I love the idea of the owner-mode.

 

MVP Baseball 2005 Hands-On

The boys of summer are back and looking better than ever.

By Hilary Goldstein

 

January 18, 2005 - EA is in a difficult position. Last year's MVP 2004 ranked among the very best baseball game's ever made thanks to innovative controls, great graphics, and an awesome franchise mode. With a solid foundation to work on, what more could EA do other than iron out some bugs from last year's game? It turns out that while the gameplay changes are subtle, there's still plenty more EA has to offer gamers. With rumors that this may be the last MVP Baseball game for the foreseeable future, at least EA's going out with a bang.

 

Own It

The big addition for the new season is Ownership Mode, which provides gamers with full control over an entire organization. Ownership Mode operates much like last year's Dynasty Mode, with team chemistry and player happiness playing a major role in the quality of play on the field. On top managing your major league club and all three minor league satellites (as Single-A has been added for 2005), you must also worry about earning cash to keep your team's finances solvent.

 

When you first kick up Ownership Mode, you'll need to create your own ballpark. In your first year, this ballpark is as basic as can be. In fact, at the outset my AAA park looks better than the empty New Israel Park I built for the Oakland A's. There are some limited options in terms of the field's design, including the type of grass and seat wall coloring. Assuming you have some money to spend from your budget (even the A's have a little), you can purchase various concession stands and stadium amenities. In time your stadium can grow into a true powerhouse, but it's not going to be an easy task.

 

If you've played Madden's Ownership Mode, then you should have a good idea of what to expect. You can spend cash on giveaways to attract fans and, with some good ballplay, earn endorsements and a better TV contract. The more you make, the bigger your budget for improving your team.

 

Play It

After fooling around with Ownership Mode for a while, I had the chance to play two games with the A's. The roster cut-off date came just a few days ago, so all trades and signings through last week are golden for release, but anything coming later is going to miss the cut. This means the Big Unit is on the Yanks, Beltran is on the Mets, and Mulder and Hudson are not on the A's. Does anyone else feel ill?

 

Through two games, I've noticed a number of small improvements over last year. Perhaps the most important fix is to the pitching meter, which was too forgiving last season. Now the green zone for a perfect pitch is considerably smaller and the meter moves a bit faster. While it's still not too tough to get into a groove and paint the corners, it's more difficult to maintain perfection. EA also smoothed out the animations so that there doesn't appear to be any hitches on double plays. There are also a greater number of infield animations, including underhanded tosses, first-baseman picks, and tagging animations. Things looked sweet last year and are just a tad sweeter for 2005.

 

There are also a few new features added this year. The EA Hitter's Eye is the one most-touted and probably the one to receive the coldest reception from fan's. When it was originally described as a special way a hitter sees the ball coming out of a pitcher's hand, I imagined some sort of camera zoom to show the rotation. Instead, the ball flashes a specific color the moment before it's hurled. Purple means it's a splitter, red is for curves and sliders, and white is for fastballs. The flash of color is momentary and easy to miss if you aren't looking for it, but those who know how to spot the blip are at an extreme advantage. Don't worry, this feature can be turned off if you want.

 

Hitter's gain a second advantage this season with the ability to move in the batter's box. Before any pitch, you can move the batter in or out to adjust to a pitcher's style. This moves your hot and cold zones as well. If you take a hitter who rakes pitches on the outside and scoot off the plate, that hot zone gets moved closer to the center of the plate. It's a little tough to tell what sort of impact this might have on a game, but with a few more games under my belt I should have a better understanding of the full impact (if any).

 

Overall the gameplay hasn't changed much at all from last year. However, the ball physics have definitely seen an upgrade. Hits that normally were triples last year thanks to large ballparks and slow fielders are now doubles and sometimes just singles. Fielders also make better decisions for backing up a play and there's a more intense game of cat-and-mouse between the baserunner and the man trying to keep him from straying too far.

 

MVP Baseball 2005 may not surprise anyone with its gameplay this year, but since last year's game was so good, drastic changes were unnecessary. The true test is playing through a few dozen games. Hopefully MVP maintain its excellence over the long haul, because with solid gameplay and the promising Ownership Mode, this could be a brilliant swan song for EA baseball.

 

Pics:

I really hope they fix the crowds...

It would be cool if they have fan interference.

I hope the AI OFers don't get caught in the crooks of the walls anymore. :plain

 

 

I laughed for about 5 minutes when one of the guys got stuck in the bend of the green monster.

Hopefully the defense gets reworked. It was kinda cumbersome for 04.

I've got high expectations for MVP '05. 04 was one of the best baseball games I've played on a console.

It sounds great so far, I love the fact that you get to start off in a small park and try to build your way up. I hope they let you customize it to you're liking.

Sounds pretty cool...Are they going to have actualy players from the minors this time around?

Sounds pretty cool...Are they going to have actualy players from the minors this time around?

659750[/snapback]

probably same as last year.... anyone who had atleast 1AB or atleast threw one pitch in the majors will be in the game

dont count out ESPN. It is getting totally reworked. They been focusing on the baserunning in their first hands on report, and it seems liek the game will be really realistic in that you can play small ball and dictate what the batter does when you want to steal. Looks really cool.

Hoepfully we wont have crappy defensive players on the CPU side making astonishing diving catches like in 04. i hated it when Mo Vaughn would dive in backwards and catch foul balls.

Hoepfully we wont have crappy defensive players on the CPU side making astonishing diving catches like in 04. i hated it when Mo Vaughn would dive in backwards and catch foul balls.

659881[/snapback]

 

 

So I wasn't the only one...

dont count out ESPN. It is getting totally reworked. They been focusing on the baserunning in their first hands on report, and it seems liek the game will be really realistic in that you can play small ball and dictate what the batter does when you want to steal. Looks really cool.

659876[/snapback]

World Series Baseball was a great game but ESPN really dropped the ball last year. It's gonna be really interesting to see which game ends up better.

dont count out ESPN. It is getting totally reworked. They been focusing on the baserunning in their first hands on report, and it seems liek the game will be really realistic in that you can play small ball and dictate what the batter does when you want to steal. Looks really cool.

659876[/snapback]

World Series Baseball was a great game but ESPN really dropped the ball last year. It's gonna be really interesting to see which game ends up better.

659919[/snapback]

Agreed. ESPN tanked.

 

Just o na side note, they added Joe Morgan to the booth...that should be a step up. :thumbup