GameCube

MVP Baseball 2005

MVP Baseball 2005 is an incredibly well-put together baseball game. Its presentation is top-notch, it includes a number of modes that you can spend countless hours playing, and the sense of control is unmatched. Hopefully EA Sports can work something out with the MLB license, because it’ll be a shame not to see this game next year.

Baseball never looked and played as good as MVP Baseball 2005, a game that’s destined to be a fan favorite for months to come. Sure last year’s game made us fall in love with the franchise but this year it will steal your heart. Trust me when I say that if you miss out on this game you’re missing out on a game that’s close to perfection. This is a Must Have for any GameCube owner or sport’s fan.

It has been an eventful year for sports video games. First, EA bought the exclusive rights to the NFL license effectively pushing all competitors out of the market. Then Take Two struck back by purchasing Visual Concepts and the exclusive third party rights to the MLB license. After all of the wheeling and dealing where does that leave the fans who are just looking to hit some dingers? It leaves us with the third and final installment of the MVP series, at least for the next seven years. It looks like EA Canada wanted to give us something memorable because MVP 2005 delivers the best baseball experience on the market today.

Overall though, MVP Baseball 2005 sends EA’s baseball franchise out in a blaze of home run glory. With an extremely realistic presentation, augmented control system, and additional attention paid to the overall gameplay, MVP 2005 could be one of those games baseball fans keep returning to in the upcoming years of exclusive sports games.

As you can see, there's a lot to MVP 2005. It's got major lasting power, a truckload of modes, thoughtful tweaks, and most importantly, solid gameplay. It will take several hours to even scratch the surface of what this game has to offer, and to some people who haven't picked up a baseball game in a while, it may be a bit overwhelming. Outside of nit-picks, there isn't much bad to say about the game, except for the GameCube version's lack of online play. Because of publisher Take-Two's move to block other third-party publishers from using the MLB license, MVP 2005 will be the last licensed baseball game from EA for several years. It's safe to say that EA's licensed MLB series has gone out with a bang.

MVP Baseball is deeper than any RPG would dream to be. Franchise mode gives you 120 years worth of games to play. With games from your favorite MLB team and minor league teams, that is a lot to play in Franchise. Owner's mode just extends this to another 30 years. New mini-games help you improve the skills of your players through your seasons. If that isn't enough, PS2 and Xbox supply online play with roster downloads. Add homerun showdown for a game to play with friends and you are in baseball heaven. Still, there is one thing perplexing me about MVP. Why doesn't the catcher or umpire throw the pitcher the ball back? Either way, MVP is $30 well spent. You may be playing it until the MLB exclusive license runs out.

MVP Baseball 2005 doesn't try to reinvent the wheel. EA Sports has simply taken last year's game, improved it in myriad ways, and then tacked on a few new features to make the end result that much more appealing. Some of these upgrades are significant, such as the addition of an ownership-based franchise mode and the inclusion of single-A minor league teams, not to mention the ability to finally be able to set up custom tournaments in the online mode (in the PlayStation 2 and Xbox versions). Other upgrades are minor, such as the optional hitter's eye, batter's box, and manager tirade features. Meanwhile, some upgrades are downright subtle, like all the graphical tweaks and extra player animations that ultimately add up to help this latest game look and feel even more realistic than last year's.

With a methodical, Yankees-like approach, MVP continues to build its dynasty brick by brick. However, 2005's gameplay remains largely unchanged. It seems that additions like Hitter's Eye were only introduced to make things easier for people - I suggest you turn this unexciting feature off.

This game is put together incredibly well, but fans who vested hundreds of hours in last year's iteration will likely be let down bu the familiarity on the field. Conversely, if you are just looking for a solid gameplay package, MVP is still the game to beat.

With no competition on the 'Cube, MVP basically wins by forfeit -- not to say it still wouldn't do good had another game shown up to play. My thoughts are, however, that if you like baseball games a lot, you play them on another console. In that case, I advise you to drop a 20 on MLB 2K5 to save yourself a few bucks and get a little more enjoyment.