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[DMczaf]

http://www.gamespot.com/ps2/sports/mvp06ncaabaseball/news.html?sid=6141342

The most interesting change in NCAA Baseball, as compared to previous MVP games, are the controls for both hitting and fielding. Like many EA Sports games over the past few years, some of the essential game controls in NCAA have moved to the right analog stick. Dubbed "load and fire," the new batting system has you pulling back and pushing forward in order to swing your bat--not unlike the backswing and follow-through in the Tiger Woods golf series. The complexity here comes in not only nailing the timing of putting the aluminum on the ball, but also nailing the direction of your swing. By altering the arc and direction of your swing, you can execute an inside or outside swing in order to make contact with the ball.

By mixing in the left or right triggers you can choose to execute power or contact swings, respectively. As the names imply, a power swing is one where you're swinging for the fences. A contact swing, on the other hand, is used to put the ball in play and keep the runners advancing. When using a power swing, you'll have a smaller window to make contact with the ball than when attempting a contact or normal swing, which means you won't want to go for big bomb on every pitch. In addition, the animations for each swing type will be such that it's easier to break into a run after a short contact swing than when swinging for the fences. MVP 06's new swing controls take some getting used to--simply choosing when to come out of your load animation and begin your swing takes some practice. But the end result seems like it will be closer to a real baseball swing (or at least, closer than simply jamming the right analog stick straight up and pressing a button).

Of course, it wouldn't be an MVP game without loads of gameplay and tuning options. In addition to your standard sliders for things like pitch speed, CPU-bunting ability, and throw accuracy, you can also choose between playing traditional NCAA rules, summer rules (which are essentially pro regulations), or a custom hybrid of your choosing. If you're sick of playing multiplayer games against your buddy who throws nothing but balls, you can turn on the "strike zone pitches only" option, and any pitch that's thrown will land somewhere in the strike zone. Furthermore, MVP 06 will include both offline and online co-op multiplayer play for up to four players (with a maximum of two players per team).

Flexibility also comes in the form of a much-improved create-a-ballpark tool, one that will let you shape your outfield walls exactly how you want them--by shape, height, and distance from home plate. Want to create a crazy, snaking outfield wall with individual segments that reach 50 feet high? You'll be able to in MVP 06. You'll also be able to choose from a number of different field surfaces and patterns, and even mix and match traditional grass and turf. Though MVP 06 only includes 29 fields in the game (19 of which are based on real-life college stadiums), you'll be able to create some fairly close approximations to your alma mater's stadium using this tool, or you can simply hit the random button and play in a ballpark unlike any other out there.

 

[GitarooMan]

Those impressions don't exactly sell me on the load and fire. We'll see, i'm still hoping the standard batting is an option still

 

[DMczaf]

Those impressions don't exactly sell me on the load and fire. We'll see, i'm still hoping the standard batting is an option still

Gamespot On the Spot today had a demo of it, and it looks good. You dont have to pull back and push forward on the stick, you can also do a swinging motion (which would look like a Street Fighter fireball motion) on the stick instead.

 

[GitarooMan]

Gamespot On the Spot today had a demo of it, and it looks good. You dont have to pull back and push forward on the stick, you can also do a swinging motion (like a Street Fighter fireball motion) on the stick instead.

That's cool. The right stick mechanic seems alright, as long as this power swing button doesn't result in an overload of homers. I'm not a huge fan of a "contact" swing button or a "power" swing button, but I guess if they make the balance good enough (i.e., not too easy to hit power all of the time) you'll have to make smart swing decisions based on the situation and the count.

Game looks great overall though, plus they're keeping it at 29.99. First-day buy for me.

 

[Wellington]

Guah, I hate games with power swings as a feature or a separate button.

I still have nightmares about MLB 2K5. I've seen games where one team hit 13 homers (No, not rookie difficulty) to win a game. (The other only hit 11.)

 

[Matrix]

I didnt need a power swing button in mvp 05,everything I hit was always a hr :lol

Who knows what I'll do with a true power swing button.

Dm,any word if the game will work on 360's?

 

[DMczaf]

I didnt need a power swing button in mvp 05,everything I hit was always a hr :lol

Who knows what I'll do with a true power swing button.

Dm,any word if the game will work on 360's?

Not yet, Operation Sports is posting their Q&A with MVP's producer tomorrow and one of the questions someone asked was if it works on 360, and I asked if the stupid lag is finally gone. GET RID OF IT EA!

 

[Matrix]

Not yet, Operation Sports is posting their Q&A with MVP's producer tomorrow and one of the questions someone asked was if it works on 360, and I asked if the stupid lag is finally gone. GET RID OF IT EA!

Cool,hopefully it works and the lag is gone.Asking for those two things and getting both would be a miracle.

I really dont want to have to use my broken down xbox that turns on only 50% of the time

 

[Brimstone]

Gamespot On the Spot today had a demo of it, and it looks good. You dont have to pull back and push forward on the stick, you can also do a swinging motion (which would look like a Street Fighter fireball motion) on the stick instead.

Load and Fire sounds really good.

 

[DMczaf]

http://forums.operationsports.com/vBulletin/showthread.php?t=153674

Dynasty Mode and 2 player Co-Op mode

The Dynasty mode looked really good - adding recruiting to a baseball game is a breath of fresh air, and it's handled very well. You'll really have to jump through hoops to land a top 100 prospect, and there are challenges mixed in through all of Dynasty mode to keep you interested - many more so than last year's MVP.
They really worked hard on it, and it shows. BYU will never play on Sunday, for example. All the conference tournaments are accurate; complete with their own unique oddities.

But the one thing that knocked my socks off was 2 vs. 2 mulitplayer games over Xbox Live. It's unfortunate that you can't play this mode on four separate consoles (you have to play 2 people on each), but nevertheless, it was the most fun I've had sports gaming in years - seriously.
On offense, one player will bat and the other will baserun.
On defense, one player will pitch and the other will take the field.
Tapping the Back button (on the Xbox - the only version I played) switches the roles, so you can alternate batters, innings, whatever you want.

But the amazing part of playing this mode is the fun/stress involved. When your teammate makes a good pitch and you blow the double-play, it hurts.
When your teammate cranks a double into the gap and you were sleeping at first instead of scoring, it's embarrassing.

You really have to play as a team - strategize together, and make sure that you do your job. I really couldn't rave enough about this mode, and hope it gets expanded in the future.

Load and Fire Hitting

Load and Fire is fun and challenging - there is a distinct learning curve to all the right analog functionality, but I see that as a good thing.

There were innings that I'd be completely off with my timing, and then I'd hit a groove where I was raking everything. It felt very organic, and kept the game exciting, too.
Now, "zone hitting" zealots may be a bit disappointed at this: You don't swing "down" at a low pitch or "up" at a high one. Load and Fire functions along the X axis of the controller; be it left, right or up the middle. I actually find this to be a satisfactory compromise between game play and realism (when I played, I never worried about "up" or "down", as strike zones are really rather small); rather I worried about pulling, driving it back through the box, or slapping it to the opposite field.
Regardless, I would recommend that everyone should try Load and Fire batting, and give it at least half a dozen games before coming to a conclusion either way about it.

Personally, I really like it - and I liked it more each game I played.

Fielding

Fielding is much more challenging, but it feels very nice. The animations seem to come into play more now. You really want a player to gather the ball and come set before you start throwing - more than ever. The players are much less talented then their MLB counterparts and it shows.
The mechanism works like a release point in a real throw (another nice touch) - release too early, and the throw will sail. Release too late, and your first baseman's going to need a shovel to pick it up.

I wasn't really "feeling it" at first, and I was unsure of how successful this part of the game would be - but like the hitting, players need to give it time.
It's very... organic, but it has an even higher learning curve than the hitting.
Again, for me - that's a good thing.

Xbox 360 backwards-compatible?

I can tell you this much - they're trying desperately to make it so.
It's very high on their priority list for the next six weeks.

Making it backwards-compatible requires work from EA and Microsoft that, quite honestly, nobody seemed to completely grasp.
I think it's too complicates, too new to really say "yes" or "no" at this point.

EA wants it, Microsoft wants it - it'll just be a matter of timing.
Here's hoping!

Please EA and Microsoft

 

[qcf x2]

The batting system sounds terrible. A shame PS2 doesn't have triggers, because the trigger swing works quite decently in the games that have featured it.


I despise using the 2nd analog stick for anything but FPS.

 

[ocelittle]

I really like the idea of the load and fire...hmm...sounds awesome.

That 2 vs. 2 thing sounds great, too. But I'd rather be able to set up positions for me and whoever to play so we REALLY have to work together to win. Cut off throws, get to second base to keep the double play going, chase down a gapper together, etc.

That would be awesome.

I think I might be picking this up, though. Sounds awesome!

 

[Dsal]

I still have nightmares about MLB 2K5. I've seen games where one team hit 13 homers (No, not rookie difficulty) to win a game. (The other only hit 11.)

I once hit 9 homers in an inning. Yeah... good times.

Not sure why they're messing with MVP's batting controls. What was wrong with them last year? I like the games where they let you guess pitch type and/or location and get a little hitting bonus for that, but when it comes time to actually swing complicating things further doesn't seem like it will help anything.

 

[Guy LeDouche]

online multiplayer will rule my life. Offline 2-player co-op sounds kewl too. My friend and I play all the time, but it will be fun change of pace to play together against the CPU.

Load and Fire sounds good, hopefully it plays well. I thought 2005's hitting system was very natural and fluid. If you hit it well, it's because you hit it well, if you fucked up, it was because you did something wrong.

Also, for all you bombers, I hope you were playing on a hard difficulty with the sliders adjusted.

 

[Open Source]

I hope it is better than Loading and Firing free throws in NBA Live.

 

[DMczaf]

Nice, the game's release date was pushed up to January 18th.

 

[ocelittle]

I have a feeling I'm going to have to buy this.

I wish it had some sort of "create a major leaguer" where you build a player take hinm through the leagues and then try and get him drafted...scouts come in, and yearly there are drafts, and you can sign a deal, or decline nad try and boost your numbers.

And then you move on.