ESPN, MVP, and All-Star...something's missing

[TheProfessional]

After playing all three baseball games for xbox, (finally rented all-star a few nights ago) i couldn't help feeling unsatisfied with this year's choice of baseball games. Don't get me wrong, all three games are good. There are many positives, as well as negatives, to each game, but all in all, a fine showing by the developers this year.

My only real criticism this year is that i felt as if something was missing. I'm not speaking of things that were left out, handled incorrectly, or programmed badly with any of the games themselves as i mean missing externally. The thing that was missing was the void 3DO left. At least for me it felt like a void. Ever since the creation of High Heat, i've been a huge fan of the series. As Sammy said, "Iz soooooooo reeeaal!" High Heat just always seemed to capture the essence of baseball like no other video game could. While bells and whistles are great, they won't cover up the fact that you got a crappy, rusted covered bicycle with no brakes. I'll take solid gameplay over graphics everyday of the week and twice on sunday.

Anyway as I said earlier, i like MVP and ESPN, but i think i'm ready for something different, something new. I'm hoping for another company or developer to try and step up and create a baseball game. I read in a rumor in a gaming magazine that there might be another xbox baseball game in development other than ESPN and MVP. I took it for what its worth a rumor, but i am hoping Microsoft did something with the High Heat gaming code. Even if its not a game built on the high heat code and just a game built from scratch i'm still hoping for something.

I was just wondering if anyone else feels the same way i do in regards to wanting another choice besides the ones currently being offered.

[Radja]

Re: ESPN, MVP, and All-Star...something's missing

since you have an xbox this wont help, but mlb 2005 has the feel of high heat. there are a few gameplay flaws that need fixing, the franchise needs some work with player management and minor leagues but it still felt more like real baseball than the others.

[Radja]

Re: ESPN, MVP, and All-Star...something's missing

since you have an xbox this wont help, but mlb 2005 has the feel of high heat. there are a few gameplay flaws that need fixing, the franchise needs some work with player management and minor leagues but it still felt more like real baseball than the others.

[TheProfessional]

Re: ESPN, MVP, and All-Star...something's missing

since you have an xbox this wont help, but mlb 2005 has the feel of high heat. there are a few gameplay flaws that need fixing, the franchise needs some work with player management and minor leagues but it still felt more like real baseball than the others.

That's what i've been hearing from PS2 owners. I had one but sold it, because it was just sitting around, but if MLB 2005 continues to improve....i may have to break down and buy a PS2.

[TheProfessional]

Re: ESPN, MVP, and All-Star...something's missing

since you have an xbox this wont help, but mlb 2005 has the feel of high heat. there are a few gameplay flaws that need fixing, the franchise needs some work with player management and minor leagues but it still felt more like real baseball than the others.

That's what i've been hearing from PS2 owners. I had one but sold it, because it was just sitting around, but if MLB 2005 continues to improve....i may have to break down and buy a PS2.

[I_Love_Piazza]

Re: ESPN, MVP, and All-Star...something's missing

That's what i've been hearing from PS2 owners. I had one but sold it, because it was just sitting around, but if MLB 2005 continues to improve....i may have to break down and buy a PS2.

No offense to MLB, which was truly a solid effort and a great new start for the 989 series, but it's not that much like HH. It doesn't have the walks, or wild pitches, or realistic throws from the OF. Next year's version may be the game to beat, but 2005 still isn't quite good enough to cause me to say it's the new version of High Heat.

[I_Love_Piazza]

Re: ESPN, MVP, and All-Star...something's missing

That's what i've been hearing from PS2 owners. I had one but sold it, because it was just sitting around, but if MLB 2005 continues to improve....i may have to break down and buy a PS2.

No offense to MLB, which was truly a solid effort and a great new start for the 989 series, but it's not that much like HH. It doesn't have the walks, or wild pitches, or realistic throws from the OF. Next year's version may be the game to beat, but 2005 still isn't quite good enough to cause me to say it's the new version of High Heat.

[jfsolo]

Re: ESPN, MVP, and All-Star...something's missing

I agree with the original post 100% The ability for any pitcher for both you or the CPU to sometimes just flat out not have his stuff or to completely lose it at any time still has not been matched by any other 21st century game besides HH. All the other developers seem afraid to take that almost perfect control away from the user. Until they do their game can't be great. good, but not great.

[jfsolo]

Re: ESPN, MVP, and All-Star...something's missing

I agree with the original post 100% The ability for any pitcher for both you or the CPU to sometimes just flat out not have his stuff or to completely lose it at any time still has not been matched by any other 21st century game besides HH. All the other developers seem afraid to take that almost perfect control away from the user. Until they do their game can't be great. good, but not great.

[mjb2124]

Re: ESPN, MVP, and All-Star...something's missing

After playing all three baseball games for xbox, (finally rented all-star a few nights ago) i couldn't help feeling unsatisfied with this year's choice of baseball games. Don't get me wrong, all three games are good. There are many positives, as well as negatives, to each game, but all in all, a fine showing by the developers this year.

My only real criticism this year is that i felt as if something was missing. I'm not speaking of things that were left out, handled incorrectly, or programmed badly with any of the games themselves as i mean missing externally. The thing that was missing was the void 3DO left. At least for me it felt like a void. Ever since the creation of High Heat, i've been a huge fan of the series. As Sammy said, "Iz soooooooo reeeaal!" High Heat just always seemed to capture the essence of baseball like no other video game could. While bells and whistles are great, they won't cover up the fact that you got a crappy, rusted covered bicycle with no brakes. I'll take solid gameplay over graphics everyday of the week and twice on sunday.

Anyway as I said earlier, i like MVP and ESPN, but i think i'm ready for something different, something new. I'm hoping for another company or developer to try and step up and create a baseball game. I read in a rumor in a gaming magazine that there might be another xbox baseball game in development other than ESPN and MVP. I took it for what its worth a rumor, but i am hoping Microsoft did something with the High Heat gaming code. Even if its not a game built on the high heat code and just a game built from scratch i'm still hoping for something.

I was just wondering if anyone else feels the same way i do in regards to wanting another choice besides the ones currently being offered.

Well said and I agree 100%. Your above post is exactly how I feel.

I played ASB when it came out. Not for me.

I played MVP for a while, but the lefty glitch killed it for me. There were a lot of things I liked about that game, but there were a lot of issues as well.

ESPN was the game I finally settled on. However, I stopped playing around the All Star Game in my Franchise and that was it. It hasn't seen my Xbox since then.

This is the first year in the past 3 years I haven't finished an entire 162 game season. HH was the reason I finished 162 games. Each game left me on the edge of my seat wanting more. I just didn't feel that this year with any of the games. I literally sat at work during my HH gaming days and would contemplate who my next game was against, who the starter was, who I was starting, what I'd do with a tired bullpen etc... I couldn't wait to get home and play a game. I never did that this year. I just never felt "in" any of the games like I did with HH.

I hope something draws me in this year because I don't know if I can go 2 years in a row without a baseball game that draws me in like HH did.

[mjb2124]

Re: ESPN, MVP, and All-Star...something's missing

After playing all three baseball games for xbox, (finally rented all-star a few nights ago) i couldn't help feeling unsatisfied with this year's choice of baseball games. Don't get me wrong, all three games are good. There are many positives, as well as negatives, to each game, but all in all, a fine showing by the developers this year.

My only real criticism this year is that i felt as if something was missing. I'm not speaking of things that were left out, handled incorrectly, or programmed badly with any of the games themselves as i mean missing externally. The thing that was missing was the void 3DO left. At least for me it felt like a void. Ever since the creation of High Heat, i've been a huge fan of the series. As Sammy said, "Iz soooooooo reeeaal!" High Heat just always seemed to capture the essence of baseball like no other video game could. While bells and whistles are great, they won't cover up the fact that you got a crappy, rusted covered bicycle with no brakes. I'll take solid gameplay over graphics everyday of the week and twice on sunday.

Anyway as I said earlier, i like MVP and ESPN, but i think i'm ready for something different, something new. I'm hoping for another company or developer to try and step up and create a baseball game. I read in a rumor in a gaming magazine that there might be another xbox baseball game in development other than ESPN and MVP. I took it for what its worth a rumor, but i am hoping Microsoft did something with the High Heat gaming code. Even if its not a game built on the high heat code and just a game built from scratch i'm still hoping for something.

I was just wondering if anyone else feels the same way i do in regards to wanting another choice besides the ones currently being offered.

Well said and I agree 100%. Your above post is exactly how I feel.

I played ASB when it came out. Not for me.

I played MVP for a while, but the lefty glitch killed it for me. There were a lot of things I liked about that game, but there were a lot of issues as well.

ESPN was the game I finally settled on. However, I stopped playing around the All Star Game in my Franchise and that was it. It hasn't seen my Xbox since then.

This is the first year in the past 3 years I haven't finished an entire 162 game season. HH was the reason I finished 162 games. Each game left me on the edge of my seat wanting more. I just didn't feel that this year with any of the games. I literally sat at work during my HH gaming days and would contemplate who my next game was against, who the starter was, who I was starting, what I'd do with a tired bullpen etc... I couldn't wait to get home and play a game. I never did that this year. I just never felt "in" any of the games like I did with HH.

I hope something draws me in this year because I don't know if I can go 2 years in a row without a baseball game that draws me in like HH did.

[mjb2124]

Re: ESPN, MVP, and All-Star...something's missing

I agree with the original post 100% The ability for any pitcher for both you or the CPU to sometimes just flat out not have his stuff or to completely lose it at any time still has not been matched by any other 21st century game besides HH. All the other developers seem afraid to take that almost perfect control away from the user. Until they do their game can't be great. good, but not great.

Yep, that was something I loved. I loved when a starter just didn't have it. If you kept him in hoping he'd get through it, 7 times out of 10, he'd get shelled. However, if your bullpen was tired, sometimes it was worth it to see if he'd be able to get through it. If he did, I always felt great. HH was able to combine excellent gameplay with management of a team like no other game I've ever played.

[mjb2124]

Re: ESPN, MVP, and All-Star...something's missing

I agree with the original post 100% The ability for any pitcher for both you or the CPU to sometimes just flat out not have his stuff or to completely lose it at any time still has not been matched by any other 21st century game besides HH. All the other developers seem afraid to take that almost perfect control away from the user. Until they do their game can't be great. good, but not great.

Yep, that was something I loved. I loved when a starter just didn't have it. If you kept him in hoping he'd get through it, 7 times out of 10, he'd get shelled. However, if your bullpen was tired, sometimes it was worth it to see if he'd be able to get through it. If he did, I always felt great. HH was able to combine excellent gameplay with management of a team like no other game I've ever played.

[TheProfessional]

Re: ESPN, MVP, and All-Star...something's missing

This is the first year in the past 3 years I haven't finished an entire 162 game season. HH was the reason I finished 162 games. Each game left me on the edge of my seat wanting more. I just didn't feel that this year with any of the games. I literally sat at work during my HH gaming days and would contemplate who my next game was against, who the starter was, who I was starting, what I'd do with a tired bullpen etc... I couldn't wait to get home and play a game. I never did that this year. I just never felt "in" any of the games like I did with HH.

I hope something draws me in this year because I don't know if I can go 2 years in a row without a baseball game that draws me in like HH did.

Same here, i didn't even get past the all-star game during my franchise. When MVP came out last year i was really excited about the new pitching meter and hitting system. And i think they improved a great deal this year. The hitting system in MVP is great i think. When was the last time you saw a high chopper off the plate in a baseball game? The pitching meter when it first came i thought was a great idea, but after playing with it for an extended time, it just didn't seem real to me for some reason. I could almost hit my spots at will with anyone. But overall the game didn't draw me in either.

As far as picthing goes, i think the last couple of people hit it on the head, i think as simplistic as high heat's pitching system seemed, it was as intricate and as realistic as i've seen in a baseball video game.

[TheProfessional]

Re: ESPN, MVP, and All-Star...something's missing

This is the first year in the past 3 years I haven't finished an entire 162 game season. HH was the reason I finished 162 games. Each game left me on the edge of my seat wanting more. I just didn't feel that this year with any of the games. I literally sat at work during my HH gaming days and would contemplate who my next game was against, who the starter was, who I was starting, what I'd do with a tired bullpen etc... I couldn't wait to get home and play a game. I never did that this year. I just never felt "in" any of the games like I did with HH.

I hope something draws me in this year because I don't know if I can go 2 years in a row without a baseball game that draws me in like HH did.

Same here, i didn't even get past the all-star game during my franchise. When MVP came out last year i was really excited about the new pitching meter and hitting system. And i think they improved a great deal this year. The hitting system in MVP is great i think. When was the last time you saw a high chopper off the plate in a baseball game? The pitching meter when it first came i thought was a great idea, but after playing with it for an extended time, it just didn't seem real to me for some reason. I could almost hit my spots at will with anyone. But overall the game didn't draw me in either.

As far as picthing goes, i think the last couple of people hit it on the head, i think as simplistic as high heat's pitching system seemed, it was as intricate and as realistic as i've seen in a baseball video game.