modes, there have been several small changes, one of them being the change in points to actual salaries. Never before has it been easier to manage payroll and keep track of player salaries. Another improvement has been the trading feature. Trading is no longer a pushover and now requires actual fairness. The computer doesn’t want A-rod’s twenty-five-million-a-year salary as much as you do! Energy effects and team chemistry effects are also placed into the Owner Modes allowing for more realism and thinking. Each feature is essential to the success of your team!

A large upgrade to this year’s version of MVP is its acquisition and implementation of Xbox Live. EA maintains a separate good service for Xbox Live play, allowing gamers from all over the world to battle it out. Although the experience is no Halo 2 in the feature department, it is still a fun one, allowing you to play against your friends in a Quick Game, Optimatched game, or you can even enter tournaments. Tournaments can be entered in a “quick” format, you can join one waiting to start, or create your own for more control! Online there are various lobbies you can enter to find matches or just chat with fellow gamers. The lobbies are divided into skill ranges and headset rooms, and these rooms allow you to communicate with fellow gamers via headset or typing through the on-screen keyboard.

Hitter’s Eye is the latest revolution to the MVP franchise, and with it you can cause massive damage. With the Hitter’s Eye you can pay attention to the pitcher’s delivery and spot the color of the ball just before release, in which case you are able to determine the type of pitch coming your way. Also implemented to go hand-in-hand with the Hitter’s Eye is the Hitter’s Eye Replay system. In the replay system you can analyze your swing, the pitch, ball direction and attain feedback on your previous swing all in an attempt to be more successful at the plate.

The Big Play Control stick has been retained and its effectiveness has been upped. Slide around a catcher blocking home, dive for a crucial out in left-field, and even reach over the wall to snag a potential homerun with the stick. The Big Play feature allows you to master your players’ movements and execute their moves to precision. Finally, a small notable fix is the exchanges between players, mainly the first baseman and pitcher and double plays. These exchanges no longer seem “bulky” and jagged and now flow smoothly.

Graphics:

MVP Baseball 2005’s strong point is in the game play areas, not with the sub par graphics. Compared to the competition in baseball games, MVP is a lesser product graphic-wise. Player models aren’t as polished and realistic as they could be, and animations still have jaggedness and hop around a bit. Some graphical elements such as backdrops and such aren’t spectacular and this brings the atmosphere down in feeling. Although, MVP Baseball 2005 does produce lush stadiums and other well-executed effects.

When a player slides into a base, their uniform becomes marked with dirt stains. Fields are a vivid green complete with a nice design. The stadiums, in which the fields rest, are monstrous and well designed. Crowds, on the other hand, are not very well designed, with repetition and the feeling that they were created in a matter of minutes as a fill-in. During game play cut-scenes are very nicely executed when one is created. Celebrations are well designed and bring the mood up to a new level during your play; the feeling makes you want to smack a homerun time after time.

This year, EA has added more animations for game play. Catching a ball, receiving a throw, diving for a fly ball, and such actions have all added new animations to their stockpile. Likewise, foul balls have been an area of much upgrade. No longer do foul balls simply fly straight back and up, they now go in realistic directions and will even foul off your own shin, in which case your batter will hobble up and down grabbing his shin. Another new upgrade has been the replay box, with more angles being added. After a swing or foul-off, the replay box will examine your swing from more than one direction.

Audio:

EA Sports has always provided wonderful soundtracks in their video games, and MVP Baseball 2005 is far from a let-down. A good selection of popular music composes the soundtrack setting in MVP, and the ability to shuffle between tracks is handy. Another bonus is you can shift the music player panel around the screen so it stays out of the way. In-game commentary has been boosted this year with more voice recordings being added. The announcers seem to show more emotion in the games they call, and no longer do they repeat the same phrases over and over.

Stepping aside from the commentary aspects, the sound effects within the game are wonderful. Cracking bats, balls being received in the pocket of a glove, and base runners sliding into their respective bases are all wonderfully executed. Realism was EA’s foremost concern in the sound effects department and they pulled it off. Crowds within the stadiums are set to reflect what is going on in the game, instead of a constant chatter. If you smack a game winning homerun off of your rival team, then your fans will cheer deafeningly, and they’ll do the same if you’re on the brink of striking out a batter or other positive occurrences. Although, if you strike out against a pitcher, ground out into a double play, or commit an error and the reception from your fans won’t be friendly.

Controls:

The basic controls have been carried over from the 2004 version of MVP which is a boost to the playability. Swing direction is still controlled by the left thumb stick, which is to be paired with the A button for swings. Bunting is done with the right thumb stick and the left thumb stick for directing the bunt. Base running is done with the D-pad and its direction representing each base. You can steal bases with a combination of the right thumb stick for leads and the D-pad to steal the respective base you desire. At times, the controls can be laggy, especially when trying to communicate to your base runners to return to a base or advance to another which can result in an unnecessary out.

Replay:

MVP Baseball 2005 is an endless bundle of fun which can be played over and over without decreasing its value. The in-depth Dynasty Mode provides you with the ability to play 120 years of competitive franchise baseball, and in Owner Mode you can do the same, but for 30 years with much more control. Mini games provide gamers with the ability to get a quick fix for their baseball craving and they are very fun to play! A huge boost to the replayability of MVP Baseball 2005 is the addition of the superb Xbox Live service.

Summary:

Hands down, MVP Baseball 2005 is the best option for those desiring a fix for baseball in 2005. EA Sports has delivered a fantastic product that can provide you with hours of great game play and continuous fun. The new additions of the Owner Mode and Hitter’s Eye are substantial enough to warrant a purchase of MVP Baseball 2005. The fact that you can play on Xbox Live further strengthens that argument. With this game, a homerun has been hit. Just make sure you’re the one to catch it in the stands!