News Post

Major League Baseball 2K6 Review (Xbox)

07:28 PM - April 17, 2006 by Steve_OS

We have just posted our Major League Baseball 2K6 review. Find out what Clay had to say about it.

"If we’ve learned nothing else over the years it’s that the multi-million dollar business of sports gaming is a cutthroat one. The battle to make the best game for each sport has been raging since the days of RBI Baseball, Blades of Steel and Double Dribble. Long before the days of the exclusivity agreement, developers battled to be the top release. In this new era of exclusive rights, the battlefield has obviously changed a bit. The NFL lives at EA with NASCAR and FIFA, while the MLB license, at least for cross platform releases, lives with 2K Games.

The fear of the sports gamer since the first press release is always the same. What happens when there is no competition? Who wins? Who loses? What’s the motivation to go the extra mile when you’ve crippled the competition?"

Member Comments

# 1 stalsy2310 @ 04/17/06 08:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dkgojackets


	at least he got through a full game. I didnt make it that far.

lol i didnt make it through a game either, me and you are in the same boat with many others. 5/10 is over rating the game it deserves a FM.(failed Miserably)

# 2 fossen @ 04/17/06 09:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dkgojackets


	at least he got through a full game. I didnt make it that far.

Note - this is not the 360 review, this is for the original Xbox.

There is a separate review coming for the 360 version.

# 3 luv_mist @ 04/18/06 12:31 AM

Holy CRAP!! I can't believe this. I never thought I'd see the day when 2K would sink this low.....and deserve it. I'm too heart broken to even check the rating. However, if they deserve it, give it to them. Sad year in sports and it's just starting........

# 4 llcmac @ 04/18/06 07:11 AM

I own the 360 version and personally I think the Online aspect may be one of the worst in a long time.

You can't use inside edge or the catcher at all. There are no cutscenes which I guess is just to cut down on game time. You are locked in to options that just kill the game:

Auto-Round - You'll get tagged out on this atleast once every 2 games.

Auto Dive back - This is annoying, the AI dives back at some of the worst moments, actually allowed the CPU to turn a triple play.

Your stuck with default batting and pitching cams. Fielding seems to get worse online.

It's this easy, Offline the game is frustrating, Online the game is much much much more frustrating, not worth it for me.

# 5 luv_mist @ 04/18/06 12:54 PM

Finally read it and somehow i can really understand it. Almost like they purposely left it dry for another try or something. Horrible stuff. As a casual gamer, I can't even tell these things. I'm definitely going to check it out and see what it plays like. I thought 2K5 was horrible but after a few adjustments, it did a pretty good flow of gaming. I'm definitely hoping that if I did pick this one up, it would be adjustable and stuff. Love the full season online even though it's not my type of gaming. Good review and informative review.......

# 6 slickdtc @ 04/18/06 12:55 PM

I think Clay hit the nail on the head as far as saying that some things make you go "Yeah, that's perfect," while others are "...what?" moments.

I've had the game for 3 days now and have played 4 games (and saved in the middle of a 5th one). In my second game, I got serious and got away from the initial "new game" factor and I think it played a decent game of ball. There are mishaps, like when the CPU threw to a base and it just rolled by the basemen and I took another base (actually, CPU automatically did it...).

I wouldn't say the game deserves a 5 though. I think more like a 7. There's some negative points in the game, but there are plenty of good things that I didn't see in MVP Baseball 2005 (which is still the best baseball game ever, to me) or any other baseball game I've owned that keep it good for me.

# 7 thmst30 @ 04/18/06 03:12 PM

I love this part of the review,

Quote:


	As bad as this sounds, I hope that they were dedicating the bulk of their attention to the 360 release, because corners appear to have been cut on this release. Even the improvements like "Inside Edge" were not enough to allow me to enjoy this game. In fact, the parts that I really liked only frustrated me because of the wasted potential.

Apparently that wasn't the case either.

# 8 KBomber @ 04/20/06 01:58 PM

I think that there are a lot of things that are very compelling about this title, the review touches on those quite accurately. I think that there is still much ground ot be made up by 2K Sports, particularly on the defensive side of the ball with the robotic feel of fielding and the frustration of running the bags

That being said, I have enjoyed some very interesting games and I think that the building blocks of a very solid foundation are in place. My interpretation of the review is that it suggests that the game is way off the mark. While it doesn't have the very organic feel of MVP, it does do some things very well and I think that it isn't miles off where it needs to be once the right things get tweaked.

Even so, I do admit that the silver lining for baseball is found in the fact there is still a modicum of choice, whether that's on the collegiate side of things with MVP or through The Show on the PS2. That's something that sim football gamers don't have as an option. Residual anger over exclusivity permeates the review somewhat, but that is understandable given the circumstances

In any event, I think the review is fair, even though I might grade out the game slightly higher. I think the pros have been made mention of and the cons have been noted as well, although I think the cons in other exclusive titles haven't been weighted as dramatically as they were in this review

Have fun...........

# 9 Big Pimp 11 @ 04/21/06 05:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Steve_OS


	We have just posted our Major League Baseball 2K6 review. Find out what Clay had to say about it. "If we’ve learned nothing else over the years it’s that the multi-million dollar business of sports gaming is a cutthroat one. The battle to make the best game for each sport has been raging since the days of RBI Baseball, Blades of Steel and Double Dribble. Long before the days of the exclusivity agreement, developers battled to be the top release. In this new era of exclusive rights, the battlefield has obviously changed a bit. The NFL lives at EA with NASCAR and FIFA, while the MLB license, at least for cross platform releases, lives with 2K Games. The fear of the sports gamer since the first press release is always the same. What happens when there is no competition? Who wins? Who loses? What’s the motivation to go the extra mile when you’ve crippled the competition?"

I bought This game for the 360 the day it came out, I took it back the very next day . This game sucks ! I hated it ... I was really let down.
I have MLB the show for the PS2 and it blows this sorry game out of the water. The players just look so stupid and lifeless. This game was horrible all away around. I give it a 1/2 a start out of 10.
Want a real baseball game that plays like a real Major League game do yourself a favor and go get MLB you wont regret it.

# 10 osmith1 @ 04/22/06 01:49 PM

Ummm this "review" is screwed up.......

I quote: "The deepest mode, however, is the "GM Career" Mode. Like the career modes in some other 2K releases, it starts at the top and the owners of each club have very different personalities and expectations. Some are penny pinchers that will be looking at you to dump large contracts before you even get out of Spring Training. Others are more fans of the game and will give you a little more rope. This mode is deep to say the least. Not only are you managing day-to-day decisions for your professional and minor league on-field product, you’re hiring scouts, coaches, upgrading the stadium, running promotions, selling stadium ad space and taking out loans from the bank. If you like that style of play, you can literally spend two to three hours on off the field decisions for every hour you spend on the field. You can really dedicate as much or as little time as you want to it. "

Where do you sell ad space, upgrade stadium, do promotions, and take out loans from the bank in MLB 2k6????.....Did the reviewer even play this game, or was he playing MLB 06 The Show, where you do these things?

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Major League Baseball 2K6 Review (Xbox)