MLB 2006: Hands-on

[Boom]

Source: Gamers.com

It seems like the World Series was just yesterday. With that being said, as the next season quickly approaches and with spring training just around the corner, publishers are readying their baseball videogames, chief among them Sony and developer 989. Last year's MLB 2005 managed to make a good impression amongst fans who thought that their only sound choices were Sega and EA's games, so with MLB 2006, 989's decided to build off last year's game. I recently had a chance to step up to the plate and check it out, and although I got beat pretty bad, it was good times!

By and large, MLB 2006 feels very much like last year's version, so it's not a new game per se, but a pretty good one that's had some new stuff added that enhances the overall experience. On the standard gameplay side of things, 989 has put in place some changes that make things a lot more realistic, and it all begins with the circles that appear underneath outfielders when they're making an attempt on a fly ball. Each of the game's players has stats that relate to how well they field, and the size of the circle is equivalent to the odds that they'll make the play. If there's a small circle, then nine times out of ten you'll probably catch the ball. However, a big circle means the ball could fall anywhere within that area, so it becomes especially difficult to come up with the catch.

This new feature is rather interesting because it further displays the disparity between good and bad teams. In the past I never really had a problem catching the ball no matter who I was playing as, but now I'm seriously going to have to think about who I have on the field, or more importantly, who needs to be traded.

Another neat feature is improved animations and cut scenes. On the gameplay side, you can execute plays in one continuous and fluid set of motions. For example, let's say you're on defense, there's a runner at second, and the batter just popped the ball up into left field. You catch the ball, and instead of that annoying delay where the player acts like a robot waiting for your commands, as soon as you instruct him to fire a bullet to the second basement he'll do it right away. It's a nice little touch.

The cut scenes are also pretty cool. Depending on what you're doing, stealing a base, running to first, or slamming a home run, various scenes will play, so if you get a base hit and reach first base, you might be treated to a clip of your player talking to the team's first base coach.

If you love to immerse yourself in franchise modes, then MLB's won't disappoint. There are a lot of little improvements that 989's made such as re-working the interface, but what I really like is the ability to see what types of players teams are looking for, so if I'm looking to get rid of my short stop, I can check out if another team is in a similar situation. Also, when looking at up and coming players, you can instruct your scouts to look for a specific type of athletes.

Franchise Mode promises to be a rather deep experience, but if you get through it (if), you can also enjoy MLB's Career Mode. As a major league hopeful, you must go to spring training, make the team, and then strategically make the right choices over the course of your career. You can keep your mouth shut and let your skills speak for you, or you can whine like a baby and demand more playing time, or, if you feel it's time to move on, though much like those old school Choose Your Own Adventure Books, it's easy to make the wrong decisions at the wrong times. If you plan things accordingly you may be on your way to the Hall of Fame. Do something stupid, and you'll wind up being just another washed up scrub.

During my brief time with MLB 2006 I tried to represent the tri state area with the Yankees but instead got beat down by the Dodgers, and when I say beat down I mean like I just stole something. I won't disclose the final score (let's just say, someone should've called it on account that I suck), but I definitely had fun despite my offensive and defensive woes. The game's graphics are well done, with good detail on the players, and the stadiums appear to be accurately modeled.

Because of some stiff competition, MLB 2006 might not be the best baseball game of 2005, but it's definitely far from being an awful one. Not only does it feature what appears to be very solid game mechanics, but its player animations and visuals are impressive. If you're chomping at the bit for the baseball season to start, kicking it off by purchasing MLB 2006 would be a wise decision.

[dbdynsty25]

Thanks Boom, but that doesn't really tell us anything that we didn't know. The game has a nice base, and they improved the franchise. I have a feeling this dude rarely plays baseball video games.

[Kazuya]

Thanks Boom, but that doesn't really tell us anything that we didn't know. The game has a nice base, and they improved the franchise. I have a feeling this dude rarely plays baseball video games.

Yes, it has the base of being built on a pillar of shitty MLB games that came before it. You guys are setting up yourself for a big letdown expecting big things out of this game, s*** let 989 make two good games in a row first. I think they put some kind of drug in the band of that free hat that seeped into some peoples' head, for *this* game to be hyped up so early. Yes, MLB 2006 was a decent game -- in a High Heat-less year of gaming where no game stood out, including MLB. Frankly, I wouldn't at all be surprised if they screwed the game back up again.

This is a 989 game -- expect the worst.

[dbdynsty25]

This is a 989 game -- expect the worst.

While that may have been true a few years ago...it seems like 989 is starting to get their sh*t together. I played Gretzky hockey a few times and while it's not as good as ESPN NHL...it's nowhere near as bad as previous FaceOff and NHL games have been.

MLB 2004 was a damn nice start and they improved it in virtually every way in last years version (2005). There were a few key components missing: Check Swings, Walks, and better roster management. If they fix those three things, the game will be on par with High Heat in terms of everything baseball. 2005 was sooooo close...I fully expect 2006 to be the game of choice for those of us who have a PS2 as well as an Xbox.

If not, I've always got my trusty HH2004 on the PC as a backup plan.

[snaz16]

The new fielding circle scares me. I like the idea,but even sh!tty fielders catch routine flies and pop ups. Outfielder errors come mostly on miplayed hits and bad throws,infielders with throws and grounders where the circle isn't going to come into play. if done right ,ok. If not,this could be a gamekiller.

[Kazuya]

I fully expect 2006 to be the game of choice for those of us who have a PS2 as well as an Xbox.

And therein lies the problem... last year the game came out of nowhere, from being a nobody to a player. It caught everybody off guard. This year, some people on this board started hyping the game up in December, as if it was going to be the Winning Eleven of baseball. I've even seen talk of people close to running out and buying PS2's to play this Holy Grail of baseball games. All this because 989 puts out one good (not great) baseball game after spinning out years of crappy ones.
This game can't possibly live up that kind of hype. There are going to be some disappointed people around here. 989 is most likely going to play it safe and just minimally add to the game. People will pop in their games, feel the Deja Vu, and then the disappointment will settle in. Call it Halo Syndrome.
My advice is to make sure you choose a free cap that you really want... that way you're guaranteed to get something out of the game.

[dbdynsty25]

And therein lies the problem... last year the game came out of nowhere, from being a nobody to a player. It caught everybody off guard. This year, some people on this board started hyping the game up in December, as if it was going to be the Winning Eleven of baseball.

Actually, if you do a little research, you'll find that Scoop, Cincy, Jackdog, BK and myself all thought 2005 was going to be the best baseball game last year. Turns out, the hype we had for that game was warranted, and I don't see a problem with doing the same damn thing this year. It was the game of choice for us and we fully expect it to follow suit this year.

[James_E]

I've even seen talk of people close to running out and buying PS2's to play this Holy Grail of baseball games.

FYI if anyone is interested in purchasing my PS2 (non-slim version) mine is for sale. Send me a PM.

[Kazuya]

And therein lies the problem... last year the game came out of nowhere, from being a nobody to a player. It caught everybody off guard. This year, some people on this board started hyping the game up in December, as if it was going to be the Winning Eleven of baseball.

Actually, if you do a little research, you'll find that Scoop, Cincy, Jackdog, BK and myself all thought 2005 was going to be the best baseball game last year. Turns out, the hype we had for that game was warranted, and I don't see a problem with doing the same damn thing this year. It was the game of choice for us and we fully expect it to follow suit this year.

It was probably luck combined with wishful thinking. Every year, I make a fool out of myself saying that "next year" will be the year that NBA Live turns out to be an elite game because the groundwork is there. With MLB, some of you must have lucked up and said this and then it partly happened.
I still have MLB 2004 lying around (guess I couldn't get rid of it), and it's an awful game. The graphics are horrible, there are bugs, and it's an offense fest. Given it's developer, there was no reason to expect it to ever get any better besides wishful thinking.
I do want the game to be good and I'm definitely going to buy it, but I'm trying to moderate my enthusiasm with realistic expectations for the game. I don't expect it to be the best game released this year... I'm going to settle for 989 just not screwing it up.

[Slumberland]

I still have MLB 2004 lying around (guess I couldn't get rid of it), and it's an awful game. The graphics are horrible, there are bugs, and it's an offense fest. Given it's developer, there was no reason to expect it to ever get any better besides wishful thinking.

I believe the excitement for last year's title began when movies of the game in action were released, so it wasn't the completely unfounded phenomenon from left field you'd have us believe.

[Kazuya]

I still have MLB 2004 lying around (guess I couldn't get rid of it), and it's an awful game. The graphics are horrible, there are bugs, and it's an offense fest. Given it's developer, there was no reason to expect it to ever get any better besides wishful thinking.

I believe the excitement for last year's title began when movies of the game in action were released, so it wasn't the completely unfounded phenomenon from left field you'd have us believe.

I have no doubt that the game was anticipated on it's release, but the fact remains that 2004 was not a very good game, and at some point it came out of left field to become apparent that it wasn't.

[vinny-b]

My advice is to make sure you choose a free cap that you really want... that way you're guaranteed to get something out of the game.

my advice is not to buy EA's piece of sh*t.

[GTHobbes]

Boy you're a negative somabitch there kaz.

In any case, I thought 989 took a year off before releasing last year's game. Didn't they skip a year in between 2003 and 2005? Either way, I really liked last year's game and have a pretty good idea of what to expect this year. And that's the best baseball game on the market.

[Leebo33]

I agree with Kaz on this one to a certain degree. MLB was *good* last year, but please don't even mention it in the same sentence as High Heat. I am looking forward to trying it out, but IMO they need to fix some major flaws before it is a great game:

- the fielding was incredibly boring...only slightly better than auto-fielding
- pitching was way too easy even on the hardest level
- it was almost impossible to walk

It usually takes more than one year to fix problems like that. I think there may be are some problems with the core engine that will never get fixed.

That said, I love the concept of the career mode where you play out the portions of the game that you are involved in. I also really like to hit. I probably spent the majority of my time with last year's version just batting for both teams.

I hope I am wrong and the game totally blows me away.

[vinny-b]

I still have MLB 2004 lying around (guess I couldn't get rid of it), and it's an awful game. The graphics are horrible.

2004, or 2005 (last year's version) ?

The 2005 edition had beautiful graphics, and most elite animations ever seen in a console baseball game. Fact. 2006 looks to be even better.

[Kazuya]

Boy you're a negative somab*tch there kaz.

What you call negative, I call realistic. I wish I could close my eyes and pretend the game was perfect last year and that 989 does nothing but roll out gems, but I can't.

In any case, I thought 989 took a year off before releasing last year's game. Didn't they skip a year in between 2003 and 2005?

2003 was the year they took off, although they did release a PS1 version.

[Kazuya]

I still have MLB 2004 lying around (guess I couldn't get rid of it), and it's an awful game. The graphics are horrible.

2004, or 2005 (last year's version) ?

The 2005 edition had beautiful graphics, and most elite animations ever seen in a console baseball game. Fact. 2006 looks to be even better.

No, I was talking about MLB 2004 (released in 2003). 2005 was a great loooking game by any standard and looked better than the Xbox games, IMO.

[webdanzer]

they need to fix some major flaws before it is a great game:

- the fielding was incredibly boring...only slightly better than auto-fielding
- pitching was way too easy even on the hardest level
- it was almost impossible to walk

Amen. I couldn't keep a game where I pitched shutouts every other game on the hardest lvl, and an 'offensive explosion' was the CPU scoring 3 runs.

[Jackdog]

I fully expect 2006 to be the game of choice for those of us who have a PS2 as well as an Xbox.

And therein lies the problem... last year the game came out of nowhere, from being a nobody to a player. It caught everybody off guard. This year, some people on this board started hyping the game up in December, as if it was going to be the Winning Eleven of baseball. I've even seen talk of people close to running out and buying PS2's to play this Holy Grail of baseball games. All this because 989 puts out one good (not great) baseball game after spinning out years of crappy ones.

You sure your not talking about the $hitfest that was EA's Triple Play?

MLB05 is a great game even with it's flaws. As db pointed out if the issues with last years game has been ironed out, this game will be far from a big disappointment. Matter of fact IMO last years game was the Winning Eleven of baseball.

The 2005 edition had beautiful graphics, and most elite animations ever seen in a console baseball game. Fact. 2006 looks to be even better.

Amen to that brother vinny!

[Kazuya]

You sure your not talking about the $hitfest that was EA's Triple Play?

MLB05 is a great game even with it's flaws. As db pointed out if the issues with last years game has been ironed out, this game will be far from a big disappointment.

I haven't really talked about any of the flaws of MLB 2005... they are there, but I thought the game was plenty good. But it was preceeded by a series of mediocre games. I'm sure there are people with boners at 989 right now who are glad they have gotten such unwavering faith after one solid effort.

Matter of fact IMO last years game was the Winning Eleven of baseball.

Can't argue with a man's opinion, but I don't think you are being particularly realistic. Winning Eleven is considered by many to be the finest sports game ever, and is the clear leader of it's genre by both critics and fans. Last year was considered to a more or less three way tie of above average baseball efforts. You'd be hard-pressed to find a review, from a major or any kind of website, that thought MLB had anywhere near WE dominance going on last year.

[GTHobbes]

Kaz I don't care what reviews say, I've played last year's game, thought it was great, and look for this year's game to be even better. The videos I've seen don't give me any reason to think 989 screwed anything up either. This isn't no NCAA2005 we're talking about here.

[Chris_989Sports]

I do want the game to be good and I'm definitely going to buy it...

Thank you. Your support is appreciated.

Chris

[Cincinnati_Kid]

My advice is to make sure you choose a free cap that you really want... that way you're guaranteed to get something out of the game.

my advice is not to buy EA's piece of sh*t.

LOL

mvp < state of emergency

[Kazuya]

This isn't no NCAA2005 we're talking about here.

I agree. NCAA actually has a pretty good history of being good; MLB is a one-hit wonder at this stage.

[Kazuya]

I do want the game to be good and I'm definitely going to buy it...

Thank you. Your support is appreciated.

Chris

No problem man. Keep up the good work.