Saw that there was a thread about MVP, so I thought I would give a little shout out to ESPN as well. My review so far (played 3 games and messed around in franchise mode): - THE best baseball game I have ever played. - Presentation is TOP NOTCH. Really feels like you are watching a televised game on ESPN. Rivals the presentation in ESPN NFL 2K5. John Miller & Joe Morgan are great as broadcasters. - Graphics are real nice. Stadiums are rendered nicely with lots of little extras. - Crowd reacts accordingly and says certain things depending on who is batting or what is going on. They will taunt certain players on the visiting team and chant or root on for home team batters. - Customize the game to your exact liking. From cursor batting, to their new htting system, 3-4 different ways to pitch, to their new K-Zone pitching system (which is a nice addition), etc, etc. You can really tailor the game to how you like to play and feel more comfortable. - Franchise seems very deep as I have got into dealing with many trades for my fantasy drafted team. I haven't messe with the minors yet or offseason. - The new baserunning mode is great, but hard to get used to. I've gotten picked off every time I have used it. LOL - Many different modes of play from Season, Franchise, GM Mose, HR Derby, etc. All of which are customizable. Franchise allows you (and/or friends) to control up to 4 teams. Season allows you to control every team. I can go on and on but, fact of the matter is, I haven't scratched the surface yet on everything that you can do with this game. It seems REALLY realistic and challenging but still very fun. And, HELLO, it's only $20!!!! I used to be a big EA Sports guy (and have owned MVP the last two years) but Sega has converted me this year. I'll be happy to answer any questions if you guys have any. PS: First game Astros (me) vs. Red Sox (comp) and I lost 3-0. But it was fun playing with Burke & Tavares (fast, fast, fast)
For the past few years I've bought no other baseball game besides the 2k series. I plan on picking this up after work along with Grand Turismo, and Fight Night 2 next Tuesday. Thanks for the review.
It's strange, with all the EA dislike, that more folks aren't looking at Sega's offering. I tried a little ESPN 2K5 yesterday, and was very impressed. I'd say I'd pick it up over MVP (especially at 20 bucks). You would think that more people would try it out, considering it's the only baseball game for the next few years. (Well, third party anyway. Sony is going to continue MLB, Nintendo is working on one called Pennant Race and Microsoft will likely resurrect High Heat)
Duuuuude! Last time I checked on this game, I saw the release date as being March 15th, so this is a total surprise to me. I'll be picking up this game ASAP, without a doubt. I've been loyal to the Sega Sports/Visual Concepts/ESPN series since they first came out with the 2K games. Wouldn't consider EA or any other developer. You touched on key points there, mogrod, good job.
Why is it so hard to hit the ball in this game? Am I doing something wrong? I've been using cursor on easy mode.
