MVP NCAA Impressions

pigpen81 · Post by **pigpen81** » Wed Jan 18, 2006 10:16 pm

Ok, instead of trying to sift through the review threads, lets have the impressions of the game here.

Doby, I love the sound of your impressions so far. I can't wait to play it.

One question, when you hit a home run is the ball disappearing in the crowd/bleachers or is the ball bouncing around?

Also, how is the HH style zone hitting and in your opinion so far, is Load and Fire have dificult but rewarding to master written all over it.

Ok, another one. How is the hit variety? Are there still a ton of line drive outs byt the CPU?

Thanks

Diablo25 · Post by **Diablo25** » Wed Jan 18, 2006 10:39 pm

pigpen81 wrote:Ok, instead of trying to sift through the review threads, lets have the impressions of the game here.

Doby, I love the sound of your impressions so far. I can't wait to play it.

One question, when you hit a home run is the ball disappearing in the crowd/bleachers or is the ball bouncing around?

Also, how is the HH style zone hitting and in your opinion so far, is Load and Fire have dificult but rewarding to master written all over it.

Ok, another one. How is the hit variety? Are there still a ton of line drive outs byt the CPU?

Thanks

I hit a bomb at my created stadium that rolled up to and hit the field house in right center...450+ feet

. The 2 HRs I hit at Rosenblatt barely made it so I couldn't tell. So far I am really liking the Zone hitting. Its definately no the old style MVP hitting (although that is still in there). The L&F hitting is nice but I only used it for an inning or so...was just too anxious to see if Zone was like High Heat

. I can see L&F being cool. There is definately a learning curve simply because its new. Its all about timing.

The thing I really like about the game are the new and cleaned up animations. Routine plays now have routine play animations. Running now has a much smoother animation. Hit variety has been super so far. I used wooden bats for a bit but the "ping" sound drew me back quicky.

I was also having a problem with Xbox Live so I have yet to see the ESPN integration in action. Man, its a good game. There is a specific animation for when you swing at a ball out of the zone. You will know if you swung at a ball

I'm having more fun with this than any of the other MVP games. I'm using fake names and I have found myself trying to get to know the names and their ratings during the game. I left hot/cold zones on specifically for that. Plus I have their ratings on instead of stats during the game. EA really went all out with this. They have not given up on baseball.

Boltman · Post by **Boltman** » Wed Jan 18, 2006 11:23 pm

Man that pumped me up! I guess I'll be buying this after I return from my sisters wedding in Hawaii during this weekend.

I'll get it for sure, loved MVP last year, look for me online after this upcoming Mon (on Reg X Box live Of Course).

GT is (as always) Boltman35 or my boy SD Kev heh.

Inuyasha · Post by **Inuyasha** » Thu Jan 19, 2006 1:10 am

Diablo25 wrote:
pigpen81 wrote:Ok, instead of trying to sift through the review threads, lets have the impressions of the game here.

Doby, I love the sound of your impressions so far. I can't wait to play it.

One question, when you hit a home run is the ball disappearing in the crowd/bleachers or is the ball bouncing around?

Also, how is the HH style zone hitting and in your opinion so far, is Load and Fire have dificult but rewarding to master written all over it.

Ok, another one. How is the hit variety? Are there still a ton of line drive outs byt the CPU?

Thanks
I hit a bomb at my created stadium that rolled up to and hit the field house in right center...450+ feet . The 2 HRs I hit at Rosenblatt barely made it so I couldn't tell. So far I am really liking the Zone hitting. Its definately no the old style MVP hitting (although that is still in there). The L&F hitting is nice but I only used it for an inning or so...was just too anxious to see if Zone was like High Heat . I can see L&F being cool. There is definately a learning curve simply because its new. Its all about timing.

The thing I really like about the game are the new and cleaned up animations. Routine plays now have routine play animations. Running now has a much smoother animation. Hit variety has been super so far. I used wooden bats for a bit but the "ping" sound drew me back quicky.

I was also having a problem with Xbox Live so I have yet to see the ESPN integration in action. Man, its a good game. There is a specific animation for when you swing at a ball out of the zone. You will know if you swung at a ball I'm having more fun with this than any of the other MVP games. I'm using fake names and I have found myself trying to get to know the names and their ratings during the game. I left hot/cold zones on specifically for that. Plus I have their ratings on instead of stats during the game. EA really went all out with this. They have not given up on baseball.

So is the zone hitting the same and just as good as High Heat's was? I remember on the last ASB they had zone hitting but it was implemented badly.

Bill_Abner · Post by **Bill_Abner** » Thu Jan 19, 2006 1:23 am

I'm liking the sound of it, that's for sure..

10spro · Post by **10spro** » Thu Jan 19, 2006 2:06 am

Here's a review from TeamXbox:

http://reviews.teamxbox.com/xbox/1112/M ... seball/p1/

Diablo25 · Post by **Diablo25** » Thu Jan 19, 2006 2:02 pm

Is the Zone hitting just as good as High Heat...there is no way I could make that judgement after 4-5 games but I am liking it alot. I spent time last night with the pitch sliders trying to get some realistic walks. Walking as a batter is definately possible. There are 2 sliders that come into play with that...CPU Pitch Ball Rate and CPU Pitch Control. I didn't really mess with the Pitch Control Slider but when Pitch Ball Rate is raised the CPU will definately throw balls. Getting walks as a pitcher seems a bit more difficult. I jacked up the Pitch Meter Difficulty slider and it definately made pitching harder. I walked 2 guys in a game. I didn't even mess with the User Pitch Control slider so that could make it even more of a possibility. I really am liking the game alot. The NCAA thing is pretty cool. i like the fact that I'll need to get ot know my players names, strengths and weaknesses if I start a Dynasty. I must go to NJ until Sat morning after work today so I wont get a chance to play until then. Hopefully some more of you guys will have the game by then. Post some impressions!

nyisles16 · Post by **nyisles16** » Thu Jan 19, 2006 2:04 pm

just waiting till the "man in brown" comes to the door.....

bdunn13 · Post by **bdunn13** » Thu Jan 19, 2006 2:22 pm

hulkster29 wrote:just waiting till the "man in brown" comes to the door.....

dale jarrett??

I made a special trip to the mall at lunch and EB did not have any xbox copies that were not preorder and GS did not have working cash registers.... so I have to go back after work.

nyisles16 · Post by **nyisles16** » Thu Jan 19, 2006 2:30 pm

bdunn13 wrote:
hulkster29 wrote:just waiting till the "man in brown" comes to the door.....
dale jarrett??

I made a special trip to the mall at lunch and EB did not have any xbox copies that were not preorder and GS did not have working cash registers.... so I have to go back after work.

lol - that would be classic...

matthewk · Post by **matthewk** » Thu Jan 19, 2006 3:48 pm

I'm going to try and pick this up on my way home from work. Then I'll have to find a way to occupy the kids so I can play it

I'm starting to look forward to this more and more as I think about it. There is a freshness about just using made up names and not worrying about everything being exactly like real life.

Dave · Post by **Dave** » Thu Jan 19, 2006 3:56 pm

Picked up my copy at EB during lunch today. They only received 2 copies of it for XBox, so if this game sells well, it could be tough to find at first.

I'm really excited to try out the new uses for the right analog stick. For as much crap as EA gets for putting out stale rehashes, they've really been an innovator in baseball games, IMO.

Badgun · Post by **Badgun** » Thu Jan 19, 2006 4:01 pm

I was pleasantly surprised with my first game. I suck at hitting with the stick, so I turned it off and went to the Zone hitting and it felt very good. I also didn't care for the throwing with the stick so I changed that back as well. Something I had never liked, however clicked with me. The default pitching view is from behind the pitcher and I had never liked this view before, but I loved it the one game I played with it.

My initial impressions after one game are very good. I love the ESPN integration and though I only played one game and was online for about 30 minutes, the two ESPN Radio updates I heard were different.

The game looks and feels very much like MVP 05, but the college players just make more mistakes than the pros do. In my game I had 4 errors, 2 for me and 2 for the CPU. I don't really care for college baseball on TV, but this game just feels fun. Since I don't know who any of the players are anyway, I just let the CPU give random names and went from there.

Since I don't have to wait on any rosters, I'm going to go ahead and start a season with my Noles and see how it goes.

For those that still have an Xbox and like baseball, this is a no brainer. I probably wouldn't have bought it if it was $50 and I'm guessing EA knows that hence the $30 price tag. Looks to be well worth the money so far.

Diablo25 · Post by **Diablo25** » Thu Jan 19, 2006 4:01 pm

Dave wrote:Picked up my copy at EB during lunch today. They only received 2 copies of it for XBox, so if this game sells well, it could be tough to find at first.

I'm really excited to try out the new uses for the right analog stick. For as much crap as EA gets for putting out stale rehashes, they've really been an innovator in baseball games, IMO.

Very true...I am enjoying the right analog throwing more than the right analog hitting. Zone hitting is the best of the 3 hitting styles IMO.

PadresFan104 · Post by **PadresFan104** » Thu Jan 19, 2006 4:13 pm

Does anyone have impressions of the game on the PS2? Only have a 360, so I'd have dust off the PS2 to play this one...

Al

jLp vAkEr0 · Post by **jLp vAkEr0** » Thu Jan 19, 2006 4:14 pm

Just got off the phone with the EB near the office and they recieved like 7 copies for the Xbox.

No one has bought one yet.

I'll pick it up after work.

Bill_Abner · Post by **Bill_Abner** » Thu Jan 19, 2006 4:39 pm

got mine...daughter has the Xbox ..damn it lol

MUTTS · Post by **MUTTS** » Thu Jan 19, 2006 4:47 pm

Picked up the last Xbox copy at EB games. They had 2 phone calls for it while I was there. For what its worth, I stopped across the street at PKs favorite Walmart to grab some diapers and I noticed they a had a pretty good supply of both PS2 and Xbox versions (I'm surprised Walmart had this title on launch).

Played a game of Georgetown-South Fla. I like zone hitting but I will screw around with load and fire. Game seems fun and dynasty looks enjoyable. Briefly messed around with create a school. Wanted to create Syracuse as they have no baseball team. Unfort, it looks like you are stuck with whatever uniform colors that the different uni styles have. In other words, I found no way to creat a blue-orange uni for Syracuse. Disappointing. Guess I'll likely play as someone else.

Otherwise, no complaints so far.

Tony

grtwhtsk · Post by **grtwhtsk** » Thu Jan 19, 2006 4:51 pm

PadresFan104 wrote:Does anyone have impressions of the game on the PS2? Only have a 360, so I'd have dust off the PS2 to play this one...

Al

Time to dust off mine as well. Now I hope that I can grab a copy today.

snate · Post by **snate** » Thu Jan 19, 2006 4:52 pm

My local EB only received 2 copies and was sold out. Gamestop only got 4 and I got the last one. The store rep told me the reason for so little product was that preorders were so low.

Teal · Post by **Teal** » Thu Jan 19, 2006 6:36 pm

I dickered around with load n fire in one of the mini games, and actually got used to it. I think it may be my default. I'm not too keen on the right stick throwing yet, but haven't spent enough time for it to 'click', so will reserve judgement.

I'm happy with it, very much so. I've been wanting a college baseball game. I love the MLB, and do wish they'd back compat this with MVP 05 so I could draft my seniors, but oh well.

I hope when they are able to do the pros again, that they won't throw out the college game. With bball, football, and baseball, the dynasties from college to the pros would be complete...

Enough talk. Back to the game...

JackB1 · Post by **JackB1** » Thu Jan 19, 2006 6:38 pm

Can't wait to hear your opinion's on this one Bill.
I have one on reserve at my local EB which I will
grab on my way home. I don't really have any
deep feelings for any bb team, so the lack of MB
liscence doen't mean that much to me. I only know
a handful of soccer players, but that doesn't stop my
fun with WE5.

Bill_Abner wrote:got mine...daughter has the Xbox ..damn it lol

JRod · Post by **JRod** » Thu Jan 19, 2006 10:27 pm

JackB1 wrote:Can't wait to hear your opinion's on this one Bill.
I have one on reserve at my local EB which I will
grab on my way home. I don't really have any
deep feelings for any bb team, so the lack of MB
liscence doen't mean that much to me. I only know
a handful of soccer players, but that doesn't stop my
fun with WE5.

Bill_Abner wrote:got mine...daughter has the Xbox ..damn it lol

Jack you still playing WE5 huh? That's dedication.

tjung0831 · Post by **tjung0831** » Thu Jan 19, 2006 10:27 pm

Picked it up tonight..so far so good. I'm not sure it's better than MVP at this point but It's not bad by any means. I've played two games so far on varsity level and only have 5 hits to show for it! I was shutout both games too.

Dave · Post by **Dave** » Thu Jan 19, 2006 10:41 pm

Just finished my first game. Varsity level, IU @ Notre Dame (me). I put their crappiest starter in and went with my "ace." Lost 5-4 in extra innings on a solo shot, they put up 13 hits and I put up 12. Both teams started out on fire offensively, so I thought the final score would end up closer to 10-9 or something.

One thing I like is that there seems to be a real disparity between great, average, and bad players. I had one bench player with both power ratings in the 60s, but none of the other guys had either power or contact ratings above 60. My cleanup hitter was rated above 85 in both categories.

My 2B (#9 hitter) smacked a double to leadoff the 9th on a hanging curve but injured his knee sliding into second, thought that was kind of cool.

I really like the new throwing mechanic. I think it is very smoothly implemented and fun to use. The load & fire hitting takes some adjustments, but I think it has potential. I was terrible at MVP's hitting last year, so I figure I can't be much worse with it. Every once in a while, I'd zone out and not load the swing and end up hitting a weak dribbler or having some goofy late swing and miss.

Thought the atmosphere was much better than the reviews have said it is. The crowd gets relatively loud at the right moments (2 outs, 2 strikes with a man on for example) and the players do act more like college kids than pros.

I'm damn impressed so far.

Digital Sportspage

MVP NCAA Impressions

MVP NCAA Impressions

Re: MVP NCAA Impressions

Re: MVP NCAA Impressions