MVP NCAA 2006

MVP NCAA 2006 Review

INTRODUCTION

Just so you know my perspective in baseballs games, I'll start with a brief introduction.  I love the pitcher/batter dual and want a fielding mechanism that's realistic.  When I play on the field I want realism, not gimmicks.  I follow the minor leagues and MLB.  I don't follow college ball, I hate the "ping", and I don't know what makes one a redshirted freshman.  I know where Omaha is and that there's a big College World Series there every year, but I don't the format or history of the tourney.  I'm guessing that Texas won the CWS last year because there's some UT rube on the cover.  I don't know who that player is nor if I'm even right on the Texas thing and I don't care.  Get the point yet?  I don't know college/amateur ball, but I want an awesome on the field baseball game.  I enjoy sitting down on a cold January day or rainy July night and playing some ball.  If I'm going to take the time to play want to feel like I'm playing baseball, not some over-hyped arcade game.

Also, this review is for the Xbox version.  The game is available on the PS2, but not the Xbox 360 or Gamecube.

GAMEPLAY

My number one concern of any baseball game is gameplay.  If it doesn't play like baseball, I won't play it.  To me that's the physics, pitcher/catcher dual, fielding, and baserunning.  All other aspects of a game are important in their own right, but the on the field gameplay is what matters most to me.  I felt that MVP '05 was the best on the field game out there, so I'm using that as my frame of reference.

The physics engine appears to be the same great engine from last year.  Balls curve, dart, and drift the way they should at appropriate rates of speed.  No complaints here, it's top-notch.

The pitching mechanism is the same as MVP '05.  It's pretty good, but with room for improvement.  I like the whole mechanism up until the control/release point.  I've never really felt that I could translate how my pitch would be off-target if I missed the control marker on the way back through the pitching arc.  I know the bigger the miss of the marker, the wilder my pitch will be, but if I miss early or late doesn't seem to matter.  After reading about my review of the fielding system, it should make more sense why I think this last part of the pitching mechanism should be better defined.  Still, it's a good system for pitching.

The new Load and Fire (LnF) system takes some getting used to.  I dominated the hitting mini-game in MVP '05, in '06 with the LnF I looked like a high school benchwarmer.  After spending some time with it the system started to feel more natural.  I got into the habit, as one would in real life, to rock back (or load) when the pitcher was finishing his delivery.  It felt pretty good when I started roping some solid hits together in a game.  When I launched a three-run bomb in the bottom of the eighth while sitting on an inside fastball it felt soooooo natural I nearly cried.  Okay, maybe the crying is going a bit far, but the LnF system is a true innovation that should never go away.  Again, there is a learning curve that can seem annoying at first.  The reward in gameplay after learning the LnF is huge.

The big change made to the fielding system is the  Precision Throwing Control (PTC).  Last year you held down the button to power up the throw.  If you over-powered your throw could be off target.  The PTC uses the right analog stick to replace the button system.  After fielding the ball a diamond appears under the player.  Pointing the right analog stick towards a base begins the PTC mechanism.  A green accuracy marker appears around the targeted base on the diamond under the player (size dependant on player attributes).  The power-up meter starts from the opposite side of the diamond and your goal is to release the stick when the meter reaches the accuracy marker.  If you are short, the ball can sail high.  If you are too long, the ball can go in the dirt.  How accurately you initially to point the stick towards the base also determines if your throw goes to the left or right of the bag.  The PTC seems complicated and I guess it is.  But like the LnF for hitting, once you get it down it seems quite natural.  I really enjoy going to the left as SS to scoop up a hard grounder and then throw across to first.  When I miss the marker or bag I can tell before the ball goes five feet.  It's pretty cool.

The Hitter's Eye seems to have been tweaked a bit and better aligned with the batter's eye attribute.  Sometimes the pitch is half way to the plate before the color flashes.  With better hitters the color can be spotted while the pitcher is still in the windup.  I like this tweak.

Baserunning is a weak point of mine.  I really haven't got into any particular system.  MVP does a good job at what it tries to do; leading off, stealing, and sliding.  My sore point is knowing when to advance or hold back.  I lose a run or two just about every game because I get the baserunning wrong.  Someday I'll learn...I hope.

I summary, the new features are really cool once you get them down.  To me, they really improve the gameplay and make everything seem more realistic.  After just a couple of games I feel like these innovations are worth the purchase of the game.  If these new systems don't seem interesting to you, or if you want to give up learning them, you can revert to the MVP '05 control system.  In my opinion, if you're going to turn off these features then you need to be a hard-core college ball fan to enjoy this game.    

GRAPHICS AND AUDIO

The graphics are just like last year's.  Obviously, there are new stadiums and they look nice.  There are no realistic player faces, as one might expect.  The player models are pretty much the same as '05 with the exception of all players being 18-23 year old, skinny college kids (go figure).  Yet, not everyone looks the same.  I read on mvpmods.com that there are over 1,300 face models.  Some other graphic improvements include a dynamic scoreboard and changing skyline.  As the game progresses the skyline changes to match the time of day.  Starting a game at 5 PM will being with day light, shift to dusk, and end under the lights.  It's a minor thing, but still pretty cool.  Same for the light rain that shows up some days.  

The announcers are what everyone would expect.  The color man, Kyle Peterson, is rarely heard.  I like that because the color scripts tend to get old after a while in other games.  Since you don't hear him often he doesn't get old...yet.  The field sounds meet expectations.  The music tracks are okay, I guess, if you are into hard/alt rock (I can tolerate it most days).  Thankfully, EA finally figured out how to have custom soundtracks.   It's nice to be able to hear songs I like instead the same ten songs I only marginally like over and over again.

Nothing spectacular for graphics and audio.  The graphics are still not as good as they could be, but passable.  The audio makes the grade.

CREATION CENTER

This is the Create-A-Team (CAT), Create-A-Ballpark (CAB), and Create-A-Player (CAP) area.

The CAP is similar to last year's model and accomplishes what one would expect.  If you've played any other EA games in the last year this is just the same as those systems.  It works and works well.  The one nice part is that you can create two-way players.  I can finally be the star SS and SP that I've always know myself to be.  Yea me!

The CAB is a bit more robust that last year's version.  You can select any MLB fence dimensions or make your own from scratch.  The from scratch angle takes a while, but at least you can do it.  Since all the ballparks are generic to me (including the real college parks), as well as appeasing to the eye, I used MLB dimensions with one of the 18 or so backdrops for my custom park.  Unless you want to recreate a particular ballpark I don't see the need to spend too much time with this feature.  Of course, if you're recreating your HS, Juco, or Div II school then this can be a pretty important feature.

I was pretty disappointed with the CAT feature.  You get about three dozen logos/nicknames to choose from and 60 jersey styles.  But you don't get to change the color scheme on the jerseys and the writing is so lame that I almost don't want anything on the front.  It's just black, block lettering that seems very out of place on the jersey.  EA should have added a couple font choices and colors other than black.  Or at least they could have developed writing that matched the logo.  This feature can really only be explained as a Year One version in a three year plan.  I think in the long run I'll pick a college instead of using CAT, thanks.

COLLEGE ATMOSPHERE

Again, I know little of what collegeball should be.  But I did at least expect some fight songs/chants and a more rambunctious crowd.  I feel like I'm playing with minor league teams.  Maybe selecting wood bats instead of metal helps with that shift.  That's fine by me.  But, I think collegeball die-hard will expect more.

DYNASTY MODE

Even with MVP's great gameplay there still needs to be a good dynasty mode to round out the game.  In the past, MVP has had issues with their dynasty mode; poor progression, poor CPU roster management, overly complicated monetary systems, and other issues.  I simmed 2+ seasons with my CAT, Northern Minnesota University Icebergs (aka University of Michigan - ranked #33).  I got a feel for some of the past issues, college dynasty features, and speed of seasons with this quick sim.

A big issue in the past has been player progression.  My initial impression is that this has been fixed.  There was variation during the season based on performance and potential.  The off-season changes also seemed to follow suit.  Some guys went up or down slightly while others had huge shifts (in excess of 25 points in some ratings).  It appeared to me to follow career potential, performance stats, and random chance.  I was pleased with what I saw.

CPU roster management still seems a bit off.  If you don't have many injuries or suspensions then this shouldn't be a problem for you.  Also, if you are more hands-on with your recruitment efforts, as you should be, then the roster management isn't tough at all.  There are only two lineups (RHP/LHP) and three starting pitchers.  That pretty much cuts the roster management duties in half from the MLB level.

The seasons move quickly since there are only about 55 games plus or minus scheduling and tournaments.  It takes about an hour per season to sim depending on how involved you get with the recruiting.  Personally, I like that speed.  I'll play more actual games with my next dynasty, so it will take much longer to get through a season.  However, if I project a poor year or two with my school it is nice to know that the pain will be quick if I choose to sim.

The recruiting angle is very important since player turnover is relatively fast.  Seniors graduate, under-classmen can get drafted, and some players decided they're not playing enough and transfer.  After year one of my dynasty I lost all but 7 pitchers.  Since I hadn't spent my recruiting efforts towards my staff, it was a pretty thin season.  I had five pitchers unexpectedly leave my program (drafts and transfers).  It was all good in the end because I won the CWS after defeating #1 Pittsburgh 2-1.  Still, the thin staff was annoying and I learned my lesson about stocking up on positions when my starters become sophomores.  

High school and Juco prospects become interested in your program by your prestige level and by any contact you make with them through e-mails, phone calls, and visits.  You get recruiting points to distribute to promote you program to specific prospects.  Some kids are harder to attract than other.  Some you want nothing to do with, but they want to play for you; good thing they're easy to ignore and not sign.  The recruiting system is more in-depth than I think I can speak to at this point.  The one thing I do know is that it is very important to your success and it is very user-friendly.  I think EA did a pretty good job with it.

ONLINE PLAY

I did not fire up any online games.  I don't really get into playing online with people because I usually get paired up with some 12 year-old, foul-mouthed, punk.  I remember being that way at that age and I'm surprised anyone ever talked to me.  I also usually don't have an hour blocked for dedicated online play.  I played MVP '05 online a couple of times last year and thought it was okay with only minor lag periodically.  Thus, I can only imagine that '06 will be similar.

The cool online feature in the ESPN Everywhere.  After signing in to the EA server you get ESPN Radio updates every 20 minutes along with a game tracker at the bottom of the screen.  This is very, very cool.  If your console is not connected to a broadband stream you can opt for a dynasty score tracker along the bottom.  I imagine that this feature will only get better as the years go by.  

SUMMARY OF IMPRESSIONS

For $30 in the middle of January I think a baseball gamer can't go wrong with picking up this game.  There are some really awesome gameplay improvements.  The Load and Fire and Precision Throwing Control are beautiful additions.  As a fan of the game of baseball I can honestly say I don't miss the MLB license.  I played for with the minor league club in '05 anyway.  I like the short season and high turnover of the college game.  The dynasty mode is playable for a change.

I'll score the game an 8.75 out of 10.  Big pluses for LnF and PTC innovations, dynasty improvements, and ESPN integration.  Moderate minuses for graphics, CAT system, and missing on the college atmosphere.  

I expect that I'll seriously look at picking up 2Ksports' MLB '06 in March.  Until then, I'll be logging in many hours playing MVP NCAA '06.