 Boogeyman's early analysis of MVP Baseball 2004 (Editors note: The preview comes from the Xbox version and is judged on only 30 + total games.)  MVP Baseball 2004 offers so much to the baseball fan that it's almost too good to be true. On paper, the game seems like a fans dream and the competitions nightmare, but after a few games I began to realize that the game does have to play brilliantly for those options on paper to work. For starters you have a very solid engine. Supplying not only 720 p for you HDTV fans, but wide screen as well! In this mode the game is simply beautiful. The stadiums are colorful and accurate (but not totally alive in the bleachers), the player models are detailed, with a majority of the face being correct, but the game does suffer from some frame rate issues. Mostly during presentation shots, but sometimes during game play as well. It is more of an annoyance than a major problem though. The HR celebrations are pretty good and mostly accurate. There are a couple stadium celebrations that are off, Cincinnati's smoke stacks aren't active, and fireworks at Wrigley, but other wise most of the familiars are there. If there isn't a stadium specific, then you are treated to a fireworks show. There are some really nice animations to be seen in the game, from the diving stabs, to the turning grabs, EA put some effort in making some new player animations in the field. Added also this year are some nuances like broken bats, wild pitches, dropped third strikes, etc. Presentation and menus is slick, and there is even a way to go to your bullpen for warm-ups and mound visits without even pushing the start button! All in all, if you can get by the slow down, which most of us will, the game is definitely a looker.  On the Audio side the game sounds great. MVP provides some of the best Play by Play in the business. Like all games, they do have the occasional goof every now and again, but in MVP it's a rarity. The audio is in THX Dolby Digital on the Xbox, which makes for a full, life like atmosphere. You can hear hecklers, stadium music, and more in full 3D sound. The crowds are intelligent and interactive. In smaller or non-sold out stadiums, the crowd cheers and chants are diminished from a larger and sold out stadiums. This effect was very nice, and hats off to EA for that particular touch. The lack of custom soundtracks was a disappointment, but otherwise a fine job in the audio department. There is no question in the amount of options that EA put in this year's title. You have your typical Exhibition match, a HR competition, a pitching competition, and most importantly a Dynasty mode that you can play, sim, or manage each and every game for 120 seasons! Not only that, but you have full access to all the AA and AAA teams for you club. I'm not talking about just rotation moves either; you can play all the games as well. Want more? You got it! You must also keep your teams momentum up as never before. Players have a momentum meter that shows you their emotions towards you and the team. Whether a player wants to be traded, negotiate their contract, or just feels they don't get enough play time, you can assure to hear plenty of bitching and moaning between games. What would have been nice to see is an Owner's mode (i.e. Madden) but I'm sure they are saving that for next season. There's more to be said about the depth of MVP, but I'll save that for the review. Lastly, you must be wondering what puts me on "the fence" with MVP with everything else in tact. Well, we all know that no matter how a game looks, sounds, or what options the game brings, it don't mean squat if it doesn't play right. Does MVP play the best game of baseball? No. Does it stink up to high heaven? No. It is really good, but there are some glaring game play issues that hamper the fun and realism. First, like last year, we all know the pitching is fantastic! I'm a huge fan of this pitching meter as it does give you great control and the feeling of actually controlling your destiny. Now the CPU's pitching doesn't seem to challenge you enough with balls and strikes, but maybe I need to bump the difficulty up past All Star? Hitting has improved this year, but just slightly. The "Pure Swing System" works pretty well, but it's still just another form of zone hitting in the end. The biggest problem is in the fielding. Yes, you finally have the ability to control your dives with the right analog stick, yes the players fielding is based upon their ability, and yes the throw meter is back…for better or worse. I personally hate it. It allows for too many steps before the throw, and breaks up any smooth transitions. With it off, this is fixed, but still too many animations for double play attempts and such. The fielding's most glaring problem is the fielders themselves. They are just too freaking slow. No hustle, no spirit! Even if you adjust the fielder's sliders they still seem off, not to mention doing so can throw off other aspects of the game. These slow fielders end up causing more triples than need to be in an average baseball game! I thought the "triple" was gone from EA J Next; you have the deep outfielder's inability to get the ball to the 3rd baseman without having to resort to the cut off man.  When attempting a throw from deep to the infield, the ball just dies, causing you to pull your man out of position, whether he's the 3rd baseman, or shortstop. BTW you have to do this manually as the basemen just stand there with their thumbs up their butts. If that wasn't bad enough, the lack of hustle from them trying to retrieve the ball allows for that man who just tripled for the 10th time (exaggeration of course), to advance to home and for the possible inside the park homer! I know the importance of the cut off man and the necessary use of him, but I shouldn't have to resort to him EVERY time from deep in the outfield! This, my friends is what burns me up the most, and has put me on "the fence" when thinking how to review this title. Granted this little flaw doesn't keep me from enjoying the game completely, but it does hurt what seems to be a close to fantastic game! You can rest assure, I will give the game it's just due, and maybe try to figure out my own flaws as well. Just do me a favor and don't judge me by my impressions, as this was not a review. Also remember, everyone is entitled to his or her own opinion, right or wrong in your eyes. Check back in April, when I do review for all 4 Baseball titles! Got an opinion on my preview? Got a review of your own? Got some suggestions? Write to me and we'll talk about it, and heck you may even get posted in my next article. Like this gentlemen... he writes: Brian, Yes Its hard to know what game to get for this upcoming baseball game. Wow ESPN baseball 2004 does look nice and it will be hard vs. MVP Baseball 2004. Hey will you get to play any of the minor league games in one of the baseball games?? Will you get to play night games too?? Please put me in the next upcoming issue and when do they come out!!
Thanks, Danny Root Well Danny, if you aren't at home playing right now with MVP, the answer is YES, there are night games for your minor league teams, but you can't play single A teams, just AA and AAA. Oh and thanks for your input. Continue on to Page 3 to for hands-on impressions of All-Star Baseball 2005.
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