MVP Baseball 2005 from EA Sports

Audio

The audio in this game is average to put it at best. It is not anything like being at a baseball game but it is enough to make the game enjoyable. On the field you have all your sounds of the game, just like last year. There’s the sound of the ball hitting leather, the crack of the bat, players sliding in the dirt, etc. The crowd chants the team name and specific players. Hecklers shout out one liners every once in a while and vendors can be heard selling food and beverages. The crowd cheers when the home team makes the play and boos when it’s the visiting team. The great thing is that the crowd intensifies, meaning you can feel the difference between the last game in a losing season and game seven of the World Series. The duo of Duane Kuiper and Mike Krukow are back in the booth providing play-by-play and color commentary. Even though they make an occasional mistake (ex. “No one is impressed with the way this guy swings the bat.” in reference to Albert Pujols), gone are the “that ball was nutted”, “grab some pine, meat”, and the proverbial “big boy” and I’m sure they won’t be missed. The commentary does its job, but after a dozen or so games it gets repetitive, as with all games. The soundtrack for this game is what you would expect. The songs are by small, lesser known bands. It is the kind of music you would never really listen to but just like High Heats’ “let the man go through” it’s catchy in an annoying kind of way.

Graphics

Usually graphically a game means very little to me, but it is different with this version of MVP. EA has added many new animations to the game. There are new throws and catches for every situation. Also the flow and timing of the animations runs much more smoothly this year. Double plays are on a completely different level from last year. This year the middle infielder will do everything they can to avoid the runner. The first baseman comes into play more this year. He will stretch out as far as he can, scoop, and even lay out for the ball. The ball will always hit the bat and go into a fielders glove (if it’s in play) smoothly. I even had one time where an outfielder overran the ball and reached back for it. Of course there is also the new tossing animations, when you need to throw to a covering player. Even the fact that the fielders head will track the ball helps immerse the gamer.

There are also new batting animations. With the better foul ball system the batter will reach for a pitch to foul it off. Also he will foul a pitch off himself and actually move that area in pain and may get injured. New to ’05 are the swinging animations. When you hit a “no-doubter” you batter will show it. Most of the well known swings are included, even David Ortiz’s is in here which Yankees fans will hate to see when they are replaying the ALCS in MVP. The broken bats have been toned down this year as I have only seen it once total in all my game play, which makes for a more realistic game.

This year the player models look better than last year. The are not perfect and some players still look funky but overall it is an upgrade. Stadiums are also just a tad bit better, you could only tell the difference between ‘04 and ‘05 if you closely inspected them.
The crowd is plain. As a whole they usually are wearing blue, which is a little depressing. It would be awesome if I could I play as my beloved Phillies and see the crowd wearing mostly red and white. Of course these are small issues that do not take away from the game itself (unless you are an “eye candy” type of person).
I have found only two problems with the graphics. The first is that the game is a choppy when I run it at the “auto-detect” settings and my system meets the recommended requirements. This was also a problem with last years game. Also out-of-the-box my games grass was, strange, but luckily I have found a fix for that. Of course these are probably strictly PC issues (since that’s the system I am reviewing it for) so you shouldn’t have to worry about it for console gaming.

Last Comments

It would be fun to be able to use your created stadium in other modes. Still no save game for those of us who play between classes or work and this game has it’s share of ups and downs but overall it took a step in the right direction. This is the last year for MVP for a long, long time but it is safe to say they went out with a bang. This game has enough in it that people might be playing it long after it is gone.

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