MVP Baseball 2004 is the finest baseball simulation ever made, but it isn't without it's glaring faults.
User Rating: 9 | MVP Baseball 2004 PS2
Not since Bad News Baseball for the NES have I played such a straight up fun baseball game. And while MVP Baseball 2004 doesn't have bunny umpires, Mr. T in the dugout, or baserunners who pass out whenever they get called out, it's still one of the best baseball games ever made. Very few baseball games actually contain the bat-to-ball animation, and the ones that do usually butcher it. But in MVP Baseball 2004, every time you swing the stick, you'll see the ball smash into the lumber, then explode off. Watching this in slow motion just made me smile. It really adds authenticity to the game, and while it sounds minor, you have to see it to really know what I am talking about. Watching a slow mo replay of someone smashing a home run just looks right. And while I'm on the subject of looks, MVP Baseball 2004 is one pretty looking hardball game. There are a ton of unique pitching windups and batting stances, and even some classic stances and deliveries! Because, what fun would it be to play as Babe Ruth if he didn't have his batting stance? Most of the big time MLB players look just like their real life counterparts, and although most of the average players look generic in terms of their faces, their body types and batting stances/pitching motions are authentic. Every single MLB stadium looks great too, as do the classic stadiums. These classic parks even have a sephia like graphical wash over them, so while you're playing, it kinda looks like you're watching an old baseball movie. This PS2 version suffers from some very minor slowdown, especially during the replay transitions, and while this seems to be a huge problem for some people, it didn't really matter to me. Last year, I was really skeptical about MVP 2003's throwing meter, but after playing MVP 2004, I never want to go back to one button throwing. The meter really makes playing defense fun, since if you run the meter up all the way, the odds of a wild throw increase. I play as the defensively rock solid Twins, so this is hardly ever a problem for me. But many times I have played as some real defensive nightmares (Jose Valentin, anyone?), and the meter is different for them. Pitching also uses this type of meter, and again, I'll never go back to the old "point and watch" pitching mechanic. Throwing bad pitches WILL result in some long balls, so you better keep an eye on your pitchers stamina. EA added a ton of new features for MVP 2004, most notably the addition of every MLB teams AA and AAA minor league clubs. Dynasty mode involves picking one MLB team, then managing them, their AA, and their AAA team. Although almost every AA team is filled with generic players, it's still pretty fun to get away from playing as one team all the time and get some AB's in the minor leagues. However, after one year in my Dynasty, everything went downhill. EA couldn't figure out how to faithfully re-create the MLB free agent market, so you will see a bunch of very good to great starting pitchers as free agents at the beginning of a season, while most teams have AA and AAA stiffs on their MLB pitching staffs. I was really put off by how much the Dynasty mode completely falls apart in this game. Another noteworthy addition is online play, which, I'm sad to say, is horrible. There is no way to set your lineup before playing a game, so if you want to use the Red Sox, but you want Schilling to start instead of Pedro, you are out of luck. Also, both players are forced to use the same camera angles and batting/pitching systems. So if you like to keep the strike zone off, but your online opponent wants it on, you're out of luck. Still, if you can put these issues aside, online baseball is just as fun as online football. Sound in a baseball game is usually something that most developers just don't give a crap about. Well, that's not the case with EA. MVP 2004 features some of the best crowd chants in any sports game, from "overrrated" to "you suck A Rod!". Awesome. The various sound effects in the game also sound like they were recorded during a real MLB game. The smack of a 96 MPH fastball hitting the glove, the crack of the bat, and the grunts of the umpires are all very well done, and something that you won't find in any other baseball games. Simply put, if you like baseball games, and can only buy one this year, get MVP. It is far and away the best baseball game this year, and quite possibly the best baseball game of the 128 bit era. 
