Latest Media	More Media (81)

Screens Updated: 3/1/2005

ESPN Major League Baseball 2K5 ships today, and here's the final installment of screens for the season. Play ball!

Recently, Gaming-Age had a chance to participate in a very informative conference call with representatives from 2K Games. Here’s a rundown of everything that was covered in the discussion about 2K Games’ new title: Major League Baseball 2K5.

One of the things emphasized in the 2K5 edition is baserunning. With command baserunning and detailed picture-in-picture, you’ll have the most control over your players on offense ever. Instead of having just a diamond with dots or stick figures, you see what’s going on with each of your runners and what’s around them. It makes your situation clearer, and helps you make the right decision in the end.

K-Zone Pitching is another feature of Major League Baseball 2K5, which gives you full control over speed, accuracy, and location. You can point to a specific place with the left analogue, but that will not lead to an obvious telegraph of a pitch. Using a right trigger button will lock the position in while the left stick can still be moved. Furthermore, the indicator is altogether invisible to the batter if you’re playing an online game.

Slam Zone and Showboat Catches are two features that can help you to get a better chance at making a crucial play. Even though they do a little to help you, that are in no way a guarantee that you will make a major play. As reassured in the call, Slam Zone will not be a feature that will lead to crazy amounts of home runs—measures have been taken to preserve the balance there.

Small tweaks have been made to both running and pitching outside of the largely touted features, as well. When running to a base, you can get a boost of speed by jamming the turbo button, which is meant to sort of hearken back to old Track and Field games. Also, a fatigue system will hinder people who abuse trades to keep big-name starter pitchers fresh. If one gets fatigued, that position will be fatigued for as long as it should be.

Online play will feature standard leagues on both the Playstation 2 and Xbox versions. For those unfamiliar, it’s set up much like a fantasy league. You can create your own rules, have anything from a small league to a full 30 team roster. You can track stats, do write-ups for league games, and real-time stats are offered. And, in a nice twist, no-shows can be dealt with by simulating the games they were to play.

Unlockable features and fanservice come to the MLB as well, this year. With MLB, there’s a Skybox that serves as the equivalent of NFL’s “Crib” mode. You have three levels of Skyboxes, one that you have at first and two unlockable. As well, they’ve included unlockable classic teams, classic jersies, cheat codes, trivia, videos - works.

Out of everything this year, though, the big show is the presentation itself. On the field, time-of-day lighting, which can lead to having the sun in your eye on some plays. You’ll see the dirt kicked up and cleats digging in when your runners go to bases. Player motions are all motion-captured, making them as real as possible. All the while, John Miller and Joe Morgan lend their familiar voices to the announcer’s booth, helping everything along towards the broadcast feel.

Miscellaneous topics also came up, which did not really apply to anything else clearly. The game lists at $19.99 at most retailers, but that is not the official price. MLB 2K5 will not support 720p online, although 480p and widescreen will work. The announcing team may be able to return next year, but it’s not for certain. And finally, 2K games reassured the callers that even though they’d be the only third party in town for MLB, quality won’t fall one bit.

Gaming-Age would like to thank Chien Yu and Anthony Chau for discussing Major League Baseball 2K5 and answering questions about it.

Music plays a big role in not only getting athletes pumped up, but the fans as well. Major League Baseball 2K5 features customized soundtracks giving gamers remarkable personalization in their virtual baseball experience.

On both the Xbox videogame system from Microsoft and the PlayStation 2 computer entertainment system, gamers will be able to customize both stadium and player intro music. Players can edit music for over 20 different situations (i.e. homerun, steal, double play, etc.,) for every big league ballpark and tailor music for every single player in the major leagues. This includes both different music tracks for batter and pitcher introductions. Xbox owners will definitely reap the rewards as they can take any ripped track on the Xbox hard drive and utilize it for both stadium and player soundtracks. Atmosphere is a big part of baseball, and with custom soundtracks Major League Baseball 2K5 players will feel right at home.

Challenges are good. They help people strive for excellence, exercise their drive, and contribute to them becoming well-rounded individuals. This ideal can be applied to the game of baseball. In Major League Baseball 2K5, gamers will appreciate two new entertaining modes of play- Home Run Derby and In Your Face mode, which test players’ baseball skills, while ultimately helping them become the best.

Home Run Derby makes a triumphant return to Major League Baseball 2K5 with four new playable modes, all played in a very exciting and competitive split-screen perspective. Players face-off as they aim to hit the most homers within an allotted time period in Standard mode, but they must make sure to watch their stamina meter, which drains after every power swing. In Score mode, players get a score based on how far they hit, where they hit, and if they hit consecutive home runs. Score mode also allows the player to call their shots to get bonus points. Tag Team mode is a three vs. three homerun hitting contest where each batter has a “health” meter. When a batter hits a homerun, the opposing batter will lose health so switching out batters becomes imperative to winning. Finally, Team Mode pits two major league teams against each other. In this mode, a team can only obtain a win if every batter in their lineup hits a homerun. All modes of Home Run Derby can also be enjoyed online!

In Your Face mode spices up the game of baseball by adding Gameday Challenges at the start of every game. If a Gameday Challenge is achieved, a Face point is awarded and at the end of every inning, a team can choose to use face points to lockout certain abilities of the opposing team for one inning. This can include locking out specific pitches, stealing, bunting, wall-climbing catches, substitutions, and much more.

The regular baseball season is 162 games long and as baseball managers deal with the obstacles of maintaining a winning record through this lengthy period, they must make critical, team-impacting decisions. A key part of ensuring a successful season is to always keep a close eye out for emerging talent in the minor league system. In Major League Baseball 2K5, a brand new minor league system empowers players to maximize the potential of budding young stars as well as weeding out mediocre talent.

Gamers will be able to pick a minor league staff consisting of a manager, batting coach, pitching coach, and fielding/speed coach, each specializing in specific skills. Players must decide what type of skills will help mold their young talent, into their desired style of player. Keeping track of hot prospects around the minor leagues is also vital if gamers want to be a big player in the trade game. Most of all, a complete farm report is available to the player, detailing all the facts a general manager will need to continue building a strong stable of future major league players.

Diving catches can save games, fast baserunners can pressure the defense, and big-time sluggers can score runs, but without solid pitching, a baseball team is nothing. In Major League Baseball 2K5 the K Zone pitching system brings a new level of control and precision. Through this new pitching interface, players will be able to deliver pinpoint accuracy to their pitches with new and intuitive gameplay mechanics. By changing pitch types, speeds, and locations with skill, a pitcher’s confidence will go up making it easier for the user to target the corners or even put more speed on fastballs. Gamers must be careful to watch the stamina meter so the pitcher doesn’t gas out too quickly. K Zone pitching is just one of many new features found only in the most exciting baseball game this year - Major League Baseball 2K5.

Catching the ball is a fundamental to baseball and in the major leagues it’s often the most overlooked. While homeruns and great pitching sell tickets, good fielding is the foundation of a solid defense. When the game is on the line, a diving catch can often be the turning point. In ESPN Major League Baseball 2K5, players can take advantage of all-new Maximum Fielding to make outstanding plays in both the infield and outfield. Gamers simply push the right analog stick in the appropriate direction and, if timed correctly, they’ll be treated to diving snags, homerun robbing catches, infield stops, and much more. Using Maximum Fielding in tandem with the turbo button, players can run quicker and make harder throws. With this new feature, playing catch isn’t just a kid’s game anymore.

Baseball is truly a game of inches and this is demonstrated best in baserunning. Baserunning is often overlooked and underappreciated, but as shown in the Red Sox/Yankee playoff series last season, it can make all the difference in close games. ESPN Major League Baseball 2K5 is proud to debut On Command Baserunning, a breakthrough in how players see and control baserunners.

On Command Baserunning features an active picture-in-picture display. Using the four corners of a television screen to represent the bases, players can see the actions of any baserunner through real-time picture-in-picture windows. With Maximum Sliding, gamers can utilize the right analog thumbstick to choose how baserunners slide- head or feet first- in conjunction to hook sliding left or right of the base. Finally, baseball fans can see and play baseball through the eyes of the baserunner through Baseburner Mode. Through this unique perspective, the CPU can decide when the batter swings, and the player can tell the batter when to swing, take a pitch, or bunt. Users with multiple baserunners can cycle through every man on base or return to the default view and control of the batter. Own the base paths with On Command Baserunning, found only in ESPN Major League Baseball 2K5.

ESPN Videogames today revealed two major gameplay features in ESPN Major League Baseball 2K5. An entirely new game from the ground up, ESPN Major League Baseball 2K5 introduces K Zone Pitching, a new pitching system which promises to deliver the most exciting and realistic pitching approach in a baseball video game. To compliment the new pitching system, ESPN Major League Baseball 2K5 also debuts Maximum Fielding, a groundbreaking new gameplay mechanic that allows players to execute breath-taking dives and home run robbing plays adding a new level of drama to the defensive game.

Combining simple design, intuitive functionality, and the trademark ESPN presentation style, K Zone Pitching provides a new level of pitching control. Inspired by the exclusive K Zone technology used on ESPN’s Baseball Tonight and in ESPN’s baseball game telecasts, K Zone Pitching allows the gamer to target their pitches using a simple interactive crosshair interface. With this new pitching mechanic, players select a pitch and a target zone and then must line-up a horizontal and vertical point to successfully execute the throw. Players can increase the speed and movement of pitches, but at a higher risk to precision and control. Different pitching situations will increase or decrease the pitcher’s pressure, challenging the gamer to concentrate on making all the right pitches. Getting out of pressure situations will dramatically increase a pitcher’s confidence, resulting in increased control and precision of pitches, while failure will add more pressure and decrease accuracy. With K Zone Pitching, making every pitch is an important and exciting challenge.

Maximum Fielding gives the player a new level of control, allowing for show-stopping catches that are worthy of a SportsCenter highlight reel. With the Right Analog Stick, players simply press towards the direction of where the ball will land to make leaping and diving plays. In addition, players can get to the ball quicker and make faster throws to the infield by holding down the Turbo button. Through the dynamic and intuitive Maximum Fielding, players can perform gold glove caliber and momentum shifting defensive plays.

Live fastballs, suicide squeezes, grass-staining dives, seventh-inning stretches, walk-off homeruns, peanuts and hotdogs... these are just some of the things that make the sport of baseball America’s favorite pastime. The victory of a baseball game can depend on the walk-off homerun in the ninth inning or a simple second base steal. Anything can make an impact in a baseball game because- as a wise man once said - “it ain’t over ‘til it’s over.”