The on going soap-opera of contract negotiations, exclusive publishing deals, and feuding fans, which were synonymous with our football franchises, has now managed to invade our beloved baseball games. After landing a huge contract that gives Take-Two Interactive the exclusive rights to licensed third party baseball games starting next year, they somehow manage to offset the success they’ve accumulated from the past by allowing EA to swipe the ESPN contract out from under their feet. If this makes little or no sense to you, it boils down to this. At this point in the negotiations, despite landing rights to the ESPN style presentation, an MVP baseball game by EA will not happen next year. However, Take-Two and Visual Concepts will have a major league baseball game next year, only without the ESPN style presentation. No disrespect to EA, but this couldn’t have come at a worse time for Take-Two and Visual Concepts, considering this year’s game has been improved upon immensely and features the best presentation of any sports game… ever. While this may not be enough to knock EA from its perch, it is enough to provide an excellent, if not phenomenal baseball experience.    

“The details in the environments are amazing”

This year’s game sports the usual list of game modes. I’m not sure why, but the hysterically named “In Your Face” mode is basically just exhibition play with a fancy new name. There’s also Home Run Derby, Season Mode, Franchise Mode, and the new all GM Career mode which lets you take a struggling franchise and try to turn them into a contender. New choices like improved contract negotiations, full salary tracking of players and coaches, as well as interest from other teams help round out a very well done career mode. While this is a welcome addition to the series, it still lags slightly behind in overall depth when compared to EA’s latest effort. It would have been nice to maybe build new stadiums, relocate my team to a new city, or even set the prices of my concessions in hopes of turning a profit, but nonetheless it’s still a very good job and should keep most fans happy for a very long time.

This year the developers have assembled a new pitching system known as the K-Zone, and I'll have to admit, it’s brilliant. After picking the location, and type of pitch, you will have to align two moving bars at just the right moment. Failure doing so will usually result in your pitch drifting more closely into the strike zone than you initially planned. One of my favorite aspects of the K-Zone is the precision and attention that it requires of you. Your ace, or lets say Randy Johnson, will have no problem lining the perpendicular grid up and more than likely executing a near perfect pitch. Use the fifth or sixth pitcher from your teams rotation however, I won’t be naming any names here, and you’ll find it much more difficult to accomplish you’re goals, causing awareness to play a bigger factor when it comes to throwing the ball against certain batters. This much-needed change really adds a sense of realism in the pitching department. In years past, it didn’t seem like it mattered very much who my pitcher was, but thankfully, that is over with, and the K-Zone ends up being one of the best new features of any sports game this year.
 

Pitching isn’t the only part that has implemented new features. Along with last year’s normal, and power swing buttons, the Slam-Zone makes its debut, and adds a unique, if not arcade-like element to the game. Batters can now guess where they think the pitcher will try to place the ball, which usually depends on the hot and cold zones of each batter. Guessing incorrectly will result in a complete miss, but guess correctly and an in-suing mini-game will commence.
 

Time will suddenly slow down as the ball leaves the pitchers hand, forcing the batter and pitcher to furiously tap the buttons in turn causing a power meter to fill up. Fill your meter first, and you will win the duel. Winning this battle will result in one of two things. If you’re the batter then you’ll definitely score a hit, but more than likely a home run will be the result. If you’re the pitcher, as you might have guessed, you’ll blow a pitch right by the helpless batter. Most Gamers will look at this in one of two ways. Some will see it as an arcade-like distraction that takes away from the realism of the game, while some will see it as a welcome diversion that adds excitement and breaks the monotony of gameplay. For me, it’s more of the first category, but that’s only my opinion, and you’ll ultimately have to decide for yourself. 

“Over-throws and errors are a big part of Major League Baseball 2k5’s realism.”

I’ll be honest with you here; fielding is one aspect from last year’s game that needed to be improved greatly. While Maximum Fielding has been introduced this year, it isn't quit the savior Visual Concepts had planned on. You now use the right analog stick, much like every other sports game these days, to make incredible game changing saves. Whether it’s climbing the wall to relieve someone of a sure home run, or making a game changing catch at shortstop, you’ll have no problem this year thanks to this easy to use system. While this addition is a welcome one indeed, it’s not without its problems by any means. Hitting the analog stick the wrong way, or at the wrong time, can send your player diving in the opposite direction, or leave him haplessly lying on the ground as the ball sputters by.
 

Possibly an even better feature this year, and one that I’m sure will be “borrowed” in the future, is the new Smart-throw button. By simply tapping the L1 button while fielding; your player will make the correct decision for you as where to throw the ball. This can really help out the casual fan that may not be sure which base runner takes priority when in a sticky situation, and can really save your behind if you absolutely need to make the right throw in order to save a run from scoring.
 

I really wish that Kush, and Visual Concepts, had taken more time correcting the actual fielding experience, instead of giving us a slew of new features. It often feels like the computer does all the work when you start the fielding process. Instead of feeling smooth, and seamless, it’s almost as if the motion capture is off just a bit. The animations the players go through are somewhat clunky, and just seem a bit robotic. The same problems exist in the batting portion of the game. Frequently during replays, you will notice the ball actually never touches the bat when a hit takes place, almost like there is a hidden-wall or “forcefield” surrounding the ball and the players. Maybe I’m being a little harsh on the motion capture, but when the ESPN style presentation makes replays such an important part of the game, it’s hard not to notice these little nuisances.

The new base-running system, or On-Command Base-Running, is a new feature that allows players to control base runners with the flick of the analog stick. Instead of showing the base runners as round dots overlaid on the baseball diamond, you can now see each of the runners in individual pop-up windows and know exactly what they plan to do. This is one of those systems that when you see it, you’ll find it hard to believe that no one else thought of it first.  It takes a little getting used to however, sometimes I found it difficult to get my players to stop running, or they wouldn’t run at all. This is more of a control issue though, and that department should be held accountable, not the On-Command base running system because it actually works very well. You also have the option of choosing to control the runner and letting the CPU take over the batting duties. This was actually my favorite part of the new control scheme, which adds a completely new strategy to base running that we haven’t seen in the past. While you’ll admittedly have to put your trust in the computers ability at the plate, it's well worth it considering this really feels like you’re the actual runner and is an absolute blast to try to steal a base from the player’s perspective. There are some flaws in this system, as in any game, but it’s nice to see some extra thought go into some areas that may other wise grow stale and outdated. 
 

“The all new On-Command Base running system lets you experience life from the runner’s perspective.”

Well here it is, the hands-down best part of the game. Presentation-wise, it just doesn’t get any better than this…really. Every aspect of the presentation is flawless, and it’s hard for me to imagine how it could get any better. Never before have I felt like I was actually playing a real broadcasted baseball game until now. The entire experience mimics an ESPN broadcast to perfection. Whether it’s the replays of the K-Zone strikeouts, or the sweeping camera angles that catch fans and players in almost every situation imaginable, you’ll find it here…and then some. The Hall of Fame commentary featuring the likes of Joe Morgan, John Miller, and Karl Ravech have set a landmark in videogames that all companies should strive for. You’ll often here them reflect on fabled story’s from the past, talk about why teams don’t like playing double-headers, and even speak of a player’s past success or failures. While still repeating some of the dialogue just a bit too often, this group rarely misses a beat.

The player models have also received a slight face-lift; players no longer look disproportioned and are pretty close to there real life counterparts. You will actually be able to tell the difference between players now, which hardcore fans will truly appreciate. While the crowds are a minor improvement over the ones we’ve been forced to deal with for years, they do look pretty good when the camera zooms in on them which helps make up for the lack of realism they display during normal gameplay. Each stadium and its surroundings are cloned to perfection and are serious improvement over last year’s game. I’m very familiar with The Great American Ballpark, and the similarity between the game and its real-life counterpart is astonishing.

Well I will have to say, for the mere 20 bucks this game cost, it shouldn’t be much of a decision. If you love baseball, and even if you have already purchased MVP Baseball by EA, do yourself a favor and pick this one up also, you won't be disappointed. With EA only charging 29.99 for its game this year, and Take-Two’s effort costing only 19.99; you can literally have two games for the price of one. While it may not blow away the competition, it does indeed offer some new features that can’t be found anywhere else, therefore allowing Major League Baseball 2K5 to become a must own game for any fan of the sport.

Gameplay: 8.9

Modes like an all-new fielding, batting, and base-running system help keep the gameplay from growing old. Minor issues with the controls do unfortunately bog down some brilliant new features.
 

Graphics: 9.4

Features some of the best stadiums and player models around, sending this title into the upper echelon of sports games.

Sound: 9.5

The best presentation and commentary by any sports game…ever.

Difficulty: Medium

Tons of sliders help you customize the difficulty level that is right for you.

Concept: 8.9

While I can do without the first person baseball option, things like On-Command base running make for nice new additions. Also major props for Take-two for utilizing the Hard Drive (Yes, some people do actually own this), which allows for quicker load times and game saves.

Multiplayer: 8.5

Here you will find the usual display of features. Online leagues and tournaments, stats, and friend list make an appearance, just do not expect anything new, but hey, gameplay is fairly lag-free and works really well.

Overall: 9.1

Take-Two has managed to churn out an amazing experience. Despite all the minor shortcomings, this is a necessary own for every baseball fan, and at 20 bucks, why not?