OT: MLB 2005 (PS2-only)

[SackAttack]

I just got my review copy from Sony today, and all I can say is "Holy shit."

This is not at all the game I was expecting. They've added a franchise mode, patterned, I gather, after what Madden 2004 did this season, where you can do things like set promotional days, sign TV contracts, sign advertising contracts, upgrade your field, add new vendors to the stadium, run advertisements of your own promoting certain players (or just the taem in general) in print, radio, or on TV...

You can deal with rehab assignments for injured players, upgrade the transportation for your team (which affects fatigue recovery, as do the training facilities)...

You can set ticket prices, add more seats, change parking prices...

Hell, if you're playing as a small market team, you can even take out loans to pay the bills. This is ridiculously deep, and I haven't even hit the field yet to see how the actual game plays.

They use real dollar values, although contract values aren't accurate. I believe they're tied to player ratings, instead, so Gagne has a $10 million contract, while Dreifort is only making $4 million. I'm not sure if players can have different contract lengths, or if those can only be affected in the postseason, or what, but this is still nuts.

[FBPro]

I'm curious about "pitcher control and walks".

[k0ruptr]

MLB series has always sucked, this is interesting.

[SackAttack]

yeah, this is the first MLB that's actually stunned me in any way in about 5 years. I can't wait to get deeper into this.

[Sharpieman]

I saw comercials for it. And as usual, the graphics suck and when that happens, gameplay usually sucks. I guess you could just simulate and stuff

[SackAttack]

Just finished playing a couple of games, and I'm fairly impressed so far.

For one thing, control is an actual issue here. I haven't walked anybody yet, but that's only because I don't throw breaking balls on a 3 ball count, usually. When you're aiming your pitch, on breaking balls, the cursor shows where the break is going to start. If you're aiming low, it'll be in the dirt. if you aim at the letters, it'll break up there and drop in down around the hips. Pretty neat.

The graphics are below MVP's standards in some areas, and better than them in others. Kind of a mixed bag, but you know what? It's a MASSIVE improvement over last year. I'm seeing lots of neat things like shuffle steps near the bag on close plays at first that I haven't seen in other games. Also - and this isn't a big deal for the competition, but it's a huge step in the right direction for MLB - on disputed plays, you can actually see if the runner missed the bag, if the tag was applied properly, if it missed, that sort of thing. So far, I haven't seen any close plays where a phantom tag was applied, which has been a pet peeve of mine in the past. The one thing, graphically speaking, that DOES bug me so far is the fact that the developers went so far as to put in the outfield wall scoreboards for Dodger Stadium...and leave 'em completely blank. No around-the-league scores, not even the flashing "Game Over" thing when Gagne comes into the game. It's a bit of a bummer, and I would have liked to have seen at least some generic animations on those, or else what's the point of having them there?

Bunting is difficult, but not impossible. Stealing is difficult as well, but I haven't figured out how to lead off yet, so that might be part of my problem.

As far as on the field action goes, my only gripe is that it's very difficult to tell which fielder you're controlling, because the icon is very tiny. I've had a few bloop doubles and triples against me because of it.

The hitting module is very similar to MVP - Rookie is purely timing based (although you can sit on a pitch, as well), but as you go up the difficulty ladder, the left analog stick is used for directional hitting. Oddly, the right analog stick is the one used to determine flyball vs groundball, if you're trying to influence that. It's a weird design decision, but eh.

We'll see how long I stick with it. There's no online leagues, which makes me sad, and no downloadable rosters, but it appears as though they have the rosters mostly up-to-date anyhow. Contract values aren't accurate, but that's no biggie. One thing they appear to have done is for unsigned free agents, they're just on the payroll of their old team, so the FA pool is empty to start the franchise.

Still, there's a lot of things about this game that are friggin' cool. This is the first time in I can't think how long that I've actually said to myself "Damn, I can't wait to see what they have to offer next season." You have no idea what a quantum leap forward this is for the PS2 offerings of this series.

[GrantDawg]

Is there a "manage mode," or a "one-pitch mange mode?" Can you set the computer to field, pitch, or bat for you?

[Deattribution]

Sounds interesting, is the franchise single-player or multi though?

Have been looking for a fun console baseball game, but MVP really didn't 'do' it for me.

[GrantDawg]

dola: I just read something which if true has to be the dumbest thing I've ever heard of: Is it true you can't actually play the games in franchise mode?

[SackAttack]

GrantDawg,

To answer both your questions:

1) Yes, there's a manage-only mode, but like the one in MVP 2004, it's totally text-based. All-Star Baseball remains, at least so far, the only franchise that has a 1-pitch manage-only mode that's actually graphical in nature. I wonder if ESPN MLB will join them there.

2) Absolutely, 100%, totally, unequivocally false. I'm currently playing franchise mode, and while you have the option of doing it OOTP-style if you want to, I'm currently playing out all of my games as well as managing the team's finances, marketing, etc.

Incidentally, the only things I'm having trouble finding (and thus am unsure if they exist) are attendance numbers (odd, since some of the advertising revenue is dependent upon certain attendance averages), and how to renegotiate contracts. It may be that everything is renewed automatically on a yearly basis, unless it's either all done in the offseason, or I'm just missing something.

Deattribution,

Franchise in MLB 2005 appears to be single-player. Both of the franchise modes, actually. One is OOTP-ish, the other, you create a rookie and step into his shoes and guide him through his career.

I believe both ESPN and MVP are set up so that you can have multiple owners if you want to, although I can't swear to it.

[GrantDawg]

Franchise in MLB 2005 appears to be single-player. Both of the franchise modes, actually. One is OOTP-ish, the other, you create a rookie and step into his shoes and guide him through his career.


Two quick questions:

1) Does your answer mean there is no way to set the computer to do certain things for you (field, bat pitch, etc.)?

2) When you create the rookie, are you still the coach and play every player, or do you just play the one you created (I know this would be to good to be true, but I've always wanted a game to do that)?

[stevew]

Man, Id love a game that was graphical like ITP. You start as a rookie, and work your way up through the minors. In the offseason, maybe you get to decide how much to train, etc. But you only hit for yourself(and field if you choose to), or pitch for yourself. And the rest of the time, it sims.

[SackAttack]

Two quick questions:

1) Does your answer mean there is no way to set the computer to do certain things for you (field, bat pitch, etc.)?

2) When you create the rookie, are you still the coach and play every player, or do you just play the one you created (I know this would be to good to be true, but I've always wanted a game to do that)?

You have the ability to make fielding automatic, as is pretty standard for baseball games. Hitting and pitching are user-controlled, however. Sorry, that's just one of the conventions of the genre. The only game that lets you make all of that stuff automatic is All-Star, albeit only in their 1-pitch Manage Only mode.

As for the rookie, I haven't delved too deeply into that aspect of the game yet. I'll get back to you on that.

[GrantDawg]

You have the ability to make fielding automatic, as is pretty standard for baseball games. Hitting and pitching are user-controlled, however. Sorry, that's just one of the conventions of the genre. The only game that lets you make all of that stuff automatic is All-Star, albeit only in their 1-pitch Manage Only mode.


High Heat used to. *Sigh* I wish that game hadn't jumped the shark.

[stevew]

High Heat used to. *Sigh* I wish that game hadn't jumped the shark.

Isnt MS developing High Heat for the Xbox now? I know they bought the company that makes it

[GrantDawg]

You have the ability to make fielding automatic, as is pretty standard for baseball games. Hitting and pitching are user-controlled, however. Sorry, that's just one of the conventions of the genre. The only game that lets you make all of that stuff automatic is All-Star, albeit only in their 1-pitch Manage Only mode.

As for the rookie, I haven't delved too deeply into that aspect of the game yet. I'll get back to you on that.
What is your take on All-Star? Any good?

[GrantDawg]

Isnt MS developing High Heat for the Xbox now? I know they bought the company that makes it
I'm not buying another X-box for one game (again). :)

[SackAttack]

All-Star was decent last year. They put a lot of effort into the GM functions, not as much into the gameplay elements. Supposedly it's out now, but I can't find it in any local stores, so I guess I'll have to pester Acclaim for a review copy, if they haven't sent one already.

Basically, if you could combine ESPN's gameplay with MVP's pitcher/batter interface, add the GM functions of All-Star and the financial depth of MLB 2005...you'd have the perfect game.

[SackAttack]

stevew - 3DO is defunct. MS didn't buy them, they bought the rights to the High Heat code. The developers aren't part of that deal, so MS can put their own guys to work on the code, source it out to a 3rd party developer, or sit on it entirely. 3DO, the company that made the game, is no longer an entity.

[stevew]

Man, Id love a game that was graphical like ITP. You start as a rookie, and work your way up through the minors. In the offseason, maybe you get to decide how much to train, etc. But you only hit for yourself(and field if you choose to), or pitch for yourself. And the rest of the time, it sims.


Ah, to quote myself, also it would be great in this "one player career mode" if it started on the easy level in the minors, and got increasingly harder AI wise as you progressed. By the time you reached the majors you'd be playing on the "all star" difficulty level. Maybe they have something like this in Japan.

[stevew]

stevew - 3DO is defunct. MS didn't buy them, they bought the rights to the High Heat code. The developers aren't part of that deal, so MS can put their own guys to work on the code, source it out to a 3rd party developer, or sit on it entirely. 3DO, the company that made the game, is no longer an entity.

Ah, I knew it was something like that. That game was the shiznit about 3-4 years ago.

[BigDPW]

All-Star is not out yet... ETA on the X-Box version is wednesday of this coming week and the PS2 has not been announced as gold yet but sounds like it may be out the next wednesday...