MVP 06: NCAA Baseball Reviews

• Surprisingly good game

  
  By A281Z3I2DYWQC9 on 2006-04-02
  This will be a review of the only part of the game I have played. Dynasty Mode. It all works like the past MVP games, start your season and pick a team. For me it is UCLA. I started and was a little scepticle of the load and fire swing. Once you get use to the swing it is a very fun game. When I fist started I would get maybe 3-5 hits a game. Now i am at 9-11 hits and it is a realistic stat for the college game. I still cant put together consecutive hits and that is why I only score 3-6 runs a game. But it beats scoring 15-20 every game as in the past.
  
  The hitting part is probably the hardest of the whole game. You have three options as to how you want to hit the ball, power, normal, and contact. Pull the left trigger for power, pull the right trigger for contact and pull nothing for a normal swing. The power swing is good for sacrifice flies or if you are lucky enough a homerun. Homeruns are realistic, I have hit roughly 25 in 50 games and I have seen only 2 or 3 go over 400 feet. Triples are hard to come by, and doubles dont happen very often either, that is becasue the outfielder, both computer and user have rocket arms. This can be helped though by using the gameplay tuning. Balls hit to the wall now are sure doubles when before I was out by 3 steps at second.
  
  The pitching is the same as the other MVP games, the only drawback to the pitching is sometimes the batter pulls a Nomar Garciaparra and re-adjusts his gloves, kicks the dirt off his feet, etc. sometimes it takes as long as 5-6 seconds between pitches.
  
  The fielding on this game is the best so far. With the new load and fire fielding, you use the right analog thumbstic, if you push to the right it goes to first base and up is second and so forth. If the stick is not directly right (say alittle upper right) the throw will be off line. You have to watch the meter as you throw, if you let go to soon the ball will sail high and maybe overthrow the base or if you hold to long the ball will go in the dirt making it harder for the infielder covering the bag.
  
  The outfield works the same way, the only problem I have is trying to hit the cutoff man, the book says to click the right thumbstick down and push down to hit the cutoff man, sometimes it ends up throwing the ball to homeplate.
  
  As for the dynasty mode, you play a four month season and after that is the conference tourney followed by the regionals and super regional. If you are lucky to make it through that then you get to go on to Omaha and play in the College World Series. I have yet to reach it there, I am still in the season.
  
  Stadiums, well they are kind of plain, but you can create a stadium but there is little to it, you get to pick a fence and set your dimensions and pick a background. thats about it.
  
  Overall, this is a fun game for those who like the college game. There is one person who was mad about there not being free agents or trade but that was covered by another reviewer. It made me laugh though. There is however, recruiting, you get points to put towards your recruits every week and you have to use them wisley. I have about 6 or 7 recruits that i am working on now and you can pick to send them emails or phone calls all the way up to sending a scout or sending the coach to visit. the latter costs more points.
  
  It's to bad that EA is out of the MLB picture, it would be fun to draft the player on the next level. If you dont think the game would be fun, I would challenge you to rent the game first and realize that it really is a fun game.
  
  

• Why EA Sports Made this a College Baseball game

  
  By A2YDILAFC8I27 on 2006-04-12
  MLB gave the rights to make baseball games to sega (MLB 2K6) and sony (MLB The Show 2006)
  
  EA Sports made this a college game because THEY HAD TO. if they wanted to make a baseball game it had to be a college game or nothing
  
  the game it's self is actually very good. the gameplay is the same as MVP 2005. its different and some new modes. its more fun with colleges, especially if you go to a college that is in the game. its enjoyable, and hey its BASEBALL
  
  

• I'm hooked.

  
  By A291U11LTEIS1H on 2006-02-26
  Yes, the lack of liscensed major leaguers hurts the title (EA lost the MLB liscense to 2K sports, so they either had to make a college game or sit on the sidelines) but otherwise this game is slightly BETTER than MVP 05. The pitching animations are somewhat better and the stadiums are a little brighter. The default pitching view is from the mound (not behind the plate) and it actually does not change sides depending on whether a lefty or righty is batting.
  
  I only have minor issues with the title: I can do without the load-and-fire mechanism (I choose "zone" batting) and the new throwing mechanic (though that is easier to get used to than the new hitting). Assuming that this game is out in 07, they need to put more teams and stadiums in the game and the rosters should reflect the current ones and not the rosters of the previous spring. A few new mini games would be nice as well.
  
  If you like baseball, can spend a couple of days to adopt a favorite team and learn them like the back of your hand, you'll forget that you're playing college ball after a while.
  
  
  
  

• A quality product

  
  By A3KX6LMUWCLR0B on 2006-02-05
  NCAA MVP Baseball 2006 is a great introduction to college baseball for video game systems. The gameplay can be a difficult to learn, but it is completely customizable if you're continually having trouble. For instance, the game settings to help you make contact and hit for power can be changed to make the game more or less difficult. There are also some 'improvements' to the gameplay, such as using the analog stick for throwing and hitting, though these are cumbersome to learn and don't always work nicely.
  
  However, there are 19 gorgeously realistic stadiums and several different modes to use. Create a ballpark finally allows you to edit the fences, though this is a slightly overrated feature - and of course you can edit the names of the players from last year's rosters. (Most of the juniors or seniors on the teams now have a year of professional experience under their belt, which is a slight problem.) Dynasty mode is not bad, though not very deep - it focuses mostly on playing the games, but Baseball America makes a cool entrance and has a lot of awards and statistics for your use. The recruiting could use some improvement, but that's for future versions - and if worse comes to worse, you can create superstars at any point in the dynasty using the create-a-player feature. In any case, the College World Series is one of the most cutthroat sporting events and getting there and playing under pressure is one of the most fun gaming experiences I've had in a long time.
  
  If you're not a college baseball fan at all, or if you care about the roster problems, this probably isn't for you. Also, there are only fourteen conferences represented, so check the team list before you buy if you're a fan of one of a school in one of the more obscure college conferences so you don't squander 30 bucks and can't play with your team of choice.
  
  

• Good Game

  
  By A17O7AGDZPOJSS on 2006-02-13
  This NCAA College Baseball is a good game if you are a fan of the now dead MVP series this is the last baseball game to play unfortunatly now all baseball games suck there is nothing like the MVP series there are some good additions to the college game like adding your own music to the game however the thing only thing I Disliked about the game was that you could not make a user record and keep track of your career wins and win% etc. this is a must for me in any game otherwise I dont think there is a real point of playing unless you are playing a season for muliple years none the less still a good game
  
  
• For the Baseball Purist
  By APPU2VVI1DBTM on 2006-02-17
  The game lacks the flare and fireworks and perpetuity of HR's from the old MLB Triple Play series, but is clearly the best baseball game I've ever played. Having played baseball my whole life, the realism in this game is the closest to the real game I've ever seen. Hitting is all about timing and recognizing the pitch as quickly as possible (it's brutal on MVP level). If you don't you'll be out in front of chaneups pulling weak grounders or late on fastballs blowing by you. Game play and TV presentation are just fantastic...erratic throws, pitches in the dirt blocked by the catcher and even errant outfield throws hitting the pitchers mound and bouncing over the catcher's head! Mike Patrick commentary is dry but competent, but overall the presentation is top notch. A must buy for the baseball purist seeking only the realism of the game, not the theatrics of constant HR's and fireworks, etc that is too typical in all prior games.
  
  
• EA SPORTS messes up BIG TIME!
  By AJ0PLMJGUBTJO on 2006-04-08
  where is MVP BASEBALL 2006, major league style. i cant believe they decided to make a college baseball game instead. couldnt they make this AND mvp 2006. i hope next year they do make a mvp 2007, because this year im left without a baseball game. theres no way im getting this, mlb 2k6, or mlb 2006. the baseball video franchise suffered big time this year.
  
  
• yeah it's pretty good - I like it a lot
  By A25F3OMHLB5DGO on 2006-05-30
  This game is ok - they don't have every college program - the Ivy LEague and the America East Conference aren't here, just off the top of my head. I know those schools aren't powerhouses, but still. THe fielding totally threw me off at first, now I like it better than using a button to correspond to each base. Hitting is hard, I haven't been able to hit a homerun yet. IN game is cool, with the foul ball,s the catcher throwing back to the mound, the ability to argue a call, etc. Don't ever argue a call though. If you get tossed, you lose all control over your bullpen and lineup card - hasn't EA ever heard of bench coaches?
  
  
• ??????
  By A2766LLKB3GY5I on 2006-02-24
  Why have they changed the MVP Baseball Series? I thought the '04 and '05 versions were two of the best, most enjoyable, baseball games I had ever played. I happen to enjoy the MLB players and teams. Now they are replaced with college teams and generic no-name players in only 15 different stadiums? What a rip. It's like the sports video games are in self-destruct mode or something. First the NFL pulls out of the EPSN 2K series, and now this? The best baseball and football games are now effectively gone. Oh well, I was probably wasting too much time playing these games anyway.
  
  
• Nice College Debut
  By A1V0HTCMZFEPX on 2006-01-25
  Finnaly a college baseball game, though not a very popular event as college basketball, football... Its a very good game . Not as good as MVP 05 but good . Awesome soundtrack , nice graphics, outfield appears a little blurry . Dynasty mode is nice. Good game to play with friends . The new hitting & throwing feature, im not a fan of, i prefer old schoolin it but thats totally up to you.. Check it out
  
  

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