It is that time of year again. People are mowing their grass, wait I mean weeds; the temperature is getting warmer, and the days are getting longer. What does this mean to you? It means that Baseball season is about to start! As each year passes, the gaming industry tries to make the best game on the market that simulates the real sport. Last year EA released Triple Play 2002, and it was horrible. For this years Baseball game, EA went to the drawing board and created a new game from scratch, hence MVP Baseball was born. Does this game have what it takes to fix all of the problems of Triple Play, and remain fun? Read on to find out!

The game modes are: Play, Franchise, Season, Tournament, and Home Run Showdown. Play is a quick exhibition game where players can choose two teams and go head to head. In Season, gamers will see if they have what it takes to take their team to the play-offs and even go to the World Series. Tournament is a king of the hill like mode. Players will see if they can continue to beat all of the opposite teams to see who the ultimate baseball team is.

Home Run Showdown is one of the best game modes, in my opinion. Players see who the best batter in the league is. Players pick one team and then a player on that team to be their batter; the object is to see who can reach a specific distance first. Every fair ball adds to your score, and every strike or foul ball subtracts from it. When players get a home run they get an additional one hundred points. Ever so often there is a money ball, which gives players a double score on the hit. This is the best mode to learn how to bat, because players will want to keep up with the computer AI, if there is not another human around to play with.

The real meat of any sports game is its Franchise mode. Players get to play as the owner, manager, start, and the benchwarmer, they get to do it all, and see if they have what it takes to make a team go from nothing to world champion. If they want their team to succeed, players will have to stay up to date on the day-to-day affairs of the team. This includes, scouting for new players to add to their team, make sure the roster is up to date, trade players, and even keep up with the contracts for each player. While in this mode, players will have access to the team schedule, see how the rest of the league is doing in comparison to you, and view the team goals. I think that the comparisons are really great since it not only tells the standing of your team, but it also tells the latest news around the league, such as injury reports, All-Star voting, and even the latest trades.

Harold Reynolds’s gives players a lot of MVP tips to help them throughout the game. These are tutorial videos that will teach players how to bat, pitch, field, and do a variety of things that will help players become the best baseball player in the game! This was an excellent addition to this game, but the only thing bad thing about this is that it is all video and you can not apply what you learned until you go into a game.

One thing that makes this game better than any other baseball game out there is the new pitching and batting. Unless players can master the new controls, they will not be seeing the playoffs anytime soon. Here is how the pitching works: Players must first select a pitch they want to do. Then players hold down the button and they will see a bar to the right full up, the closer it is to the end, the faster the pitch will be. Once they let go the bar goes back down, but there is a new small green bar in the middle of this bar, this is the accuracy meter. The closer players get it in or around the green bar the more accurate the pitch will be. If players can get both of the bars correctly, this will help get a strike. To make this even deeper, in the batting zone there are colored boxes, blue for cold, red for hot, and gray for neutral. When pitching it is in your best interest to make sure that pitch is in the blue so to assure a strike.

The batting also is more of a game of skill than just luck. Players have more control over the batter and where the ball will go. By using the left analog stick, this will determine where the ball will go. Hitting the X button will make players swing the bat, and using R3 players will bunt. This game gives players more control than most baseball games out there, and makes it a blast to play!

MVP Baseball 2003 is rated E for Everyone. It will take up 643kb on your memory card.

Gameplay: 9.1
MVP Baseball 2003 plays like a dream! The game play is tight, and the new batting and pitching interface is something that baseball games have needed for a long time. One of the really neat things about this game is the new base running interface. There is now three screens on the top right that show where all the base runners are, this makes it very easy to know where all of your runners are, and help out when you try to steal bases. The game is also easier for new players to pick up on, with all the new ways to play the game, everyone is on the same playing field, and it makes for some very interesting games.

Graphics: 8.9
This baseball game looks gorgeous, it is as close to real life in comparison to other baseball games out this year. The player models have tons of polygons, and the textures are extremely well done. The ballparks are teeming with life, light, and a lot of detail. Another thing EA got right is all of the player animations. All of the pitchers and batters react like they do in real life, from the batting stance; to the way the pitcher throws the ball. It is extremely life like.

Sound: 8.7
The sound is done really well. All of the sounds from the baseball game are present, from the crowds cheering, the famous “CHARGE!” saying, and every other thing people would expect to hear when they go to a game. My favorite sound is when spectators are stomping their feet on the bleachers, if you have a sub woofer you will really feel that you are in the game. The commentary is great since it keeps up with the game, but it can get a little repetitive at times.

Difficulty: Medium
Like any other sports game, the AI depends on what level you set it at. The game never proved to be too difficult, and the AI did not really do anything cheap even on the hardest setting. They did not make any “miracle catches” or “magical homeruns” like other baseball games might do. This game will prove to be a challenge to every skill level player.

Concept: 9.3
EA was really innovative with this baseball game. I love the new pitcher and batter interface, it is something that other sport game developers should adopt, since it really requires players to be on their toes the entire game. Nothing is assured anymore. It is all about how skilled the players will be.

Multiplayer: 8.9
The multiplayer is really fun as well, playing another real human to see who is the best baseball player. To me the best multiplayer game is the homerun challenge, since you are facing another human who will make more mistakes than the computer AI.

Overall: 8.8
Even though there are a few things wrong with this game, it is still one of the best on the market. Also players have to take into account that this is the first year for this new franchise, and there is a great deal of things that will be worked out for next year’s successor. If you are craving a good baseball game then head to your nearest electronics store and pick it up!