News Post

Three Things MVP 05 Still Does Better

05:19 PM - May 7, 2009 by RaychelSnr

MLB 09: The Show has been out for over a month, and many baseball gaming enthusiasts have hailed the game as the best baseball video game ever. As a baseball elitist myself, there is no denying that the game is extremely impressive.

It has been five solid years since I have enjoyed a baseball game as much as this year's iteration of The Show. Because of this enjoyment level, I have found myself glued to my PS3 cultivating my Road to the Show career and running a somewhat successful Detroit Tigers dynasty.

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Game: MLB '09: The ShowReader Score: 9/10 - Vote Now
Platform: PS2 / PS3 / PSPVotes for game: 90 - View All

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# 1 Marinerss @ 05/07/09 05:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MMChrisS


	MLB 09: The Show has been out for over a month, and many baseball gaming enthusiasts have hailed the game as the best baseball video game ever. As a baseball elitist myself, there is no denying that the game is extremely impressive. It has been five solid years since I have enjoyed a baseball game as much as this year's iteration of The Show. Because of this enjoyment level, I have found myself glued to my PS3 cultivating my Road to the Show career and running a somewhat successful Detroit Tigers dynasty. Read More - Three Things MVP 05 Still Does Better

you forgot pitching. pitching in mvp was way better.

but i disagree about hitting. i think hitting is better in 09 show.

# 2 Bumble14 @ 05/07/09 05:41 PM

Trust me, I could have done a 10 things article if I wanted to be nit picky. These 3 were the major issues that had to be touched on.

# 3 moemoe24 @ 05/07/09 05:53 PM

I disagree with all of this except base running. You are right about that, but everything else is better, or at least, just as good. I can hit the ball wherever I want pretty much....without ever touching the right analog stick. I guess you just have know how to do it.

# 4 dckettle @ 05/07/09 06:05 PM

I forgot how much better MVP was in these aspects. Thanks.

# 5 Mo @ 05/07/09 06:13 PM

Totally agree on the running system, I don't why Sony made it so complicated.

# 6 EWRMETS @ 05/07/09 06:14 PM

It's time to put the love for MVP to rest. I can play a completely realistic game in MLB the Show on all star default sliders. In MVP, you had to push the sliders all the way to the right, just to get the CPU to throw strikes.

MLB the Show is the clear, best baseball game of all time. I don't think MVP was even better than World Series Baseball 1998.

# 7 teebee @ 05/07/09 06:21 PM

Disagree with 99.9% of this article, the hitting with the left stick was far and away the worst part of the mvp games, not the best

# 8 bcruise @ 05/07/09 06:22 PM

Nice article. I do agree to a point on batting (though I prefer the unpredictable nature of hitting in the Show) and franchise, but I don't understand what makes the baserunning so much different/better. I just flipped on MVP '06 to compare it to the Show's classic mode (which more closely resembles it, though I prefer "New" myself....)

In both games the bases are represented by the face buttons, and they are used to highlight the runner on those bases for individual movement. They also both use the directional pad to command which base you want the runner to run to - if I press left on the D-Pad in both games, for example my runner will run to third without stopping. The ONLY difference here is that the Show requires you to press both the face button and d-pad button at the same time (you can press/hold face button and press d-pad too), while in MVP you can let off the face buttons. Is that really so much more complicated that it's tougher to learn?

I'll give the stealing nod to MVP and agree with you there because it is easier to select runner, release, press d-pad, WHILE BATTING. Show requires a press of L2 + base icon while batting which is a bit more complicated.

Edit: I'm not including RTTS in this, because I think we all know how we feel about that. I'm only talking about regular mode baserunning.

# 9 gr18 @ 05/07/09 06:28 PM

For us 360 gamers,it's really clearcut that MVP 05 is sadly better than the junk 2k has brought us.So as of now we have to pull out our old xbox to play a good baseball OR football game.It's MVP 05 and 2K5,but there's atleast hope for Madden this year.

# 10 myghty @ 05/07/09 06:40 PM

I agree with the article only on the franchise mode. MLB 09 franchise is plain bad. Just like he pointed out, Team Bus? Aerobics room? Come on, remove this. Plus its hard to navigate through all the menus. They really need to update this & be more interactive. These menus are dull & recycled. Other than that, the game is the best mlb game I've played.

# 11 ryan36 @ 05/07/09 06:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bcruise


	In both games the bases are represented by the face buttons, and they are used to highlight the runner on those bases for individual movement. They also both use the directional pad to command which base you want the runner to run to - if I press left on the D-Pad in both games, for example my runner will run to third without stopping. The ONLY difference here is that the Show requires you to press both the face button and d-pad button at the same time (you can press/hold face button and press d-pad too), while in MVP you can let off the face buttons. Is that really so much more complicated that it's tougher to learn?

Even in classic mode, the baserunning just isn't as responsive to me...in fact the thing that really holds The Show back from MVP is responsiveness. Throws happen 1/2 a second late, switching baserunners happens half a second late, switching fielders happen 1/2 a second late. Maybe a 1/4 second but it's like every time I switch something there's a nanosecond hiccup.

As far as the rest of this, MVP's owner mode did have more financial consequences, but I like The Show's. I guess it just was too hard for me to make money in MVP. I like the show's pitching mechanic better, but the pitches had more life and a more realistic approach. The Show's pitch trajectories remind me of ASB 04 with exaggerated pitching ON. My 2 cents worth

# 12 cactusruss @ 05/07/09 07:06 PM

I haven't played MVP in years, but if I remember correctly, there was one thing that killed an otherwise nearly perfect hitting system in the game... and that was that you couldn't make contact with a pitch that was outside of the strike zone. It absolutely killed everything that was positive about the hitting in MVP.

# 13 moemoe24 @ 05/07/09 07:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by myghty


	I agree with the article only on the franchise mode. MLB 09 franchise is plain bad. Just like he pointed out, Team Bus? Aerobics room? Come on, remove this. Plus its hard to navigate through all the menus. They really need to update this & be more interactive. These menus are dull & recycled. Other than that, the game is the best mlb game I've played.

Wow!!! Are you really trying to convince people MLB 09 has a bad franchise mode because they include a team bus and an aerobics room?? I've seen a lot of goofy posts about The Show but this takes the cake....the franchise mode is bad because they have buses and aerobics rooms..LOL

. Come on man....give me a better reason than that. If you dont want to use them, I understand, I dont either. All you have to do is let the CPU control that aspect of the franchise. Is that really a good reason to call the franchise mode "bad"??

# 14 IgotSyphillis @ 05/07/09 07:28 PM

The problem with MVP's hitting is that one could sit and wait all day with their left analog stick cocked in the upper left position and just wait for a high inside pitch. You would see a high inside pitch pretty much every at bat as there is no AI in the game to alert the computer not thrown high and inside when that is all the hitter is good at. This in turn made it WAY too easy to jack homers and regularly finish with 100 plus homers a year even on the hardest level.

I'm surprised you didnt mention Defense/Throwing in the article. That is the one area where The Show really stinks. The throwing meter when fielding means absolutely nothing. Whether you tap it or hold it down, you unleash a cannon and errors are totally random and dont depend on how long you held down the meter.

# 15 MrNFL_FanIQ @ 05/07/09 07:36 PM

"I still miss Hank Scorpio Field"

EXCELLENT Simpsons reference there.

# 16 mmorg @ 05/07/09 07:39 PM

This is wrong on all accounts. You say you played on a high level of baseball but consider MVP's hitting mechanics and batters eye feature superior to The Show? How do you figure?

I played Semi-Pro and College ball and I never remember the baseball flashing different colors based upon what type of pitch was coming. I also never remember adjusting my swing to hit a fly ball or ground ball. If I wanted a fly ball I looked for a pitch up in the zone, and by swinging at a pitch up in the zone you have a better chance hitting a fly ball because that is how baseball works. This is the way it is in The Show.

MVP was a mediocre baseball game at best though they did do some great things with control schemes.

# 17 SoxFan01605 @ 05/07/09 07:51 PM

I agree with some of this. The actual user control was better in MVP. I don't remember the baserunning system as particularly better than The Show, but I'd agree about the responsiveness to a degree. I think The Show feels more "weighted" in general and less reactive than MVP. I don't find that as a complete negative as some might (MVP had a bit of-GASP!-arcade feel to it

), but I agree that The Show can be frustratingly unresponsive at times.

I'm in complete disagreement with these comments on the influence system, however:

"Complete Batting Failure

My biggest gripe with The Show's hitting system -- and something that makes absolutely no sense to me at all -- is that your fly ball, ground ball, pull and push influence is tied to the right stick. At what point did this decision make sense to SCE Studios San Diego?

This is just another aspect of hitting in The Show that takes control away from the user and creates a disconnect when at the dish. If I am a right-handed hitter and want to dig in to push an inside pitch to the right side of the infield, I should be able to do so. The way the hitting system is currently set up, you would have to guess that the pitch was going to be inside, and then before the pitch is thrown use your right stick to take the ball to the right side of the infield.

Sorry SCE, but that is just silly. I should be able to react to the pitch as it is being thrown to me, and if it is inside, be able to pull my hands closer to my body and push the ball to the right side of the infield."

The influence system in MVP was the primary mechanic of the hitting system. The influence in The Show is simply an aide for situational hitting, primarily. You don't have to hold the stick (eliminating the argument of akwardness) and it's designed to be a pre-pitch influence system (only to suplement the main mechanic). Simply put, of course it won't work if you aren't using it right.

This feat of reacting to the pitch that the writer finds so daunting can easily be accomplished with the L Stick zone hitting controls. I just don't see the logic in comparing a primary feature to a secondary one. This part of the argument for MVP's system is a big stretch IMO.

I guess I could buy the argument of MVP's simplicity being preferable, but that's about the only thing that made sense in this particular portion.

I think the owner mode is being looked through rose-colored glasses as well. You lost the "depth" of owner mode in 2005 if you didn't want to create a stadium. Plus to nitpick on The Show for it's silly things like transportation (which I agree is 100% silly) when in MVP, EVERY team started at the same financial base and the World Champion (at the time) Red Sox had the same fan base as the brand new Nationals. And The Show's finances are screwy?...lol.

The thing is, you could manipulate MVP as much or more than you can The show. If anything, the article points to a hole in most franchise/dynasty modes in console sports titles...finances are weak. Basically it all comes down to winning and there's no urgency to manage money properly.

I do agree about the interface being more clunky in The Show, but as for depth, I've gotta give the edge to The Show. Now, if you want to compare SCEA's franchise to any console game, check out ASB and get back to me.

For me, none of what was listed is so much better than The Show that it makes me miss MVP. I'm sure I'm in the minority on that, and that's fine. The only aspect of The Show's gameplay I get frustrated with as a user is fielding. There are aspects to what was listed that I can see as better in MVP, but not sure about the sum.

Overall, not a bad article. I don't agree 100% (obviously

), but aside from my couple gripes, it was an interesting read.

EDIT: ...and sorry for responding to your article with one of my own...lol...LOOONG winded I am!

# 18 BigWilly @ 05/07/09 07:54 PM

I loved MVP 05. LOVED it. But I stopped playing it after 2 seasons because I was dominating. Even with all the sliders totally jacked against me, I was winning too many games. I haven't played it now in 3-4 years, so I don't even remember the details of what was great about it and what wasn't. But I do remember that eventually it was too easy, and there was no further customization I could do to change it.

Now, having played The Show '08 and '09, what most stands out to me is that I can't possibly imagine ever mastering this game. Meaning I can play it until I'm truly sick and tired of it, rather than bored because of lack of competition.

I think they're both great games. But The Show, for me, has greater replay value because the stats are very accurate and I can't see myself getting to a point where the game is too easy given the inherent difficulty and the ample customization of difficulty level and sliders.

Whether characteristics of one or the other are better or worse? I don't really care. They both play a very realistic feeling game of baseball, and that's all I care about. You can nitpick any game...if there's a feature you don't like, fortunately, there's a good chance you can automate it or turn it off.

# 19 moemoe24 @ 05/07/09 08:04 PM

# 20 SDwinder @ 05/07/09 08:04 PM

Pitch physics are great in The Show, period. The pitching on The Show is far and away the best of any game yet.

Baserunning was outstanding on MVP 05 PC. Very intuitive. Sometimes I wonder if they have a gay lefty programming the controls on The Show. Too creative just to be creative and not enough common sense.

The Batter's eye is not realistic in MVP. They might as well tell you the pitch in big flashing letters. This is simply a game cheat and not part of the sport. It is fine for little kids, but for anyone that has played college and pro ball, you pick up the release point, trajectory, and spin of the ball when batting. The better hitters do this quicker than others. With MVP, you might as well have had the type of pitch flash across the screen during the windup. Same result and NOT realistic. It made hitting too easy on MVP. If the BPI physics are done well enough, you dont need these cheats.

Guess pitch/location is another cheat where you get an added bonus by maybe hitting the ball better. The human batter should be doing this in his own head anyways, and if he guesses right, he is rewarded the way he should be normally. This is where count leverage comes into play. When the batter is ahead in the count, he can sit on a pitch and/or look for a particular location. If he guesses correctly, he will be more apt to square up the ball that much better, just like in real life. Good hitters typically look fastball and adjust off-speed anyways, unless you are facing a Jaime Moyer. This is the way experienced hitters think. The guy that wrote this article lacks these basics from what he wrote.

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