Gameplay : 8.9 | Graphics : 9.1 | Longevity : 9.2 | Presentation : 8.8 | Sound : 8.2 | Overall : 8.8 Posted by AndyP

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Baseball fans, it’s that time of the year. The weather is warming up and the grass is getting greener. Spring training is already underway and the regular season is set to begin in just under two weeks. Baseball games have already started to hit store shelves. The first to arrive this year is “MVP Baseball 2004.”

Last year marked the debut of the series and while it was a huge step above its predecessor, “Triple Play Baseball,” it still left plenty of room for improvement.

Gameplay

The gameplay is where “MVP Baseball 2004” excels. Every aspect of the game has been tweaked to make the user feel as if they are actually on the field.

On the hitting side there is a lot more involved this year than just going up to the plate and swinging the bat. The result of an at-bat now depends on several factors including timing, location, player attributes, and type of hit you are going for. Each batter has a “window of opportunity” that is based off of their contact rating. The “window of opportunity” demonstrates the point of where a player should swing the bat on the ball’s way to the plate in order to have success. Players like Albert Pujols and Todd Helton have high contact ratings, therefore, their “window of opportunity” is larger and they have a greater chance for success.

With the new “Pure Swing” system in place this year, hitting has become much more realistic. You have to think like a major league hitter when at the plate, meaning if you get a fastball that’s up and inside, try and pull it down the line. Attempting to hit a fly ball to the opposite field will more than likely result in an out. If you get a pitch on the outside corner and attempt to pull it, you’re not going to have much success – just like in real life. The hitting takes some getting used to at first but once you do, you come to really appreciate just how realistic it is.

Pitching has also taken a step forward. Pitchers can setup the batter as the computer will take more pitches and now swings at balls out of the strike zone. The same pitching meter from last year is there. It’s a two-tap system where you hold down the button of the type of pitch you selected. While holding the button of the pitch down, a cursor begins to move down the meter. You release the button on the meter’s way down to select the power/effectiveness of the pitch. The further down the meter the cursor goes, the more powerful/effective the pitch is going to be. On the meter’s way back up, you tap the button to try and get the cursor to stop inside the green. Tap the button too soon or too late and the accuracy of the pitch will be off. Tap it inside the green and the pitch will go where you want it to go. The better a pitcher is at throwing a certain pitch the bigger the green area will be on the pitching meter.

There are consequences, however, to throwing every pitch at maximum power/effectiveness. Your pitcher will wear down quicker and you will be forced to go to the bullpen early, otherwise you will be susceptible to a big inning by your opponent. Mound visits actually play an important role during games this year. They can be positive, negative, or have no effect at all on the pitcher. It all really depends on the situation. If you decide to do a mound visit after your pitcher has given up a base hit to start the game, he’s more than likely going to have a negative reaction. However, say there are two outs in the 7th inning and you’re winning 3-2, but your pitcher has just surrendered back-to-back hits and he’s down to 50% stamina. A mound visit could do the trick and give the pitcher just enough to retire the next batter and get out of the inning.

The fielding in “MVP Baseball” has undergone some dramatic changes as well. Gone are the automatic dives and slides. The right analog stick now allows you to execute the EA Sports “Big Play Control” when in the field. What this means is that you can now manually slide (down on the stick), leap (up), or dive to the left or right (press in the direction you want to dive). The throwing meter still exists but it has been tweaked to provide more realistic results. Just like last year, the longer you hold the button down for the base you want to throw to, the stronger the throw will be. There is a red area at that end of the meter. The further into the red area you go, the more chance there is for an offline throw. The size of the red area depends on the player’s throwing accuracy rating and what kind of position the fielder has when making the throw. If the fielder is throwing across his body on the run the throw is going to be tougher, and the red area in the meter is going to be bigger. If the fielder has both feet planted on the ground the throw is going to be easier, therefore, the red area will be smaller.

Player attributes have more effect in the field than just throwing power and accuracy. They also affect the range of outfielders. Andruw Jones and Torii Hunter will get to the ball a lot quicker than Garrett Anderson. Derek Jeter can field a tough grounder in the hole while Rich Aurilia might not get a good break on the ball, allowing it to get into left field.

The artificial intelligence has been vastly improved. Players are smarter at the plate. No longer can you pitch the same way to certain player every time he steps up to the plate. If Alex Rodriguez struck out on an 0-2 slider last time up you can bet he’s going to be looking for a slider if he falls behind in the count the next time he’s up to bat. The computer pitchers are smarter in their approach as well. They will waste a pitch when ahead in the count hoping that you will chase it for strike three. Baserunners don’t hesitate to take the extra base on errors and balls hit into the gap. Managers now favor matchups and bring a left-handed pitcher in to face a left-handed batter late in the game (or a righty to face a right-handed batter).

There are occasions where the AI will make a strange move, however. Seemingly every game the computer will get a relief pitcher up and warming around the fifth inning. This happens even when they have a shutout going. The relief pitcher usually isn’t brought in until about two innings later, but the timing is certainly questionable. Closers aren’t always utilized properly. The computer will stick with the current pitcher in a close game where the closer would usually be brought in or they choose to wait until the final out is needed to bring him in.

Every game has small problems though and “MVP Baseball 2004” is no exception. Sometimes a player will start to slow up to stop at first base rather than running through the bag and it leads to the runner being thrown out. There are times when the replay shows that a player didn’t touch home plate when he scored (hard to notice at full speed). These are all very minor and do not detract from an enjoyable experience.

Graphics

The graphics in “MVP Baseball 2004” are very solid. The stadiums are extremely detailed. Lighting is outstanding at all times. Shadows cover the field for day and dusk games. The crowd is decent. It’s not the best looking crowd you’ll find in a sports game but they react based on the situation during games. They stand up from their seats when the home team gets a big hit and stay seated when the away team has just hit a home run.

The animations are awesome. Everything from the center fielder laying out for the ball to the baserunner going hard into second base with a takeout slide is dead-on. The animations transition perfectly, there’s no delay or awkward-looking motions. Half way through the season you might see an animation for the first time, that’s how many there actually are. Player faces are alright. Some of the players are easily recognizable while most others need the jersey or picture to be recognized. Player models are very accurate, however. Randy Johnson is tall and skinny, Antonio Alfonseca has his big gut, and Sammy Sosa looks like he is ready to unload on a fastball.

Occasionally the frame rate will drop during the game on ps2. It doesn’t drop much but it still slows up at times (when the ball’s hit behind the plate is the most common occurrence). This has been corrected to a certain extent by changing the “Disc Speed” to fast and “Texture Mapping” to smooth on the Playstation 2 configuration settings.

Dynasty

The build of the dynasty mode is similar to last year’s dynasty mode as far as design is concerned, but overall the dynasty mode is much deeper, one of the deepest ever for a console game. Team chemistry factors into winning. Playing time now plays a role in contract negotiations. If you sign a player and promise him a starting job, he better end up starting on your team, otherwise he could get upset and it will affect his play. Happy players are more likely to have success.

A trading block has also been added this year. On the trading block screen you can see every player placed on the block from around the league. Depending on the player and the situation, placing a player on the trade block will have a positive or negative impact with the player. Happy players might get upset and their performance will suffer. A disgruntled player will still have a bad attitude but could try to showcase himself for another team.

Perhaps the biggest and best addition to dynasty mode this year is the ability to play as your minor league teams. Every single AA and AAA minor league team is licensed and in “MVP Baseball 2004.” Unfortunately, minor league players can’t appear in the video games unless they’ve played in the majors before, so there are a lot of computer generated players. Being able to play AA and AAA games gives you the ability to see what a player can do before actually bringing him up. It feels like a minor league game too. The crowd isn’t as loud as they are at the major league ballpark and players don’t make some of the plays major leaguers do.

During the off season you have to deal with player retirements, re-sign expiring contracts from your current team, draft amateur players, sign the draft picks, and then go through the free agent signing process – all while trying to stay under the budget and put together a winner. Retirements can be due to injuries, age, and personal reasons.

Mound charges during dynasty mode games lead to bench clearing brawls and can result in ejections, injuries, and suspensions.

Now onto to some of the negatives of dynasty mode…

Spring Training stadiums are not in so all games are played at the home team’s home ballpark. Season-to-season stats, single season and career records, and waiver wires are not in this year.

Longevity

“MVP Baseball 2004” has plenty of features other than exhibition games and dynasty mode to keep gamers interested.

Online play allows two people to connect via the Playstation 2 console and play a one-on-one exhibition game. The only big issue with online play at the time of this review is that every game your ace is starting. That could still be corrected because the servers are not officially set to launch until later this month. “MVP Baseball 2004” online supports both 56k and Broadband connections.

Manager Mode lets you call the shots without actually going into a game and controlling the players. Not only is it a separate mode by itself on the game modes screen but you can also play your dynasty games that way. On the left side of the screen you select what to do (such as swing away, bunt, pitch around, go to the bullpen, etc.). On the right side the game is played out for you to follow. A game can actually be completed in less than 10 minutes.

Home Run and Pitcher Showdowns are great to play if you don’t have time to play a full game or just want to have a little friendly competition with some friends. In Home Run Showdowns, you compete against an opponent to see who can reach a total distance (3,000 feet, 7,500 feet, etc.) for hits first. Home runs have bonuses that add to your score while the distance a foul ball travels is deducted from your total. In Pitcher Showdowns, the first pitcher to strike out a set number of batters from the same lineup wins.

Scenario Mode is just like the name says, a place to create any possible scenario using the current rosters, so you can re-create any game from the 2004 Major League Baseball season.

There are 52 Legends, 8 stadiums, and 60 retro jerseys to unlock using points earned from completing certain tasks during gameplay (throw a no-hitter, hit 3 home runs in one game, etc.). Unlocked legends can also be added to dynasty mode so Red Sox fans can put Babe Ruth in the middle of their lineup to take on Giambi, Jeter, Rodriguez, and the rest of the Yankees.

From top to bottom, “MVP Baseball 2004” has as much depth as any baseball game ever created and it’s bound to keep you busy all throughout the year.

Presentation

Overall when you factor in announcing, music, crowd reaction, and camera shots during the game, “MVP Baseball 2004” does an adequate job of coming off like a TV presentation. Several new camera angles have been added this year for batting, pitching, fielding, and cuts made in-between innings. Almost every angle possible is in this year so it’s safe to say you won’t have trouble finding an angle to your liking. Fireworks go off every time the home team hits a home run. I know there are some gamers that might not like fireworks going off after a home run at older stadiums like Wrigley Field but it’s not a big deal and most of the time you’re not even thinking about it when it happens. Unfortunately, there isn’t much as far as home run celebrations other than Sammy Sosa doing his usual kissing of his fingers, tapping his chest, and giving the peace sign.

The classic menu interface comes off really well. Everything is nicely laid out and loads quick from screen to screen.

Sound

Mike Krukow and Duane Kuiper are back again this year to provide the commentary. Overall they do a pretty good job of calling the action and keeping gamers interested. You don’t get the sense that they’re just reading their lines, like you do with many other games. They give scouting reports on many of the pitchers and also make interesting comments about many of the players as they step up to the plate. With games like “MVP Baseball 2004” that have so much replay value, the commentary is bound to get repetitive at some point, but it’ll be a long time until that happens.

In dynasty games, the PA announcer will announce the winning and losing pitchers to crowd and if there’s a game to be played tomorrow between the same two teams the announcer will mention it.

The in-game sounds are superb. If it’s heard at the ballpark, it’s heard in “MVP Baseball 2004.” Everything from the sound of the ball popping into the catcher’s mitt to the hot dog vendor in the stands is very well done. You can tell instantly how well a ball was hit from the sound of the bat. Fielders even yell which base to throw the ball to on balls hit into the gap.

“MVP Baseball 2004” has added multi-tiered crowd noise levels this year and it’s one of the “smarter” crowds you’ll find in a sports game. The fans know the situation and react accordingly. When you’re at home and the opposing pitcher is at the plate with a runner on first base and nobody out, a fan will yell “Watch the bunt!” They jump out of their seats when the home team gets a big hit and the boo-birds come out when opposition stages a rally. Team-specific chants such as the “Tomahawk Chop” in Atlanta make you feel like you’re at the ballpark.

“EA Trax” once again provides the soundtrack for “MVP Baseball 2004.” Depending on your preference for music, you’re either going to love the soundtrack or hate it. Unfortunately, custom soundtracks didn’t make it in this year on Xbox.

Here’s the complete list for the MVP soundtrack:

Chronic Future - Time & Time Again
Hoodoo Gurus - Bittersweet
Lucky Boys Confusion - Hey Driver
Maxeen - Please
Seven Wiser - Take Me As I Am
Snow Patrol - Splitting Games
Stellastar - My Coco
Steriogram - Walkie Talkie Man
To My Surprise - Get It To Go
Trust Company - Surfacing
The Von Blondes - C'mon C'mon
Jonny Lives! - Get Steady
Hometown Hero – Robbers

Overall

If you’re a fan looking for your baseball fix, “MVP Baseball 2004” is the game for you. It has some minor problems and there’s still room left for improvement – but with top notch gameplay, outstanding graphics, online play (on ps2), and an unbelievably deep dynasty mode that allows you to play up to 120 seasons, it’ll be a long time before you're putting the game away to wait for “MVP Baseball 2005.”