MVP 06: NCAA Baseball
It may be winter and there may be a blizzard outside, but the baseball season is heating up already. The outlook of EA's MVP series looked mighty grim last year when it was announced that Take-Two Interactive (2K Games) had acquired the rights to publish games using the MLB license. Faced with only a few options at this point, EA decided to break into the NCAA world of baseball instead of just rolling over. The results are surprisingly favorable and help cushion the blow of losing the professional license.
Probably the nicest thing about this is that MVP 06 NCAA Baseball is the first digital introduction into the world of college ball. It features a lot of fresh players on the rise though these names are pretty much about as obscure as they get. I have to admit that I've never been one to follow collegiate sports so my knowledge of these players or how the schools ranked during the 2005 season is just about zero. That being said there is a lot of information here to educate newcomers to the MVP franchise and I'm sure fans of this brand of baseball will be particularly enthralled.
Of course the publisher who owns the professional rights for a sports series has the advantage, but EA's established franchise gets some improvement to the gameplay and name recognition thanks to ESPN. Some new mechanics are introduced here that attempt to cushion the loss of the MLB license. They only problem is that they don't really save the game from a generic roster and lackluster presentation. Even so, MVP 06 NCAA Baseball is a strong playing game with some fun concepts and a great online atmosphere that any digital baseball fan may want to sink their teeth into.
Gameplay:
So, say you're like me and you don't really know all that much about college baseball. The game does a great job of showing you which teams are the best and who was seeded in what position from the last season. Each team has certain strengths and weaknesses that you can play off of and develop throughout the Dynasty Mode, but I'll get into that later. For the time being let's just say that you want to hop right in and see what the gameplay is all about.
For starters there is a new little feature called Load and Fire where you actually use your right analog stick to power up a swing. You have the option whether or not you want to use the classic batting controls or not, but this new system gives the game a much more involved feeling. It's almost like swinging with a golf club kind of and while it takes a lot of practice to get the hang of it, doing so can yield very positive results. It feels so natural once you get accustomed to it that you'll ask yourself why the baseball genre hadn't started this sooner. You keep your eye out in the future and you'll see more ball games implement this feature to varying degrees.
The pitching is just as easy and fun as ever as well with the hot and cold strike zone mechanic. Once you determine what type of pitch you use you have to figure out exactly where you want to put it. This is fine and dandy for the first pitch because the game shows you where that particular batter likes to hit from, but after that the red and blue squares disappear. Needless to say there is a fair amount of strategy involved with pitching and you have to really pay attention regarding where you are throwing to.
Another factor to be mindful of when it comes to pitching is the stamina of the bloke on the mound. Of course this is something that you always want to think about, but your ability to throw a precise pitch diminishes the more they are out there. If you find that you're letting too many homeruns come at your expense it's time to get someone else warmed up and visit the mound for a pep-talk.
Working the field and tossing the ball between bases has been retooled a little bit so returning MVP fans may need some time for adjustment. All of the ball control has been mapped to the right analog stick and requires a bit of effort. By pressing up, down, left, or right on the stick you'll throw the ball in the appropriate direction. The trick here is how to throw it because the pressure sensitivity of the analog determines how wild your throw is. If you release it too quickly or hold it for too long chances are good that you'll overthrow the ball or it will bounce off of the receiver's glove. When you're frantically trying to pull of a double play it can get very tense thanks to this. It's definitely a nice improvement along with the Load and Fire mechanic to bring the gamer more into the experience.
There are quite a few modes here as well though they are fairly standard to the series and the genre. You can of course just right in and play a few exhibition games or even craft your own tournament, but the real meat is in the Dynasty Mode. Here you get to approach just about every level of managing a team and even get to scout for new talent. Your particular team has a scouting score and you are awarded points each week to help you build a better ball club. The only problem is that it plays off as very by the numbers and there isn't a lot of uniqueness put into it, so that leads into the underlying generic feel about the game.
Fortunately the online features give MVP 06 NCAA Baseball a fair amount of personality. With the tie-in to ESPN there is a sports ticker with updates, some news articles to peruse, and even some radio spots every twenty minutes or so. This definitely adds an authentic touch to an otherwise no-name game. Having the ability to also play online in tournaments or regular matches also helps keep the game going. Of course this is nothing new to sports fans, but the way it's implemented with the "Online Everywhere" feature from EA is a nice touch.
So, the MVP series loses the official MLB license but gains the official NCAA one. Was it a move for the better? In many ways, yes it was. The changes to the gameplay help give this game a voice of its own plus the inclusion of an involved "create-a" system, the wealth of modes and the online features help a lot too. There's a lot to do with this game and baseball fans (particularly college-level fans) will find themselves swinging away the hours. For $30 you can't find a better baseball game out there, even if this one doesn't have a professional roster.
Graphics:
MVP 06 NCAA Baseball is a real mixed bag when it comes to the graphical quality thanks to many flaws. For starters there are a lot of points where the framerate will skip a beat and players will walk right through each other. This doesn't happen all of the time, but it certainly happened more than I'd care to see. Fortunately the animations are lifelike and fluid, so going through the motions of gameplay makes for a realistic experience.
While the animation may be nice, the character models aren't. These players are just about as standard looking as you can get with no personality or realistic features. Character models aren't all that diverse either so don't be surprised if you get the impression that you're playing as a team full of clones. Oh, and speaking of clones, just take a look at the crowd...ugh. Luckily the vast amount of stadiums look decent enough and many of them even appear to be decent replicas of their real-life counterparts.
Audio:
Audibly the game fairs much better than visually. The effects are realistic enough, though I think it would be difficult to get the sound of a ball hitting an aluminum bat wrong. The crowd really gets into things when the momentum gets going for the home team and the announcers do a great job of providing commentary. The blend of heavy metal and miscellaneous music didn't really do the game justice in my opinion, but for what it is I suppose it's diverse enough to hold some appreciation. Then again if you don't like it you can always just load up a custom soundtrack.
Conclusion:
For a series that lost the meat that it served for dinner, MVP Baseball cooks up a fine meal with the NCAA license. Its strengths lie in the Load and Fire system, changes to gameplay, and overall customizability of the game. Unfortunately losing the prestige that comes with the MLB's shiny stamp stings a bit and the college league is represented without a lot of personality. Even so, fans of college baseball will find themselves in a field of dreams with this title. Baseball fans really can't go wrong, but you have to approach the generic nature of the game with an open mind. Recommended