Tiger Woods
redefined golf controls with its dual control scheme that took advantage of
both analog sticks. Since that time others have jumped on the bandwagon, but
believe it or not baseball has not been one of them. It’s so obvious, yet no
one seemed to think of it until now.
Hence the
creation of what EA calls "Load and Fire Batting." That’s a fancy title for a
mechanic that makes it possible to swing the bat with the right analog stick.
Pull back on the stick to get into position. Your batter will lean back, pull
the bat up and prepare to swing. Releasing the stick at this point kills your
move, just as it does in Tiger Woods. You have to see the move through.
Still
holding the stick in place, push it all the way forward – with a slight tilt
to the left or right if necessary – and watch the magic. You’re likely to
strike out a few times, maybe more. But once you get the hang of it you’ll
have a hard time going back to the old, button-clicking method.
Buttons are still used of
course, just not for swinging. The right analog stick controls your ability to
throw and dive for the ball while fielding, leaving X, square, circle and
triangle for the pitcher (L1 too). No worry, pitching is easy! … Until the
meter starts up. Then it becomes a game of perfect timing and the unlikelihood
that you’ll perform your pitch successfully.
I like this
pitching style, especially the fact that you can tilt the left analog stick to
pitch the ball in different directions. The downside is that the speed and
size of the "perfect" portion of the meter is slightly different for each
pitch. When the "perfect" section is not much bigger than the slider moving
across the meter, you know you’re in trouble. Only a small amount of the
game’s players will be able to master this mechanic. For most of us – myself
included – it’s just too fast to get it right every single time. Whereas
batting is very specific and is dictated entirely by the player’s actions,
pitching feels more like trial and error.
MVP 06
substitutes a career mode for Dynasty, a mode where the player can do more
than take their team to victory. Choose when you do it, how you do it, and who
you do it with. Coach games to see how they’d play out from an order-giving
perspective (result: risky and less likely that the player will win). Track
stats, recruit all year round, the works. Those who complete the NCAA
challenges are rewarded with authentic-looking gear that increases player
performance. I didn’t notice a huge difference, but any increase is an
improvement to power-hungry players.
EA continues
to pump resources into customization features, having Create-a-Team and
Create-a-Player options. They’re on the same level as Tiger Woods and other
top-tier titles from EA. The Custom Ballpark mode is slightly reminiscent of
Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater’s park editor; you can’t add a half-pipe, but you can
change the distance of the stadium walls. Their height may also be altered. As
with the Create-A-Player mode there are some limits. If the stadium were too
big it couldn’t function.
One of the
unique (though not necessarily new) features is the picture-in-picture instant
replay that shows you close calls, good or bad. Suppose you’re batting. You
get your player into position, wait for the ball, and when it finally comes it
misses hitting him by a few inches. For whatever the reason you were clueless
and didn’t see the ball coming. "I can hit this!" In reality it was way out of
range.
These close
calls are played back via picture-in-picture. The additional screen is about
1/4 the size of the game and only appears for a few quick seconds. A trail of
balls stays suspended in mid-air to show exactly where it came from.
Technically this feature wasn’t needed; it doesn’t affect your skills one way
or the other. But I’m all for anything that makes a game more immersive and
more memorable, which MVP 06 does swiftly and subtly.
For diehard
baseball fans who can’t bear to play a video game without stopping to check
ESPN.com every hour, MVP 06 introduces ESPN Integration. First you get the
ESPN ticker with ESPN Radio Sportscenter updates every 20 minutes. On top of
that you get news from ESPN.com, finally putting an end to the urge to put
down the controller and pick up a mouse.
Load and
Fire batting saves the day for this one. MVP 06 NCAA Baseball is a good game
no matter how you slice it, but there’s no sense in buying a game, even for
$30, that doesn’t deliver an experience better than the prior update to the
series. ESPN Integration doesn’t interest me, and for those who are intrigued
by its prospects, just remember that it’s not hugely significant to the
gameplay. It’s something you can already get on multiple ESPN cable stations
and on ESPN.com.
Load and
Fire, on the other hand, changes the gameplay experience. It gives you more
control over your actions with extremely precise movement. It’ll take weeks to
notice all the little nuances of the system. Learning them is akin to the
experience of learning to play Tiger Woods’s new system for the first time:
it’s exciting, challenging, and allows for so much more depth than button
taps.
|
|
Gameplay: 8.0
Analog is slowly
becoming the control feature of choice among developers. More and more sports
games are changing their controls from digital buttons to an analog stick. MVP
06 NCAA Baseball pulls it off with flying colors and fewer fouls. Players will
have a whole new world ahead of them as they attempt to master something that
could change baseball video games until we’re well into the next generation.
Graphics: 7.5
Not the most
eye-popping sports title. Good animation (expected and demanded), readable
uniforms (also demanded), moderately detailed, etc. There’s at least one more
baseball title on the way this year, but I don’t think we’re going to get much
more in the visual department until PlayStation 3 arrives.
Sound: 8.0
The sound in
sports games revolves around two things: music and commentary. Anyone can
create the sound of a ball hitting a bat. MVP 06 hits a homerun with music by
providing around 10 tracks from rock bands you probably haven’t heard but
should take notice of: Aiden, Bayside, and more.
On the whole
the commentary is good but not hugely exciting. It won’t urge non-believers to
take interest in the sport. It’s well spoken, at least 60% accurate (that’s
more than most sports games I’ve played), and doesn’t repeat too often.
However, it is a little weird hearing it cut out every time you press a button
to speed up the game in between actions. As I’m sure you expected, there is
also some repetition – the developers would need a year or two (or more!) to
weed out that problem.
Difficulty: Medium/Hard
There’s something
for everyone with multiple difficulty settings that dramatically change the
course of the game. The new control system is easy to utilize but takes some
time to master. You’ll start to feel like a pro the minute you score a
homerun, but it’ll take a few weeks of practice before you’re able to back up
those feelings with consistent scoring.
Concept: 7.5
Nice new
features, great new (no-brainer) batting, and various changes made to improve
this virtual version of America’s favorite pastime.
Multiplayer: 8.0
Overall: 8.0
A step in the
right direction with the help of analog innovation. Load and Fire batting is
the first of its kind for a baseball game – you’ll grow to love it regardless
of how difficult it seems at first. Aside from that you should feel right at
home with the standardized features, enhanced modes, fun mini-games (pitch the
ball toward the screen to knock out attached blocks, Tetris-style!), a Dynasty
mode that lasts a really long time.
