MVP 2005 - A trip back in time

[paulw]

Well, I picked up my copy of MVP 2005 today and loaded it up tonight. What a rush. I felt like I had gone back 5 years in time. Shimmering grass, bad camera angles, no more slow motion replays, crappy player graphics IMHO,..etc., etc.,. I'm not disappointed really - I kind of expected this. They rushed it out and dropped the price. I wonder why 8O

In all seriousness, such great work was done on 2004 with the modding - and it was a pretty good game to start with - that I can now continue playing it and concentrate on more modding with it. I love that game - as Roy Hobbs said in the natural: "There goes the best that ever was". 2005 looks kind of hopeless right now. I'll check back in a month or so.

Put in your 2004 right now and compare. EA downgraded a product again. *Stuff* happens. :roll:

[AlexTony]

Hang in there Paul W! When we first got MVP 2004 last year

we were HHeat die hards. MVP was thought as pretty and

for entertainment eye candy. Then, after a couple months of modding

and trial and error (I sense less time this season) the game

had become many old HHeater's new darling:) A 'Thanks' to EA

and ALL modders!

[paulw]

Thanks for the encouragement, Tony. You and me go back quite a few years with these games. There's just NOTHING I liked about 2005. See ya...

[stecropper]

PaulW,

I have switched back to 2004 several times over the past day and 1/2 just to validate my thoughts about how good it really was. Everytime I switched back I realized that 2004 after all the modding, to me, is probably a superior product.

What I do like in 2005 over 2004 are some of the newer animations and situational AI improvements. I also like the fact that in Dynasty in 2005 you can fully set the batting order and starting pitcher for the opposing Team. But that in itself isn't nearly like being able to control any team during Dynasty mode which is beyond me why a game wouldn't allow that. The additional Stadiums certainly are a + on the side of 2005 as well.

But, I think I am leaning heavily toward forfeiting those few things and returning to 2004. But I will give it time before making a final decision on this.

Here are some the things that I think 2004 is superior to 2005 as it sits today:

1) Graphics are better quality. Deeper, Richer & Smoother.

2) CPU vs CPU games appear to be more realistic. With 2005 I have the sliders for contact and power almost to the Max on Negative and I am still getting games like 12-10 with 14-15 hits per team and 4-5 homers on MVP level. Very few Strikeouts and what appears to be too many walks.

3) Announcers although not really good in 2004 I will cerainly take them over the 2005 version. In 2005 they "Often" say things that are totally incorrect for the situation. Like- with no runners on base "I think I would throw over to first to see if the batter gives away if the bunt's on".

4) I honestly perfer the faces in 2004 to 2005 overall. I do believe many of the players in 2005 look more true to life but there are as many or more that have faces that just don't fit their bodies and just look weird to me.

5) The action on the field appears to be at a more realistic pace (speed) in 2004. Things happen awfully fast in 2005 and sometimes almost too fast to follow fully. This is probably adjustable but I like where 2004 is today much better.

6) I perfer the different types of Body Sizes you can select for creating a player in 2004 and the fact that you can input his exact weight which is reflected in his final appearance. With 2005 you have only 3 Body Types and then you have all those sliders to adjust many different body parts. Personally I just don't like that as much.

7) I know this is "Probably" moddable but I really don't like that Bright Baseball in 2005.

Those are several of my thoughts as of now. Overtime I hope I turn 100% toward being a 2005 died hard fan because then I will be with a game that is better than a pretty darn good one I enjoy right now which is 2004.

[paulw]

Hi - Don. The thing that was so cool in 2003 and 2004 were the slow motion replays. Everything *is* incredibly fast in 2005. I know the modders will get this thing going somewhat, but??????

BTW - the mini-game is beyond description in how stupid it is.

[Kamasutra]

I completely agree with the above posts, although legitimately I really shouldn't because I have yet to test the game myself which I'm in no rush to do.

But I have spoken to several people I truly respect & read countless posts just to figure out what exactly this version brings to the table.. To me it really boils down to simply an upgrade of 04, especially if you consider things like owner mode, a few classic stadiums, hitters eye, mini-games as superfluous or meaningless distractions.

The little tweaks here and there are always nice, but like you said, 04 has been modded to the gills therefore making it a formidable game, superior to 05 as it stands today stock & right off the shelves. The true test is in the next 3-4 months (and 3-4 years it seems) see if the response & mods are as deep & sustained as for 04..

Let me tell you personally since I still play & love 04, I'd be more inclined to do little mods for 04 (since so much is available) rather than start from scratch for 05. That's just me though. I'm also a little lazy & just weary of re-doing stuff that already exists for a near-perfect game.

On top of that since I started playing it on the xbox, I'm compelled to play it on the pc as well & appreciate it all the fabulous mods even more. I don't see myself uninstalling 04 for quite some time.

If there had been MAJOR improvements (see the many wishlists) instead of an upgrade, things might be different. Simply beefing up online play for instance (allow dynasties online...just like an nhl format), that would of made a HUGE difference. That's just an example.

[Sidewinder]

I agree with the above statements for the most part. But, I do like the gameplay tweaks and "choreography" more on 2k5. The pitcher covering 1B and cut off throws to moving players is much appreciated. Also, the lack of hesitations in the animations on certain defensive situations is great too.

But out of the box without all the stadium and uniform mods, the game feels very "vanilla". I play with the Angels most of the time and Angel Stadium looks so plain and boring compared to HaloFans Day Mod last year. That was outstanding and made me want to go play there.

Like some of you stated, I have 2k4 modded to the max and the gameplay tweaked to perfection for me. Or at least as good as it can get playing with the couple of gameplay issues.

One of the things that I found that I really appreciate in 2k5 is by hitting button 8 during gameplay you can bring up the Manager option screen which is more in-depth this year when it comes to roster info without having to access the main menu.

Stealing seems to be much tougher this year too. I had it where it was quite easy with the faster runners in 2k4. DP's are very smooth this year too. So far, I havent seen those funky dropped ball situations around 2B between the SS and 2Bman. For the most part, the gameplay is very tight and what you would expect fom a baseball game. I havent made any tweaks to the gameplay sliders yet. I have played a few games on the Allstar and MVP levels.

The fielding cams are too zoomed in for me though. I would like to have one that is pulled back a little to see more of the field. Not blimp view though. I play with Assisted Fielding on and then I make the throws. Every thing else I do is Manual.

Also, there are some new choices in the option menus, which are nice. There are a couple nice stadium options when choosing one. Grass textures, wind-speed and direction.

I did notice the lack of player body types. And alot of the faces actually look worse than 2k4. Some are better but many are worse.

I honestly think 2k5 will be the better game in the long run once modded like 2k4. The gameplay is no doubt better.

[Kamasutra]

One of the things that I found that I really appreciate in 2k5 is by hitting button 8 during gameplay you can bring up the Manager option screen which is more in-depth this year when it comes to roster info without having to access the main menu.

Now you see, this is a real nice little improvement. Little things like that help the game... Would like people to send some screenies on little interface improvements, that would be cool..

For the most part, the gameplay is very tight and what you would expect fom a baseball game. I havent made any tweaks to the gameplay sliders yet. I have played a few games on the Allstar and MVP levels.

That's also good to know, something I"ve heard again & again, out of the box the game plays pretty well. Add a few choice sliders here & there thanks to the new sliders they added and you have much more tweaked gameplay compared to 04.

Also, there are some new choices in the option menus, which are nice. There are a couple nice stadium options when choosing one. Grass textures, wind-speed and direction.

Nice! You can set wind-speed & direction or these are preset? Didn't know that, in either case, just the wind is a welcome addition ... Again, screenshots please..

I honestly think 2k5 will be the better game in the long run once modded like 2k4. The gameplay is no doubt better.

That's probably true, you've almost convinced me to go buy the game this week. Thanks for the impressions

[Gamingboy]

O PLEASE FOLKS! YOU TALK AS IF 2005 is UNPLAYABLE... There WILL be fixes. Trust me, and besides, you speak as if 2004 had no problems compared to this one.

Well, guess what? I like 2005 better. HA!

(Of course, it DOES kinda help that I don't mind the fuzzy grass as much as the other people.....)

[Kamasutra]

O PLEASE FOLKS! YOU TALK AS IF 2005 is UNPLAYABLE... T)here WILL be fixes.

no one here said it was unplayable, if anything we are weighing how mvp 05 stacks up stock, right off the shelf versus 04 with tons of mods. That's not saying it's unplayable, we're looking at what improvements were made...

And btw, Xbox & PS2 players cannot download fixes... So to them it matters more how the game is off the shelf...