Posted: January 14 2006 at 9:58am | IP Logged

Source: IGN.com

This is a baseball game unlike any you have played before. Forget for a second that MVP 06 NCAA Baseball is the first college baseball game in, well, ever. Forget that those lovable, overpaid big-leaguers you enjoyed in MVP 2005 are replaced by baby-faced, unlicensed student-athletes. Heck, even forget that EA's new title costs only $29.99. MVP 06 brings to the table two revolutionary new features. The first, the Load and Fire batting system, with which hitting is controlled with the right-analog stick, will change hitting as you know it. The third, ESPN Integration, will revolutionize the entire genre of sports videogames, period.

Full Review (Xbox)

Full Review (PS2)

Posted: January 14 2006 at 10:35am | IP Logged

It seems that every review has given the new analog fielding a negative mark. I really liked how fielding was done in the older versions and will probably stick with it in the new version.

On the other hand, I'm interested in trying the new 'Load and Fire' batting system - I was never a big fan of the older batting system anyway. What I'm curious to know is whether you must hold down the L1 (Power) or R1 (Contact) buttons while swinging. What would happen if you didn't hit either button while swinging?

Posted: January 14 2006 at 2:23pm | IP Logged

I'll certainly give analog fielding a try, but every review has stated that it's not implemented too well. One of the problems is that dives/jumps are also tied to the right analog stick and could cause unwanted moves in the field. I've read where someone would try to have their second baseman dive for a ball to their right, the player wouldn't dive and instead picked up the ball and fired it to third base because you pushed left on the analog stick (to dive). I've always liked MVP's fielding meter too.

I am looking forward to 'Load and Fire' batting though. I watched some videos at EASports.com and like how you control inside and outside swings and how timing your swing (along with bat placement) determines whether you pull a ball or go the opposite way with it. I like that the 'up for flyball' and 'down for groundball' system is non-existant in the new analog system, although there doesn't seem to be anything extra required to hit balls that are thrown high or low in the strike zone. The only thing you need to concentrate on is whether the pitch is inside or outside.