Excellent for both die hard sim fans, as well as typical sports gamers.
User Rating: 7.6 | Major League Baseball 2K5 XBOX
Take Two has knocked the ball out of the park [ pun intended ] with Major League Baseball 2K5. The game has everything for every type of baseball fan. From casual fans who can run through a season with their favorite team, to the die hard fanatic who can play with all kinds of settings, right down to the price of a seat to each game. Let me start with what they did wrong, and so far it's a short list. Fielding, it's pretty pathetic at times with players missing easy fly balls, and/or ground balls simply because a player is supposed to make errors now and then... but my catched went a game where he dropped 3 pop-ups behind home plate, not something that happens often. That being said, it happens on all sides of the table, so what goes around comes around, and it usually evens out. Next, while not "wrong" it's definitely difficult... Base running. After a lot of time with the game, it becomes a very powerful tool, each baserunner is assigned one of the four buttons [ XYAB ] and after choosing a runner in this manner, you can decide to send him make him retreat and even smash the button repeatedly to make the runner sprint. Like I said though, it's very difficult to get the hang of it, and I think it's something that would shy some gamers away from sticking with it, if they aren't die-hard ball fans. I miss the old "A means go, B go back, and point to the base you're talking about"... Evolution I guess, it's not always easy, but usually better ;) The game itself is awesome, from online leagues, tournaments and games to the offline career and franchise modes which let you take a team through multiple seasons while you try to build a championship. Like most sports games now adays, you control the front office. Hire players and managers, sign free agents fire them, make trades etc... Nothing big in that regards. Like most ESPN games, it has a really clunky menu system, and while it aggravates me from time to time, it doesn't destroy the game. Like the baserunning, you get used to it, and go from there. In the end, this game is exactly what you expect from a yearly title, and at the low cost of the game [ $30 CDN, $20 USD ] it's a steal of a deal! Go get it! Batter Up!
