Tiger Woods redefined golf controls with its dual control scheme that took advantage of both analog sticks. Since that time others have jumped on the bandwagon, but believe it or not baseball has not been one of them. It's so obvious, yet no one seemed to think of it until now.

Hence the creation of what EA calls "Load and Fire Batting." That's a fancy title for a mechanic that makes it possible to swing the bat with the right analog stick. Pull back on the stick to get into position. Your batter will lean back, pull the bat up and prepare to swing. Releasing the stick at this point kills your move, just as it does in Tiger Woods. You have to see the move through.

Still holding the stick in place, push it all the way forward – with a slight tilt to the left or right if necessary – and watch the magic. You're likely to strike out a few times, maybe more. But once you get the hang of it you'll have a hard time going back to the old, button-clicking method.

Buttons are still used of course, just not for swinging. The right analog stick controls your ability to throw and dive for the ball while fielding, leaving X, square, circle and triangle for the pitcher (L1 too). No worry, pitching is easy! ... Until the meter starts up. Then it becomes a game of perfect timing and the unlikelihood that you'll perform your pitch successfully.

I like this pitching style, especially the fact that you can tilt the left analog stick to pitch the ball in different directions. The downside is that the speed and size of the "perfect" portion of the meter is slightly different for each pitch. When the "perfect" section is not much bigger than the slider moving across the meter, you know you're in trouble. Only a small amount of the game's players will be able to master this mechanic. For most of us – myself included – it's just too fast to get it right every single time. Whereas batting is very specific and is dictated entirely by the player's actions, pitching feels more like trial and error.

MVP 06 substitutes a career mode for Dynasty, a mode where the player can do more than take their team to victory. Choose when you do it, how you do it, and who you do it with. Coach games to see how they'd play out from an order-giving perspective (result: risky and less likely that the player will win). Track stats, recruit all year round, the works. Those who complete the NCAA challenges are rewarded with authentic-looking gear that increases player performance. I didn't notice a huge difference, but any increase is an improvement to power-hungry players.

EA continues to pump resources into customization features, having Create-a-Team and Create-a-Player options. They're on the same level as Tiger Woods and other top-tier titles from EA. The Custom Ballpark mode is slightly reminiscent of Tony Hawk's Pro Skater's park editor; you can't add a half-pipe, but you can change the distance of the stadium walls. Their height may also be altered. As with the Create-A-Player mode there are some limits. If the stadium were too big it couldn't function.

One of the unique (though not necessarily new) features is the picture-in-picture instant replay that shows you close calls, good or bad. Suppose you're batting. You get your player into position, wait for the ball, and when it finally comes it misses hitting him by a few inches. For whatever the reason you were clueless and didn't see the ball coming. "I can hit this!" In reality it was way out of range.

These close calls are played back via picture-in-picture. The additional screen is about 1/4 the size of the game and only appears for a few quick seconds. A trail of balls stays suspended in mid-air to show exactly where it came from. Technically this feature wasn't needed; it doesn't affect your skills one way or the other. But I'm all for anything that makes a game more immersive and more memorable, which MVP 06 does swiftly and subtly.

For diehard baseball fans who can't bear to play a video game without stopping to check ESPN.com every hour, MVP 06 introduces ESPN Integration. First you get the ESPN ticker with ESPN Radio Sportscenter updates every 20 minutes. On top of that you get news from ESPN.com, finally putting an end to the urge to put down the controller and pick up a mouse.

Load and Fire batting saves the day for this one. MVP 06 NCAA Baseball is a good game no matter how you slice it, but there's no sense in buying a game, even for $30, that doesn't deliver an experience better than the prior update to the series. ESPN Integration doesn't interest me, and for those who are intrigued by its prospects, just remember that it's not hugely significant to the gameplay. It's something you can already get on multiple ESPN cable stations and on ESPN.com.

Load and Fire, on the other hand, changes the gameplay experience. It gives you more control over your actions with extremely precise movement. It’ll take weeks to notice all the little nuances of the system. Learning them is akin to the experience of learning to play Tiger Woods’s new system for the first time: it’s exciting, challenging, and allows for so much more depth than button taps.

Gameplay: 8.0
Analog is slowly becoming the control feature of choice among developers. More and more sports games are changing their controls from digital buttons to an analog stick. MVP 06 NCAA Baseball pulls it off with flying colors and fewer fouls. Players will have a whole new world ahead of them as they attempt to master something that could change baseball video games until we’re well into the next generation.

Graphics: 7.5
Not the most eye-popping sports title. Good animation (expected and demanded), readable uniforms (also demanded), moderately detailed, etc. There’s at least one more baseball title on the way this year, but I don’t think we’re going to get much more in the visual department until PlayStation 3 arrives.

Sound: 8.0
The sound in sports games revolves around two things: music and commentary. Anyone can create the sound of a ball hitting a bat. MVP 06 hits a homerun with music by providing around 10 tracks from rock bands you probably haven’t heard but should take notice of: Aiden, Bayside, and more.

On the whole the commentary is good but not hugely exciting. It won’t urge non-believers to take interest in the sport. It’s well spoken, at least 60% accurate (that’s more than most sports games I’ve played), and doesn’t repeat too often. However, it is a little weird hearing it cut out every time you press a button to speed up the game in between actions. As I’m sure you expected, there is also some repetition – the developers would need a year or two (or more!) to weed out that problem.

Difficulty: Medium/Hard
There’s something for everyone with multiple difficulty settings that dramatically change the course of the game. The new control system is easy to utilize but takes some time to master. You’ll start to feel like a pro the minute you score a homerun, but it’ll take a few weeks of practice before you’re able to back up those feelings with consistent scoring.

Concept: 7.5
Nice new features, great new (no-brainer) batting, and various changes made to improve this virtual version of America’s favorite pastime.

Multiplayer: 8.0

Overall: 8.0
A step in the right direction with the help of analog innovation. Load and Fire batting is the first of its kind for a baseball game – you’ll grow to love it regardless of how difficult it seems at first. Aside from that you should feel right at home with the standardized features, enhanced modes, fun mini-games (pitch the ball toward the screen to knock out attached blocks, Tetris-style!), a Dynasty mode that lasts a really long time.