Ned Flanders
Banned
MVP Baseball 2004 is one of the greatest sports games ever created. I've been playing it a load simulating the DS/CS/WS matchups, and having a blast.
Even though I hadn't played MVP much at all throughout the bulk of the summer (NFL2K5 had been my sports kick), I still chose to play at All-Star difficulty, and boy was I getting owned. At the plate I was chasing all kinds of pitches, and when I was hitting the ball I was shanking balls or hitting them right to the outfielders. I was also getting owned in the pitching department as well, losing my focus and not coming at hitters with any sort of approach.
Boy have things changed since then. At the plate now I always have a "spot" (ie where I want to hit the ball) planned based on the hitters stats, the position in the lineup, number of outs, etc. I've gotten a lot better at guessing whether or not the pitcher with throw balls or strikes based on the hitter (cleanup with men on base won't likely see a first pitch strike etc) and the count. The pitch chart can also be a useful tool in seeing if you're getting a lot of offspeed stuff or getting a lot of inside pitches et al. I've also focused on (beginning..to sound..corny) breathing and following the motion of the pitcher and the ball coming out of his hands. It's made me a much better hitter and I really feel like I earn it when I drive in runs.
On the pitching front I've become far more consistent also. While it's been noted that the hot/cold zones aren't always a surefire means of besting a hitter, I've found that if you can get ahead of a batter, you can always lean on your best pitch in their cold zone for a K or at least a poorly hit ball. Speaking of 'best pitch', I've also quit being so generous in spreading around all the different pitches and instead focusing on the pitchers dominant 2 or 3. Repetition of your best (and thusly hardest to hit) pitch does well to setup your less dominant pitches for K's, particularly when changing speeds or areas of the strikezone. Pitching is a total joy for me now and I really relish getting out of jams and racking up K's. I've also seemed to get the whole mound visit timing down to a science.
The minor flaws I've found with the game mostly revolve around lack of walks (which is largely a user thing considering you're swinging the bat/pitching for the K's/hits), the occassional awkwardness when trying to orchestrate bang-bang plays on the infield (sometimes they auto flip the ball, and others they hesitate), and a slight ease in hitting shots straight back up the middle. Hitting the gaps in the outfield is far harder for the user than the CPU batters, but if the infielders are at all spread, a little down-middle english on the left stick can yield easy singles for non-power hitters. Sometimes my games seem dominated by either homers or hard singles past the pitcher. Every time I try to pull one tight down the line I either get a hard dig by the 1st/3rd baseman, a flyout, or a foul ball. Rarely do you get those gap bloopers you see in real life.
But all in all, the gameplay in MVP is as fun and rewarding as any sports game I've ever played. Utilizing real baseball strategy really pays off, and I think you can effectively say that you love a sports game if you can have fun in losing. I was considering selling this game recently in order to rack up some credit toward Paper Mario, but in retrospect I'm so glad that I resurrected my interest in it. The game is fucking fantastic and I hope they do very little tweaking of the formula next year. Hell if I could buy this years game with updated '05 rosters for full price, I'd do it in a heartbeat. Thank you EA, thank you.
*Editors note: Praise of this game does not include franchise or other modes..ok homerun derby and strikeout challenge are the bomb too, but you get my drift..
Even though I hadn't played MVP much at all throughout the bulk of the summer (NFL2K5 had been my sports kick), I still chose to play at All-Star difficulty, and boy was I getting owned. At the plate I was chasing all kinds of pitches, and when I was hitting the ball I was shanking balls or hitting them right to the outfielders. I was also getting owned in the pitching department as well, losing my focus and not coming at hitters with any sort of approach.
Boy have things changed since then. At the plate now I always have a "spot" (ie where I want to hit the ball) planned based on the hitters stats, the position in the lineup, number of outs, etc. I've gotten a lot better at guessing whether or not the pitcher with throw balls or strikes based on the hitter (cleanup with men on base won't likely see a first pitch strike etc) and the count. The pitch chart can also be a useful tool in seeing if you're getting a lot of offspeed stuff or getting a lot of inside pitches et al. I've also focused on (beginning..to sound..corny) breathing and following the motion of the pitcher and the ball coming out of his hands. It's made me a much better hitter and I really feel like I earn it when I drive in runs.
On the pitching front I've become far more consistent also. While it's been noted that the hot/cold zones aren't always a surefire means of besting a hitter, I've found that if you can get ahead of a batter, you can always lean on your best pitch in their cold zone for a K or at least a poorly hit ball. Speaking of 'best pitch', I've also quit being so generous in spreading around all the different pitches and instead focusing on the pitchers dominant 2 or 3. Repetition of your best (and thusly hardest to hit) pitch does well to setup your less dominant pitches for K's, particularly when changing speeds or areas of the strikezone. Pitching is a total joy for me now and I really relish getting out of jams and racking up K's. I've also seemed to get the whole mound visit timing down to a science.
The minor flaws I've found with the game mostly revolve around lack of walks (which is largely a user thing considering you're swinging the bat/pitching for the K's/hits), the occassional awkwardness when trying to orchestrate bang-bang plays on the infield (sometimes they auto flip the ball, and others they hesitate), and a slight ease in hitting shots straight back up the middle. Hitting the gaps in the outfield is far harder for the user than the CPU batters, but if the infielders are at all spread, a little down-middle english on the left stick can yield easy singles for non-power hitters. Sometimes my games seem dominated by either homers or hard singles past the pitcher. Every time I try to pull one tight down the line I either get a hard dig by the 1st/3rd baseman, a flyout, or a foul ball. Rarely do you get those gap bloopers you see in real life.
But all in all, the gameplay in MVP is as fun and rewarding as any sports game I've ever played. Utilizing real baseball strategy really pays off, and I think you can effectively say that you love a sports game if you can have fun in losing. I was considering selling this game recently in order to rack up some credit toward Paper Mario, but in retrospect I'm so glad that I resurrected my interest in it. The game is fucking fantastic and I hope they do very little tweaking of the formula next year. Hell if I could buy this years game with updated '05 rosters for full price, I'd do it in a heartbeat. Thank you EA, thank you.
*Editors note: Praise of this game does not include franchise or other modes..ok homerun derby and strikeout challenge are the bomb too, but you get my drift..
