"EA’s MVP 06 NCAA Baseball- More Acronyms Then You Can Shake A Stick At."
Now that all those pesky NHL and WWE fans have pressed the “Back” button on their browsers in disgust, I can now tell you that NCAA Baseball is better then the MLB. The atmosphere is better, it's more accessible, and it's more fun to watch. CONCEPT
It's no real secret that the only reason EA made this game is because the MLB license got stolen from them by 989. (This is too bad, last years MVP was really good. Oh well, what goes around comes around.) But I can't write this game off just for being centered around college players. Most people will complain that the lack of stars in the game hinders the whole experience. I disagree. While I know that more people know who Reggie Bush is then who Alex Gordon is (Alex Gordon was the winner of all three of college baseballs MVP awards last year. By winning the “triple crown” he was the consensus best player in all of college baseball, essentially the Heisman winner for his sport) I can give the benefit of the doubt to EA because of just how good their system is. That and I live in Omaha, home of the College World Series, so you can guess how I'm going to review this game.
GRAPHICS
The game looks great, from how the ball floats over the plate, to players diving and catching balls. Facial expressions reveal how a player must feel after being pulled from the mound after a poor performance, to how ecstatic a player is after hitting a three run homer, to how angry the short stop is after watching the ball bounce off the tip of his glove after trying to catch a routine fly ball. Body language reveals all. The physics engine is good as well, you know where the ball is going based on how it is hit by the bat. GAME PLAY
The makers of the game decided to revamp the way you can throw and hit the ball this year. Now you have the Load and Fire system, which both makes game play a lot more difficult, but a lot more rewarding. You still have the classic forms of meter throwing and timing your swings, but the load and fire system is just more innovative
For example, when you are hitting, you pull back on the right analog stick to “load” or begin your pre-swing motions, and then push forward on the analog stick to “fire” or actually swing. If your timing is right, you can get a hit. You can also push or pull the ball, depending on which direction you push the analog stick. There is also zone hitting, which is a combination of the classic and load and fire systems. In zone hitting, you use the left analog stick to predict where the pitch is going, and the X button to time your hit. You basically tell the game where to swing the bat. When fielding, you press the analog stick in the direction of the base you want to throw to, bringing up a little meter, which tells you when to let go of the stick. If the meter is full, you will get a fast throw. If you go over, you will have an error, if you go under, then you will not get the ball there in time. All of this means that it is harder to get double plays, and in the event of an error, which will happen more often, you have no one to blame but yourself. The game, other then letting you play or simulate the game, also gives you the option to coach the game, a nice feature for those in a rush. Lets say you are in the fifth inning, and have to stop playing. You can exit out of the game, and either let the computer simulate the last four innings, or you can coach the last four innings, which is much quicker, and relies more on strategy then even the regular games do. The Dynasty mode is good as well. Good, but not great. Teams in the game don't have the same schedules in the game as they do in real life. For example, the Big Twelve plays 3 game sets on the weekends for conference play, one on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. The Missouri Valley Conference usually plays a four game set, with a double header on Saturdays. The MVC style is not replicated in the game. And another thing, Northern schools don't play home games in February. Nebraska doesn't play their first home game until March 10th because it is too cold in Nebraska in February to play ball. And also, there need to be more stadiums. EA does a good job with their Stadium editor, but that's not enough. If EA can have the home football stadium for the Citadel in football, they can do the same in Baseball for Michigan. Now that I have all my complaining set aside, I can focus in more on some of the smaller things that EA does do right.
The Audio is done very well. From metal bats to balls in gloves, the sfx in the game are done very well. The soundtrack for the game boasts no heavy hitters, featuring songs by Bayside, The Black Maria, and a bunch of other bands you have never heard of.
Other then the actual games, there are some multiplayer modes. There is an online mode and a mini-games mode in which you can hone your skills in the batting and pitching departments (but no fielding mini games, what gives?). OVERALL
A good baseball game, if you dig baseball. If you are only a fan of the majors, then you might not like this game, but if you like the collegiate atmosphere, step up to the plate, because this game is a hit. FINAL SCORE- 8/10