basketball

Welp, spring is upon us and whereas its freezing in NY, the heat being generated by MVP Baseball 2004 is incredible.

Graphically, this game is impressive. Every patch, stitch and wrinkle in the players uniforms is visible. The sky is gorgeous during the day and filled with stars at night. The grass looks great and every stadium is meticulously detailed down to the little things, like running fountains in KC. The player animations, which looked awesome in 2003, have been completely upgraded. I've played approximately 30 games and I still see new animations for fielders taking hops or scooping a bum throw. EA has included crowd animations for the "lower bowl" section of the stadiums, so it truly seems that they get up and cheer when they are expected to.

The gameplay on the field is much the same as 2003, and this year All-Star actually seems to be a difficult setting. I stopped playing 2003 as it became too easy on the hardest setting. I can tell that I'll be playing a full 162 this year. On the field, the players play pretty kmuch the same, with throw meters and so forth. Nothing has changed. Fantastically, EA has added gameplay sliders to increase or decrease the game play abilities in nearly every facet. It seems that EA took a cue from High Heat. The slider will have to be played with and adjusted to your liking. The outfielders run and throw a bit weakly on the default settings, so its common to give up 4 or 5 triples a game. Playing with the sliders has increased thew realism dramatically.

Pitching is exactly the same. Pick your spot, throw your pitch and hit both spots on the meter or its gone. The selection of pitches seems to be realistic and they break the way they're meant to break, so it looks really nice.

Hitting is much the same as last year. Use the left analog to control the direction of the hit, and be patient. The CPU throws alot of offspeed stuff and striking out is very much a big reality, at least to me. Ive learned to lay off the bad stuff, but it took some timing. If the CPU throws a ball thats way out of the way, the yellow X comes up. If they botch a pitch in them zone, the pink or blue circle comes up, just blast it to where it has to go. Sometimes you get a bunch of bad pitches in the game, sometimes you dont. The opposing pitcher really does make a difference if it's an ace of a staff or some nobody just called up from thje minors.

Speaking of minors, this is a really cool aspect. Every team has its AAA and AA affiliate available to use. You can control the minor league teams as part of your dynasty. Call up a rocket starter, or send down a poor perfomance reliever if need be, and the greatest thing is, many of the players in the minors are the actual players in the organizations farm team. Guys like Brandon Claussen from the Reds, Erik Almonte from the Yankees and Miguel Acensio from the Royals are involved in the minor league doings.

The major league rosters are updated as of 1/2004, so don't expect A-Rod on the Yanks, just simply trade him over and save it as your roster. Also, I believe EA will supporting an updated roster download via the internet connection once the season begins.

As for the online play, the servers are very out of whack. Id go into details, but EA has stated that they will be fixed by the time the season begins, so hopefully it'll be a non-issue. If it isnt, there will be some angry people out there.

Other added features to this years release have helped the realism. The CPU can actually tag you deep this season. Last year, in 65 games my entire team had given up 3 home runs. Its nice to play against the Twins and know that Tori Hunter is actually able to blast you if you screw up a pitch. Injuries are back and play a big part in your day to day lineup, and new this season are suspensions.

If you get beaned with a pitch you have an option to charge the mound, resulting in a bench clearing brawl. Your player will be ejected, and possibly injured or suspended, so dont charge just for the fun of charging, unless youre just playing around.

One issue everyone has, and it ISN'T EA's fault is....there's no Barry Bonds. He is not a member of the MLBPA and it's illegal to add him to any video game. Luckily the SF Giants have a very powerful, very good outfielder named John Dowd. Simply edit his name and b-day and you've got Bonds in the game.

Overall, EA has always impessed me with graphics and short term fun. This product looks like they've answered the calls of many fans and created a game which will have long term playability.

Baseball fans, you no longer need to cringe everytime you hear EA Sports and our favorite pasttime in the same sentence. Gone are the days of the lowly (once decent) Triple Play series. Last years offering, MVP 2003, ushered in a new era in baseball games; this game takes it to another, never before seen, level. Simply put, this game is amazing.

First off hitting is easy. Not necessarily easy in the sense of being able to launch a small, white ball over the wall everytime, but easy to understand. The strike zone is divided into nine sections and you simply need to swing towards the section that the ball is pitched in. Of course that's not so easy as the ball comes whizzing in at 95 mph with some nasty spin on it. The hitting system makes perfect sense and really puts you in the eyes of a Major League batter!

Pitching is also intuitive, yet challenging. You choose your pitch, hold down the appropriate button until the meter fills, and tap the button again as it goes through the green accuracy zone. It feels very natural and is fairly easy to execute, but like real life, if you choose the wrong pitch or location...

Fielding in this game is the best of any game I've ever played. Hold the button to throw to the appropriate base. Hold it longer for more power, hold it too long and the throw could go sailing into the stands. It's a perfect risk/reward system. Of course better fielders are less likely to miscue than some 2nd year outfielder turned shortstop.

Among the other details included in this game are intentional walks, sliding to either side of the bag, barreling over the catcher at home, the ability to charge the mound EVERY time you are hit, and countless others that I don't have the time or space to put in here. There is an incredibly deep dynasty mode, several jerseys, players, and stadiums to unlock. (The old time stadiums are absolutely breathtaking!)

Don't get caught in a rundown; run out and pick this one up today! If you love baseball games then this will NOT disappoint you!

This is the best baseball game ever invented!! The reality level is the most ive ever seen, the graphic enhancement is unbelievable, the player control is sWEET!, the pitching is fun, and the added bonuses are the best. i give this game five stars easily hands down. if your looking for a realistic yet very fun baseball game go out and buy MVP Baseball 2004!