Hello Everyone, Trey Smith, Producer of MVP 07 NCAA Baseball, here. We've got more teams, more stadiums, and more.well more of just.

Only EA could pull this off. Lose the pro MLB license and keep its baseball game alive. Who else could have created a market for a sport which, honestly, gets very little national attention? Of course it helps that EA had a two-year head start with its MVP pro baseball game, which won fans over with its great visuals, smooth gameplay and yearly innovations. Has taken that same approach to the collegiate level and done surprisingly well.

Year one brought us Load and Fire hitting, whereby gamers hold the analog stick back and then 'fire' it through the hitting zone at the appropriate time. More well-received than not, Load and Fire hitting yields to this year's big revamp on the mound - Rock and Fire pitching. Until now, gamers threw good pitches by lining up cursors with meters and button presses. It didn't mimic the physical act of throwing a ball. And while we'd be hard-pressed to admit that flicking 1 1/2 inch analog sticks around is a better approximation of throwing a 90 mph heater, EA makes it work. Both analog sticks work in concert to control the speed, height and break of each pitch. You begin by moving the left stick to determine the location.

With that held in place, you trigger the pitch meter with the right stick. Once ball crosses the white line of the meter and is in 'fire' position, you fire it forward along the same location as the left stick. Onscreen, this is represented by two ball icons which you're trying to line up.

Do so, and you'll be throwing darts. Rock, fire, repeat.

Anyone wanna guess the next feature in EA's NASCAR series? With a nod to Talladega Nights, we'd put even money on 'Shake and Bake' passing. Once you've mastered, or at least familiarized, yourself with EA's new toy, it's off to Dynasty Mode. With 152 teams to choose from and tons of customizability options, it's a real treat to spend some time pimpin' out your team. EA's Creation Zone' offers an easy way to basically adopt a roster from a real current team. Team management options found in last year's Dynasty remain largely unchanged.

That theme continues in the gameplay department, where batting, fielding, throwing and running all received very little attention. John deere american farmer game download. There were no fatal flaws in last year's game, so that's not necessarily a bad thing. Plus, MVP 07 NCAA Baseball is a slider-junkie's delight.

Tune just about any aspect of the gameplay to your liking. The AI can present a stern and fair challenge when the difficulty is dialed up, and that's key to prolonging the shelf-life of any sports title.

Gamers who tire of the CPU battles can take their game online. EA's baseball titles have some quirks online, and the rock and fire pitching loses some of its razor-sharp controls.

Still, between the mini-games offered and the challenge of facing lots of different opposing styles, online remains an attractive diversion. The ESPN license shines through here, with Mike Patrick and Kyle Peterson calling the game and even giving strategic advice when called upon. Streaming ESPN broadcasts spice up the online atmosphere and make your PS2 feel a bit more up to date than it actually is.

MVP 07 NCAA Baseball has some nitpicky details for sure. Runner AI provides some cringe-worthy moments and some of the player fatigue issues need to be ironed out. All things considered, though, this is a very-solid $30 title. Any baseball fan would do well to take a look. It might not be must-have, but it's at least must-try for any serious sports gamer.

People say:

Poor MVP. Publisher 2K Sports and the console manufacturers now have exclusive rights to the MLB license, so EA's MVP series has been booted from the bigs (turnabout is fair play--EA snatched up the NFL license first). With the forced change from the pros' wooden bats to college's metal whoppin' sticks, MVP has also lost its rep as one of the best baseball franchises. Now don't misunderstand, 06 sports two very welcomed innovations: right analog stick batting and throwing. But the problem here--and it's a biggie--is the execution of these new mechanics. Using the stick to chuck the ball around the diamond feels quite natural, yet the throwing meter doesn't react fast enough when turning double plays, and even perfect tosses force the first baseman off the bag too often. At the plate, the new system makes it easier to check-swing, but you'll rarely connect for an extra-base hit or home run. Luckily, you can always go back to last year's playing style, but even then, the game has rough spots: Infielders miss routine pop-ups, and the announcers continuously repeat themselves. G. Ford may turn a cheek to these problems, but I feel like MVP 06 was rushed to get out in front of the big-leaguers.

Bryan's being too harsh on these kids. It's not easy to nab baseballs rocketing off of metal bats--even major leaguers don't face that. Seriously, though, yeah, MVP 06's fielding system drops the ball, literally. Sure, I got used to the analog stick fielding/throw-ing, but it always felt cumbersome. Most everything else is great, though. The analog swing system takes only a few innings to master and feels very intuitive, while the dynasty mode keeps you busy as you navigate play-off trees and spend time recruiting. Provided you can live with the ping of metal bats and lack of MLB stars (which definitely stings), MVP 06 is a great hardball sim.

Remember the days when games like World Series Baseball for the Saturn provided deep, exciting gameplay with simple, intuitive controls? No? Well, I do, and while the spirit lives on in the MLB 2Kseries, it doesn't in MVP 06. This baseballer does a good job of simulating the minor-league quality of college ball (read: errors seem more realistic and common), but the overly convoluted functionality of the game kills it for me. Swinging the bat with the analog stick isn't as timely or precise as pressing a button, and when you factor in trigger pulls and other diversions, it becomes less a joy and more a chore to try to get a batter on base.