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PSP MLB 2006 - My Impressions

DMczaf said:
you dummies, download the rosters on your PC and transfer them!

In all seriousness, do you have any idea where you can find stuff like this? It will make a big impact in my decision as to whether or not I will buy the game. I can't believe the rosters weren't opening-day accurate.
 
The same stances and deliveries are in there -- to get a real good idea of what MLB PSP looks like, turn replays and walk ups off in MLB 2006, then set the hitting viewpoint to catcher and the fielding viewpoint to high. MLB PSP has all the same animations and flashy plays, it just doesn't zoom in on them or provide TV style instant replays. (You can activate a manual replay camera though)
 
Just so you guys know, ign's article about the 2 games as an error in it. MLB's roster is up to date, and Sosa IS with the Orioles.
 
D-Back said:
Just so you guys know, ign's article about the 2 games as an error in it. MLB's roster is up to date, and Sosa IS with the Orioles.

It's semi up to date. Sanchez is on the Tigers (steroid boy!)
 
Mrbob said:
To add to the MVP vs MLB comparison, I found a new IGN article comparing the two games here:

http://psp.ign.com/articles/604/604162p1.html

AFter reading it, I'm not getting either portable game now. I'd like to get MLB, but rosters are only current as of January and neither game will offer downloadable rosters. I don't want to do all the trades myself. For shame!

you can download this from your PC. i bought a cheap usb cable and it came with some software (email me for a copy of it) that has some downloads and save files for various psp games (though this game isn't one of them yet). but if someone at GAF will make all the trades on this game and save them. i will host them for the other GAF members wanting up to date rosters. it's very simple to transfer this kind of stuff to the psp. all you need is a usb ---> mini usb cable. and therefore no reason to ban all the psp baseball games.
 
shpankey said:
you can download this from your PC. i bought a cheap usb cable and it came with some software (email me for a copy of it) that has some downloads and save files for various psp games (though this game isn't one of them yet). but if someone at GAF will make all the trades on this game and save them. i will host them for the other GAF members wanting up to date rosters. it's very simple to transfer this kind of stuff to the psp. all you need is a usb ---> mini usb cable.

Holy crap, this is a great idea.
 
Can anyone find the Manage Only Mode? The one it talks about in the book?

And can you actually change teams to do trades in season mode? Because that's the only way to edit rosters.
 
hey, if anyone has their psp by them....try playing a season game where you don't pick a team and see if that makes Manage Only Mode happen. Or at least prompts for it. I know I read about it in the manual last night (and it was in the console) but I couldn't find it earlier.
 
Man this game is really great so far,never thought Id play a baseball game like this on a handheld...makes me want to get mvp too :D

Btw online question?

I can log into the lobbies and see peoples names,but everytime im challeged it will say connection fails or sometimes it will say "starting game" and then it never starts and it fails...wtf is going on :(

Is sony having server issues? its seems everyone in the lobby keeps logging off and on cause I see peoples names for a min and then they leave and come back on and try to challenge me and it still doesnt work.
 
Coop said:
If it's like the PS2 version you can only do it during season and franchise

I don't think they included it! I can't find any way to make MoM work. If you don't pick a team you just watch the game.
 
aparisi2274 said:
I picked this up as well.. Anyone having any issues with connecting to online games? I keep getting challenges, but then they fail...

Anyone have any ideas? I dont want another Twisted Metal Fiasco on my hands....

Did you do something to fix this,cause I saw your other post and you said you could atleast start 4 games.Do you just think its servers issues like twisted metal?

I get challenges and I can challenge people,but its always failing :(
 
Matrix said:
Did you do something to fix this,cause I saw your other post and you said you could atleast start 4 games.Do you just think its servers issues like twisted metal?

I get challenges and I can challenge people,but its always failing :(

Yesterday I had no problems. You don't have Comcast by any chance, do you? Their having DNS issues.
 
Musashi Wins! said:
Yesterday I had no problems. You don't have Comcast by any chance, do you? Their having DNS issues.

Oh jesus... I thought it was just me. Ok now I feel better. I won't take a sledgehammer to my cable modem just yet...
 
No not using comcast,Im on road runner.I can connect just fine and sit in the lobby,but every damn time I connection fails or starting game then connection fails :|

Can you guys get games to connect tonight? It might be sonys servers.
 
Heh, one thing I like about MLB that I'm sure a lot of people don't even care about, is that the CPU swaps out players during the All-Star game just like real managers do. After the third inning, it's like a musical chairs of pitchers and pinch hitters. Woo!
 
I'm enjoying the game. But this game is all gameplay. Even if people do update the rosters, this is only for season mode and cannot use them in exhibiton. While this game isnt bad, its long term use is hindered greatly. MVP I'm sure would have a roster mode where you can edit them, but that game lacks online and the great controls from the console versions will be toned down and the game will play alot like this one (animations will be much better still).
 
"But this game is all gameplay."

And the problem with that is ? :|


MLB animations > MVP animations
 
MVP has better in-game animations. Console wise at least. It's a lot less canned too, which is amazing. Nothing beats that game for ball physics and small, lifelike animations. And I'm well aware of how pretty MLB can be.

This is a great game. MVP should be fantastic as well if it's a good clone. The thing I like about that game is that the handheld is going to have mini-games and create a player, etc. along with season modes.
 
You guys have convinced me to buy this game now. Heh... not sure if I'm happy or mad about that. ;)

P.S. Gary Shefield is a fucking pussy punk ass bitch (and a liar). I'm thinking 'Roid Rage'. Poor baby's cap got glanced! Oh noooo's! I love how he's making himself out as a saint too.

P.P.S. I'm no fan of either of those overrated teams and their overrated series that ESPN pushes down our throats as the "greatest sporting event eVahH!" when they meet. :D
 
It's a good game, if you like baseball it will own your PSP.

Maybe the teams are overrated...but the series? Always seems like angry playoffs when they meet to me.
 
While I'm not bashing this game, but the animations have ups and serious downs

Good - Checking your swing before the pitch, players throw the balls to the bases after outs and strikeouts.

Cons - If I get a grounder to short and my player does a spin before throwing the ball I'm going to kill it....
LionCut1.jpg
 
Musashi Wins! said:
It's a good game, if you like baseball it will own your PSP.

Maybe the teams are overrated...but the series? Always seems like angry playoffs when they meet to me.

It's a great matchup, don't get me wrong. Just tired of ESPN's extreme hyperbole and complete disregard of other great sports matchups in comparison.
 
Yep, Musashi, you're right about lead-offs... I spent a good hour today trying every button combination I could think of (since the manual is obviously in error), and finally gave up. The CPU handles lead-offs automatically. L is "steal all" and L+face button is "runner steal." When the ball is in play, L and R advance and retreat runners.

The writer and proof-reader responsible for letting the erroneous information about lead-offs slip by deserve a good talking to.

Also, no manage-only mode either, even though the manual says there is. Of course, the write-up is identical to the write-up in the MLB 2006 manual, so it's obvious they were using that as an editing point.

For all of this game's flaws, it's still very fun (thank goodness the overall gameplay is spot on). I can't help but wonder how much better it would've been had someone at 989 Studios who was testing the game spoke up and said "Ummm, we really shouldn't ship a game that doesn't have a roster update feature or things like lead-offs and defensive re-alignments. Also, online play only seems to work right 1 out of every 5 tries."

I have a hunch NBC's 'The Office' isn't actually a rip-off of the Brit-com, but actually a true look into how 989 is run. *ZINGER!*
 
989 doesn't have those fucking people. Else the beautiful game that's dying to get through on console would appear. They simply have horrible QC, and it's amazing that the series is where it's at. I have the feeling that they were never sure what parts they would port over and what parts they wouldn't, hence the player information screens that go on and on.

That said...it's a wonderful effort on a handheld, and here's to it being 100x more stable than their PS2 release.
 
Musashi Wins! said:
That said...it's a wonderful effort on a handheld, and here's to it being 100x more stable than their PS2 release.

Agreed. Fun baseball game and will take much of my time. But I give it extra points because its a close to launch release. Had I been playing this game in the 2nd year of the systems life , I would be really disapointed. But now they know what they need in the handheld offerings and they will improve in the coming years.
 
I really like it but have some concerns about online play... The lag when pitching is hit or miss and becuase I am using the pitch meter thing I am having a hell of a time hitting the mark and so many pitches go wild or in the dirt. Same with batting, I have to swing earlier into the pitch than when playing off-line. Is there a way to turn off the pitch meter when playing online? If so, how is pitching without it?
 
You know, I must be one of the lucky few, because I've only had MLB 2006 on PS2 lock up on me twice in total -- and that's after a month of putting it through hell. (Between the career mode in MLB and the franchise mode in MVP, I'm starting to find televised baseball a bit too slow-paced and uninteractive for my liking).
 
I was just re-reading that IGN comparison...

http://psp.ign.com/articles/604/604162p1.html

After having played MLB to death, I find it hilarious that many of the screenshots IGN used in the comparison show camera angles that simply aren't in the game. Heck, one of MLB's drawbacks is it doesn't have any action cams or TV style replays. You can't even zoom-in on the players in the manual replay either. The use of those shots is all the more amusing since the 2nd page of the article specifically says that there aren't any cutaways aside from the rare home-run "hop."

Just bugs me that 989 passed around SO many screenshots showing action cam viewpoints which aren't in the game. Kind of misleading, really.
 
Picked this up last night. It's a lot of fun, plays quickly, and I don't really have any complaints to lodge against it. I don't understand those little blobs that appear in the pitch history. I kind of wish it showed what type of pitch was thrown in the history as well but I guess it doesn't really matter.
 
Dsal said:
Picked this up last night. It's a lot of fun, plays quickly, and I don't really have any complaints to lodge against it. I don't understand those little blobs that appear in the pitch history. I kind of wish it showed what type of pitch was thrown in the history as well but I guess it doesn't really matter.
Heh, those little blobs are supposed to be the numbers on pitches... they really shoulda used new fonts for the PSP game instead of just shrinking down the PS2 game. Hold Select when a batter is at the plate to see the same thing, albeit more legibly (and with other useful stats).

I agree on showing pitch types, although I've become pretty good at tallying up pitches in my head. Most pitchers rely on two pitches consistently anyway.
 
I still cant get a game to work online,still getting failed connection or starting game failed connection...joy :(
 
i was having the same connection problem online as well. also the lag right before the ball crosses the plate is killing me and it doesnt show the swing reply like mvp on consoles so i cant tell if im early or late
 
Those videos may have just sold me on the PSP version. I actually prefer how quickly everything moves in the PSP version. The extra replays and stuff from the PS2 version seem to slow things down.
 
IGN review is up.

8.0

http://psp.ign.com/articles/604/604162p4.html

Closing Comments
MLB on PSP does good by its PS2 brother, and that's exactly what we were looking for after being so knocked out by the comeback of the PS2 edition. It's a fast, exciting and great-looking game of baseball. On PSP, MLB does have the occasional frame rate issue, but it's not enough to make the game feel broken. It was nice to see that we're getting the beginnings of a deep portable baseball game with a good Season mode in the game, and if 989 can get the screws tightened on the online mode, that'd be exactly what fans want out of a portable sports game. The only other things missing here is a tight and quick mini-game of some sort that you can play outside of the main stuff. But it's a small gripe, and there's a lot to enjoy here.

He forgots franchise mode, though. Journalists it is up to *you* to get into these developers heads and tell them we want a franchise mode in future sports games!!
 
I must be blind,but I havent seen the "occasional frame rate issue" :\

I have seen no f-ing online play cause it still doesnt work :(
 
Mrbob said:
Those videos may have just sold me on the PSP version. I actually prefer how quickly everything moves in the PSP version. The extra replays and stuff from the PS2 version seem to slow things down.

That's one of my favorite things about this game. The games move along so quickly without feeling rushed, probably because the audio presentation is so natural. And since it's a portable version, might as well make everything quicker anyways.
 
Okay, the knuckleball is absolutely ridiculous in this game. I haven't been able to hit a single ball in play against Tim Wakefield. :(
 
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