Okay, I've Made My Decision, And The Winner Is...

[faster]

Re: Okay, I\'ve Made My Decision, And The Winner Is...

we need sugar mommaz so we can stay home and game all day... sigh... my current wife wouldn't stand for that though.

for me, ASB feels right, but ESPN just looks so good. i think if ESPN didn't have Widescreen and 720p support, I'd be playing ASB exclusively because the graphical differences would be minimal... but you can't describe the difference if you haven't seen them.

[Brando70]

Re: Okay, I\'ve Made My Decision, And The Winner Is...

Good summary, jjoe. I'm really glad I sold MVP and picked this up instead. It is so much more realistic and really does recreate the game nicely. Haven't played ASB, but ESPN is so much fun, I don't really have any reason to try another game this year.

[Brando70]

Re: Okay, I\'ve Made My Decision, And The Winner Is...

Good summary, jjoe. I'm really glad I sold MVP and picked this up instead. It is so much more realistic and really does recreate the game nicely. Haven't played ASB, but ESPN is so much fun, I don't really have any reason to try another game this year.

[Brando70]

Re: Okay, I\'ve Made My Decision, And The Winner Is...

Good summary, jjoe. I'm really glad I sold MVP and picked this up instead. It is so much more realistic and really does recreate the game nicely. Haven't played ASB, but ESPN is so much fun, I don't really have any reason to try another game this year.

[13Warner]

Re: Okay, I\'ve Made My Decision, And The Winner Is...

I have all three. I bought MVP first, then ASB now ESPN. They kept getting better.
Here is my summary:

MVP: Amazing animations but the graphics are poor and look cartoony. Excellent roster options, some choppy play on throws with men on base. Add all the other issues we all know about and you get a fun game to play that is missing some major aspects (lack of CPU steals, hit and run, etc)
83

ASB: My heart lies with this game. I may just keep it. Worst roster options is baseball gaming history. And I have a problem with batting in various settings. One game I had 14 hits and 13 strikeouts. Either I get a hit or strikeout. Really weird but just like last year's game. And all my hits were singles up the middle, 3D Cursor too. Had to because zone is broken (too many homers). Other tid bits annoy me: Ball looking as big as a beach ball in some angles, batter's heads always looking toward the opposite field when they swing, ball "curving" into player's gloves, etc. But the Generated Pitch count is truely the best innovation and I think all games should follow it. The stadium are great too and it includes 80 of them!! Excellent Franchise with EXPANSION. Yes, even with all the flaws, my heart will always have a piece of ASB.
86

ESPN:
I thought for sure that this year's WILD CARD would be ASB. I was wrong. ESPN is clearly the wild card. i have yet to find a bug, the gameplay is the most realistic since High Heat as with some slider adjustments I can walk batters when I dont want to. And talk about sliders! There must be 100 of them! And whats best is most arent needed. The game plays great on its default settings! ESPN Baseball is the game to get. Just trust whatever Bill Abner says. I have for years. This guy checks EVERYTHING in a game for realism. For a while I was convenced he was too picky and was looking for the perfect game, but no, he loves ESPN. I do too. Pitching and batting is really fun and there are some new animations. I cant get enough of seeing the shortstop slide on his knees with the dust coming up. Man this game is fun.
92

[13Warner]

Re: Okay, I\'ve Made My Decision, And The Winner Is...

I have all three. I bought MVP first, then ASB now ESPN. They kept getting better.
Here is my summary:

MVP: Amazing animations but the graphics are poor and look cartoony. Excellent roster options, some choppy play on throws with men on base. Add all the other issues we all know about and you get a fun game to play that is missing some major aspects (lack of CPU steals, hit and run, etc)
83

ASB: My heart lies with this game. I may just keep it. Worst roster options is baseball gaming history. And I have a problem with batting in various settings. One game I had 14 hits and 13 strikeouts. Either I get a hit or strikeout. Really weird but just like last year's game. And all my hits were singles up the middle, 3D Cursor too. Had to because zone is broken (too many homers). Other tid bits annoy me: Ball looking as big as a beach ball in some angles, batter's heads always looking toward the opposite field when they swing, ball "curving" into player's gloves, etc. But the Generated Pitch count is truely the best innovation and I think all games should follow it. The stadium are great too and it includes 80 of them!! Excellent Franchise with EXPANSION. Yes, even with all the flaws, my heart will always have a piece of ASB.
86

ESPN:
I thought for sure that this year's WILD CARD would be ASB. I was wrong. ESPN is clearly the wild card. i have yet to find a bug, the gameplay is the most realistic since High Heat as with some slider adjustments I can walk batters when I dont want to. And talk about sliders! There must be 100 of them! And whats best is most arent needed. The game plays great on its default settings! ESPN Baseball is the game to get. Just trust whatever Bill Abner says. I have for years. This guy checks EVERYTHING in a game for realism. For a while I was convenced he was too picky and was looking for the perfect game, but no, he loves ESPN. I do too. Pitching and batting is really fun and there are some new animations. I cant get enough of seeing the shortstop slide on his knees with the dust coming up. Man this game is fun.
92

[13Warner]

Re: Okay, I\'ve Made My Decision, And The Winner Is...

I have all three. I bought MVP first, then ASB now ESPN. They kept getting better.
Here is my summary:

MVP: Amazing animations but the graphics are poor and look cartoony. Excellent roster options, some choppy play on throws with men on base. Add all the other issues we all know about and you get a fun game to play that is missing some major aspects (lack of CPU steals, hit and run, etc)
83

ASB: My heart lies with this game. I may just keep it. Worst roster options is baseball gaming history. And I have a problem with batting in various settings. One game I had 14 hits and 13 strikeouts. Either I get a hit or strikeout. Really weird but just like last year's game. And all my hits were singles up the middle, 3D Cursor too. Had to because zone is broken (too many homers). Other tid bits annoy me: Ball looking as big as a beach ball in some angles, batter's heads always looking toward the opposite field when they swing, ball "curving" into player's gloves, etc. But the Generated Pitch count is truely the best innovation and I think all games should follow it. The stadium are great too and it includes 80 of them!! Excellent Franchise with EXPANSION. Yes, even with all the flaws, my heart will always have a piece of ASB.
86

ESPN:
I thought for sure that this year's WILD CARD would be ASB. I was wrong. ESPN is clearly the wild card. i have yet to find a bug, the gameplay is the most realistic since High Heat as with some slider adjustments I can walk batters when I dont want to. And talk about sliders! There must be 100 of them! And whats best is most arent needed. The game plays great on its default settings! ESPN Baseball is the game to get. Just trust whatever Bill Abner says. I have for years. This guy checks EVERYTHING in a game for realism. For a while I was convenced he was too picky and was looking for the perfect game, but no, he loves ESPN. I do too. Pitching and batting is really fun and there are some new animations. I cant get enough of seeing the shortstop slide on his knees with the dust coming up. Man this game is fun.
92

[faster]

Re: Okay, I\'ve Made My Decision, And The Winner Is...

13Warner, my summary is very close to yours, though harsher towards MVP. IMO it's an arcadey waste of programming. in no way did i ever enjoy playing it in any way. it felt just like the old Triple Play series did, like they tried to include some sim aspects but also sensationalize baseball which i have ZERO tolerance for.

anyway, ASB and ESPN are fighting it out in my heart. i can get over the way ESPN looks... it's like looking being drunk and seeing a hottie, but then sobbering and slapping your head for your stupid beer goggles the night before.

sigh....

[faster]

Re: Okay, I\'ve Made My Decision, And The Winner Is...

13Warner, my summary is very close to yours, though harsher towards MVP. IMO it's an arcadey waste of programming. in no way did i ever enjoy playing it in any way. it felt just like the old Triple Play series did, like they tried to include some sim aspects but also sensationalize baseball which i have ZERO tolerance for.

anyway, ASB and ESPN are fighting it out in my heart. i can get over the way ESPN looks... it's like looking being drunk and seeing a hottie, but then sobbering and slapping your head for your stupid beer goggles the night before.

sigh....

[faster]

Re: Okay, I\'ve Made My Decision, And The Winner Is...

13Warner, my summary is very close to yours, though harsher towards MVP. IMO it's an arcadey waste of programming. in no way did i ever enjoy playing it in any way. it felt just like the old Triple Play series did, like they tried to include some sim aspects but also sensationalize baseball which i have ZERO tolerance for.

anyway, ASB and ESPN are fighting it out in my heart. i can get over the way ESPN looks... it's like looking being drunk and seeing a hottie, but then sobbering and slapping your head for your stupid beer goggles the night before.

sigh....

[wsbfan]

Re: Okay, I\'ve Made My Decision, And The Winner Is...

ESPN Bestoverall baseball sim/game

[wsbfan]

Re: Okay, I\'ve Made My Decision, And The Winner Is...

ESPN Bestoverall baseball sim/game

[wsbfan]

Re: Okay, I\'ve Made My Decision, And The Winner Is...

ESPN Bestoverall baseball sim/game

[Michael23]

Re: Okay, I\'ve Made My Decision, And The Winner Is...

I have to say that I agree with alot of the points being made in this thread. To me ESPN Baseball is the best game available this year.......for the console players.

MVP for the PC (not XBOX or PS2) gets my vote as best overall experience. We will always have a difference of opinions on graphics so I'm not even going to go there. With all of the mods that are available, easy to update rosters, and not to mention the patch that is coming to fix alot of the obviously painful issues, I have no idea why more people aren't playing this game on the PC. Everyone complains about the same things when it comes to this game. We know what they are. I have already remedied the lack of CPU steals, lack of walks, and the rest of the fixes (choppiness, lefty physics issue, and progression) will be completed by months end.

On to ESPN. At first I couldn't stand the game. Horrifying batting animations, but more importantly to me, I could not stand the fielding camera. It's way too low. Please add a broadcast type of angle. Well, Ive had ESPN for a week now, and it's clearly the most bug free game on the market. I am finally starting to have competitive games and am finding my comfort level with the settings. It is making ESPN an enjoyable and fun experience for me. Is it perfect? What is? But the AI is clearly better than the other choices and I can play any game on the schedule in franchise mode. I loooove the ESPN Bottom Line thing and the announcers are pretty good. Variable pitching is a huge plus and I really like the behind the pitcher camera. Steals, pick offs, and it's not a pain in the a$$ to play good defense. What does it need? More camera angles, more hit types, more fielding animations, and of course the swing animations need a major overhaul. Also, motion capture. All in all it's a solid title.

My Scores

MVP PC-92
ESPN XBOX-89
MVP Console-82

[Michael23]

Re: Okay, I\'ve Made My Decision, And The Winner Is...

I have to say that I agree with alot of the points being made in this thread. To me ESPN Baseball is the best game available this year.......for the console players.

MVP for the PC (not XBOX or PS2) gets my vote as best overall experience. We will always have a difference of opinions on graphics so I'm not even going to go there. With all of the mods that are available, easy to update rosters, and not to mention the patch that is coming to fix alot of the obviously painful issues, I have no idea why more people aren't playing this game on the PC. Everyone complains about the same things when it comes to this game. We know what they are. I have already remedied the lack of CPU steals, lack of walks, and the rest of the fixes (choppiness, lefty physics issue, and progression) will be completed by months end.

On to ESPN. At first I couldn't stand the game. Horrifying batting animations, but more importantly to me, I could not stand the fielding camera. It's way too low. Please add a broadcast type of angle. Well, Ive had ESPN for a week now, and it's clearly the most bug free game on the market. I am finally starting to have competitive games and am finding my comfort level with the settings. It is making ESPN an enjoyable and fun experience for me. Is it perfect? What is? But the AI is clearly better than the other choices and I can play any game on the schedule in franchise mode. I loooove the ESPN Bottom Line thing and the announcers are pretty good. Variable pitching is a huge plus and I really like the behind the pitcher camera. Steals, pick offs, and it's not a pain in the a$$ to play good defense. What does it need? More camera angles, more hit types, more fielding animations, and of course the swing animations need a major overhaul. Also, motion capture. All in all it's a solid title.

My Scores

MVP PC-92
ESPN XBOX-89
MVP Console-82