ASB looks great. Stadiums are awesome. It feels like baseball, etc. But the gameplay issues are too much to overcome at this point. I hate cursor batting. Fielding is a chore. Ball physics is poor. Hit variety is poor. No foul balls down the lines. This game has all the potential to be king, but the gameplay issues are just terrible. Yesterday I had a catcher passed ball, and while the catcher was turning around to look for the ball, it swooped up from behind and he fired to third to nail the runner. Very bad.
ESPN, as I mentioned previouwly, I hated. Mostly due to graphics issues (player faces, swing animations, fielding camera too low). But, to be fair, I played and played. I am seeing things I love. Yesterday, Beltre ran into the catcher sending him barreling over. But the catcher held onto the ball. Pitching is fun, even without a meter. Maybe better, because of the lack of pinpoint control, the ability to pick off runners, and the ability walk batters (which, although they happen in the other games, this is the only game where it could happen at a realistic pace). Yesterday, check out the box scores and see how many walks are actually drawn in a real game. I think I saw one game with 9 walks, or something like that. This is the only game where that can happen. Steals are perfect. Sometimes I make it, others I don't. The baserunners and the situation is outcome determinative. I can get picked off easily too, if I'm not careful. Hit variery is a blast, as ball physics is good (MVP may be a little better, but it's real close). I wish it were easier to check swing, though. Fielding is nicely done and not a frustrating effort like ASB. Pitch counts are very accurate. Pitchers tire realistically. Double plays happen realistically and aren't too difficult to turn. Sammy Sosa does his hop. The stadiums look nice and the announcing of Miller is good, although slow sometimes. This game is just so good. If it had the graphics, it would be a classic. As it stands now, it is the best of the bunch this year, narrowing out MVP because of the problems I've pointed out above. But the gameplay takes a back seat to no other game. It just feels so real and has all of the tension of real baseball. I'm very picky. I like true sims, but a game has to capture the essence of the sport. ESPN does that with baseball. It captures it real well. Now, swing animations and other graphical flaws aside, this is the game to play the season with. I can't stop playing and I haven't found anything wrong that affected gameplay yet. If I do, I'll be the first to post. Until then, this game is king. Too bad Blue Shift won't be able to fix this for next year and we are left with a one year game.
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