Best baseball game(s) for local multiplayer?

[volcanolotus]

After a two-decade absence from sports games, I came back recently and played The Show, and was really blown away. However, as I read reviews, it seems like the most consistent criticism is that the local multiplayer isn't great, and that's mostly how I like to play. I really have four questions for you fine folks:

-What is the best baseball game for offline 1v1 (and/or 2v2)?
-What is the best offline co-op baseball game?
-Are there any games that support more than 4 players local or LAN?
-What is the best multiplayer baseball game with motion controls?

I'm well aware that the answer to all 4 of these may still be The Show, or that it may be 4 different games, and that's OK. I'm open to anything, from TS to The Bigs to MVP to Baseball Stars.

Sub question if the answer to any is indeed TS: Is there any reason to get earlier versions of the game, or is the current year always the best? (Specifically, I'm thinking of rivalry mode going away and if that hurts the local multiplayer experience.)

Thanks for any suggestions!

[PelicansDynasty]

Re: Best baseball game(s) for local multiplayer?

Unfortunately I don't own a PS3 or PS4 so I've never really played The Show, but in my experience the best 1v1 game would be MVP 05, but if you're looking for a simpler game I'd recommend Baseball Sim 1.000, which is in my opinion the best of the old school baseball games.

Offline Co-op I've never really tried, although my bro and I do play on the same team in MVP on occasion (one of us pitches and the other bats).

I've never heard of a game for more than 4 people locally, although you can always pass the controller.

Never played motion control baseball.

Sorry I really couldn't answer too many of those questions, but anyway you really can't go wrong with MVP. And before you buy The Show I'd recommend you take a look at PYS to see if that interests you. It probably won't but its worth a look.

[volcanolotus]

Re: Best baseball game(s) for local multiplayer?

Unfortunately I don't own a PS3 or PS4 so I've never really played The Show, but in my experience the best 1v1 game would be MVP 05, but if you're looking for a simpler game I'd recommend Baseball Sim 1.000, which is in my opinion the best of the old school baseball games.

Offline Co-op I've never really tried, although my bro and I do play on the same team in MVP on occasion (one of us pitches and the other bats).

I've never heard of a game for more than 4 people locally, although you can always pass the controller.

Never played motion control baseball.

Sorry I really couldn't answer too many of those questions, but anyway you really can't go wrong with MVP. And before you buy The Show I'd recommend you take a look at PYS to see if that interests you. It probably won't but its worth a look.

Thanks for all the advice! I'd never heard of Baseball Sim, so I'll have to look into that.

What is it about MVP that makes it the best for you?

I might have to check out PYS at some point - how pervasive are all of the "lifestyle sim" parts? The reviews I've read have suggested that you spend as much time managing your house and your girlfriend as playing baseball, and that bit doesn't appeal to me, but if it's easy to bypass, that might be worth a look.

[jyoung]

Re: Best baseball game(s) for local multiplayer?

The baseball games where you can hit and pitch without cursors work the best for local multiplayer IMO. It ruins the fun when you can see where the other player is pitching/swinging.

Ken Griffey Jr. Presents Major League Baseball was especially great on the Super Nintendo because you could play a 7-game World Series against your friend and it would save all the stats from game to game.

I might have to check out PYS at some point - how pervasive are all of the "lifestyle sim" parts? The reviews I've read have suggested that you spend as much time managing your house and your girlfriend as playing baseball, and that bit doesn't appeal to me, but if it's easy to bypass, that might be worth a look.

The "lifestyle" mode in Konami's baseball games is totally separate from the regular season modes where all you do is play baseball. So you don't have to get into any of that stuff if you don't want to.

[daflyboys]

Re: Best baseball game(s) for local multiplayer?

MVP can be played 1 v 1 online or local. Online still functions with IP2IP and LAN (TUNNGLE app). There is no cooperative mode in MVP where you play on the field at the same time to my knowledge. Also the game has built in options to make most every visual disappear, though certain ones for fielding, especially the ball landing locator, is essential. The pitch meter can also be modded to move off-screen (there is no actual built in classic pitch option, but this suffices just as well) which makes you watch the motion of your pitcher to time the pitches.

The sliders in MVP for gameplay are really sensitive, which is a good thing when you are trying to tweak the game to your liking. If you happen to get it and need help with setting up for IP2IP play, pm me and I'll give you our set-up.

Also, the modding community at mvpmods.com is planning on an MVP 15 Total Mod release possibly in April. It's well worth joining up their and giving a nominal contribution so you can have unlimited downloads.

[PelicansDynasty]

Re: Best baseball game(s) for local multiplayer?

1) As said previously, you can do a standard season mode in PYS without the life-sim stuff, but now that I think about it the cursor hitting might not be great for local multiplayer.

2) As for MVP, I think it is the best local multiplayer game for many reasons. The ability to hide things like the pitch locater is nice, and of course it is in general an excellent baseball game. All of the minor league teams are a blast for local MP, and so are all the stadium/uniform options. One thing to take into account is that if you are buying MVP you will need to choose a platform. Console is much better for local multiplayer since you can sit on the couch and play on the big screen, but the PC version has vastly superior single player thanks to the modding scene. PC also means updated rosters, stadiums and unis for your multiplayer games at the cost of having to huddle around the computer for a local game. I'd still recommend PC version though, its pretty amazin'.

[OhioCub]

Re: Best baseball game(s) for local multiplayer?

I personally play 1vs1 on The Show and don't see anything negative about it. All the on-screen indicators can be turned off just as easily on TS as they can on MVP. Not only can you turn them off but you can set up seperate profiles, one with everything off for multiplayer and another with whatever you want on for when you do play on your own against the CPU. Plus with The Show you get the next gen graphics and everything up to date on a console. Also, I played MVP for years and the modding community is great and it is a great game but once I played The Show I never went back. As far as co-op and all that, never tried, so I can't really answer. And with the Show the newest edition is pretty much the best as the game's designers are very good about adding to the game without taking old options out.

[shogunofharlem3]

Re: Best baseball game(s) for local multiplayer?

The baseball games where you can hit and pitch without cursors work the best for local multiplayer IMO. It ruins the fun when you can see where the other player is pitching/swinging.

Ken Griffey Jr. Presents Major League Baseball was especially great on the Super Nintendo because you could play a 7-game World Series against your friend and it would save all the stats from game to game.



The "lifestyle" mode in Konami's baseball games is totally separate from the regular season modes where all you do is play baseball. So you don't have to get into any of that stuff if you don't want to.

Was just going to recommend this game. One of my all time favorites.

[volcanolotus]

Re: Best baseball game(s) for local multiplayer?

I personally play 1vs1 on The Show and don't see anything negative about it. All the on-screen indicators can be turned off just as easily on TS as they can on MVP.

I'd thought before that not releasing a baseball game on the Wii U early was a missed opportunity - for 1v1 games, the defense could use the Gamepad and set things up sight unseen while the offense either used motion swinging or a more traditional controller.

Thinking about The Show, the Vita version would probably allow this, right? I assume during ad hoc games you only see your own cursors. That might be the best of both worlds (other than needing 2 Vitas, or a Vita and a PSTV).