OK, I'm a big baseball fan, not a gaming addict, but I tend to play one game or so a year. I go back to Great Baseball for the Sega Master System, Hardball I and II from Accolade, etc.
Tended to play on the PC in past years, High Heat specifically. Played 2001 to death, but 2002 and 2003 maybe 3-4 times each. Bug fix releases suck.
Anyway, because my main computer is aging, and because the Xbox is sitting there idle, I decided to get a console game, and MVP it was. I'm tired of High Heat, and opted for MVP based on its unique features. I'm not a major sim guy (don't like managing the minors, etc.), I just like accurate gameplay.
CONS:
In short, the game is probably too frustrating for me to continue playing. Again, I'm likely not representative, because it takes a lot to keep me turning on the Xbox, but I don't see myself playing this long term, because:
<ul type="square">[*] No matter the mode (Rookie, Pro, All-Star), the CPU hits 99% of pitches in the strike zone. I'm pretty perfect on the pitch meter, but no matter what, the CPU knocks it into play. Robb Nen gets tatered, even with 99MPH fastballs on the hands.[*] CPU has a near-perfect eye for balls/strikes when they're batting. Nobody will touch anything off the plate.[*] The fielders inanely take a step forward on nearly every catch. The "step away from a sweep tag" happens to me on almost every play at the plate from the outfield. IGN is spot-on with their critique in this regard. Also, DP transitions are ridiculous, with the 2B (in a 6-4-3, for example) receiving the ball from the SS, then taking a step toward 3B, half-pumping, and then turning to throw to 1B.[*] Players take forever to throw the ball. In order to quick-release, you need to time perfectly and the resultant throw is usually a 10-foot grounder. Otherwise all players will stutter step, even on a mildly strong (1/3 of the meter) throw.[*] I finally got the CPU to hit a HR off of me (after 20 homerless franchise games in both Pro and All-Star) when I started grooving fastballs to the hot zone. "Grooving" means holding maybe 1/3 up the meter, and then not pressing the button again at all on the "downstroke." So basically, it has to be a major pitching malfunction (like spilling your soda in the middle of a pitch) to surrender a long ball.[*] After 20 games, I've hit HRs with only Barry Bonds (7) and Jose Cruz, Jr. (1). OK, maybe I'm a bad hitter, but I've only lost a couple of games and have made some great contact.[*] Lots of ninny little nit-picks that you already know about, like no pitcher warmups; no energy meters except for pitchers in pre-game; no in-game quick box score; no intentional walks; etc.[*] Dude, the homer showdown is a nice idea, but it sucks. I just wanna take BP, but I can't do it by myself (I always have to play against someone), the split-screen is really distracting, and I can't see where my long-balls land.[*] Too many SS and 2B catches in the shallow outfield. 3-5 over-the-shoulder running catches per game.[/list]
NON-CONS:
<ul type="square">[*] The auto-diving and jumping isn't that annoying, actually. IGN got this one wrong. I've never had a player dive out of the way. In fact, once you're in the little fielding circle, you can't get out to miss the ball. That's pretty inane.[*] Throw meter is a fun concept.[*] Replays are flat-out amazing. Feels just like TV.[*] Batting stances are spot-on. I've never seen a game get so many players correct. Barry looks like Barry (a little shorter and fatter), J.T. Blow looks like J.T. Blow. Even Benito Santiago's chiseled, ancient arms are chiseled and, well, ancient. BTW, can you tell I'm a Giants fan?[*] One small nitpick: despite Barry looking like Barry, he does not run like Barry. Because in the game Barry hustles down the 1B line on his hits, and Barry Never Hustles.
[*] Base-running is pretty rad. I'm OK with the PIP thing, but it's a little confusing. What's great, though, is being able to batch your running commands ("Man on 1B, run all the way home!") and slides. My favorite thing to do is slide into 1B on singles to the outfield. The players look like complete dorks sliding into 1B feet-first.[/list]
OK, there are many good things about the game, and some things that should be done by every baseball game (batched running commands, pitching meter concept, throwing meter concept). But the fact that the CPU puts every strike I throw into play, won't strike out, will only surrender the long-ball to Barry (oh, and not one intentional walk to Barry in 20+ games, even in ideal IW situations) -- and the silly throwing mechanics -- mean that the game is really too frustratingly "unreal" to be interesting to me, long-term.
Maybe it's too arcade-y in that sense, maybe it's too new a franchise, maybe EA didn't hire enough real baseball-playing beta testers. At any rate, it's an OK first effort in many regards, but overall it doesn't hold up for me. IGN is far too generous in its scoring; out of 10 this deserves a 6.5 or 7.0, and a very low gameplay score.
Y
Tended to play on the PC in past years, High Heat specifically. Played 2001 to death, but 2002 and 2003 maybe 3-4 times each. Bug fix releases suck.
Anyway, because my main computer is aging, and because the Xbox is sitting there idle, I decided to get a console game, and MVP it was. I'm tired of High Heat, and opted for MVP based on its unique features. I'm not a major sim guy (don't like managing the minors, etc.), I just like accurate gameplay.
CONS:
In short, the game is probably too frustrating for me to continue playing. Again, I'm likely not representative, because it takes a lot to keep me turning on the Xbox, but I don't see myself playing this long term, because:
<ul type="square">[*] No matter the mode (Rookie, Pro, All-Star), the CPU hits 99% of pitches in the strike zone. I'm pretty perfect on the pitch meter, but no matter what, the CPU knocks it into play. Robb Nen gets tatered, even with 99MPH fastballs on the hands.[*] CPU has a near-perfect eye for balls/strikes when they're batting. Nobody will touch anything off the plate.[*] The fielders inanely take a step forward on nearly every catch. The "step away from a sweep tag" happens to me on almost every play at the plate from the outfield. IGN is spot-on with their critique in this regard. Also, DP transitions are ridiculous, with the 2B (in a 6-4-3, for example) receiving the ball from the SS, then taking a step toward 3B, half-pumping, and then turning to throw to 1B.[*] Players take forever to throw the ball. In order to quick-release, you need to time perfectly and the resultant throw is usually a 10-foot grounder. Otherwise all players will stutter step, even on a mildly strong (1/3 of the meter) throw.[*] I finally got the CPU to hit a HR off of me (after 20 homerless franchise games in both Pro and All-Star) when I started grooving fastballs to the hot zone. "Grooving" means holding maybe 1/3 up the meter, and then not pressing the button again at all on the "downstroke." So basically, it has to be a major pitching malfunction (like spilling your soda in the middle of a pitch) to surrender a long ball.[*] After 20 games, I've hit HRs with only Barry Bonds (7) and Jose Cruz, Jr. (1). OK, maybe I'm a bad hitter, but I've only lost a couple of games and have made some great contact.[*] Lots of ninny little nit-picks that you already know about, like no pitcher warmups; no energy meters except for pitchers in pre-game; no in-game quick box score; no intentional walks; etc.[*] Dude, the homer showdown is a nice idea, but it sucks. I just wanna take BP, but I can't do it by myself (I always have to play against someone), the split-screen is really distracting, and I can't see where my long-balls land.[*] Too many SS and 2B catches in the shallow outfield. 3-5 over-the-shoulder running catches per game.[/list]
NON-CONS:
<ul type="square">[*] The auto-diving and jumping isn't that annoying, actually. IGN got this one wrong. I've never had a player dive out of the way. In fact, once you're in the little fielding circle, you can't get out to miss the ball. That's pretty inane.[*] Throw meter is a fun concept.[*] Replays are flat-out amazing. Feels just like TV.[*] Batting stances are spot-on. I've never seen a game get so many players correct. Barry looks like Barry (a little shorter and fatter), J.T. Blow looks like J.T. Blow. Even Benito Santiago's chiseled, ancient arms are chiseled and, well, ancient. BTW, can you tell I'm a Giants fan?[*] One small nitpick: despite Barry looking like Barry, he does not run like Barry. Because in the game Barry hustles down the 1B line on his hits, and Barry Never Hustles.
[*] Base-running is pretty rad. I'm OK with the PIP thing, but it's a little confusing. What's great, though, is being able to batch your running commands ("Man on 1B, run all the way home!") and slides. My favorite thing to do is slide into 1B on singles to the outfield. The players look like complete dorks sliding into 1B feet-first.[/list]OK, there are many good things about the game, and some things that should be done by every baseball game (batched running commands, pitching meter concept, throwing meter concept). But the fact that the CPU puts every strike I throw into play, won't strike out, will only surrender the long-ball to Barry (oh, and not one intentional walk to Barry in 20+ games, even in ideal IW situations) -- and the silly throwing mechanics -- mean that the game is really too frustratingly "unreal" to be interesting to me, long-term.
Maybe it's too arcade-y in that sense, maybe it's too new a franchise, maybe EA didn't hire enough real baseball-playing beta testers. At any rate, it's an OK first effort in many regards, but overall it doesn't hold up for me. IGN is far too generous in its scoring; out of 10 this deserves a 6.5 or 7.0, and a very low gameplay score.
Y
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