Two men. One
bat. One ball. Oversized symbols of America’s favorite pastime litter the
field, from spinning balls to giant hats. Glorious fireworks are set off when
the proper symbol is struck – an occurrence that doesn’t happen very often you
can be sure. Relaxed by the almost childlike scenery, this serves as a buffer
to the excitement and anxiety that is filling your body. You’re waiting
patiently but know that the moment could come at any second. He makes his
move. You hold your position, get ready to swing and—
“Foul!”
No, that
can’t be a foul! I hit that one out of the park! Not really, but my form was
perfect! Let’s try again.
“Foul!”
Okay, now
you’re just embarrassing me. Let’s see how you like it when I’m the pitcher.
“Homerun!”
Just moments
after signing with the MLB, Louis Bedigian announced his retirement…
Destined to
hit homeruns with gamers upon its release, MLB ’06: The Show brings new
features, enhanced gameplay, and a kick-butt soundtrack to the wide world of
baseball. Rex Hudler, Matt Vasgersian and Dave Campbell provide commentary in
a new Three-Man Booth with what the game refers to as “Progressive Broadcast.”
Just how progressive the commentary is will have to wait until the final
version, but thus far it is pretty accurate. It sounds more natural, following
everything that’s going on within the game rather than trying to make
predictions about something that may not come true.
MLB ’06 is
big on game features old and new, the most vaunted being King of the Diamond.
To be King you’ve got to be an expert batter and an expert pitcher. You might
be able to get by with average skills and random pitching, but only if you
dummy down the difficulty by selecting a weak opponent through Quick Game.
The
challenge is appropriate; the objective is simple – outscore your opponent.
Pick two batters and two pitchers to face off in this arcade-style mini-game.
While batting players may guess the pitch by holding down the R2 button and
selecting the pitch you think your opponent will throw. This feature was
introduced in a previous version and is available in the other game modes as
well. It’s tremendously helpful in getting extra points. Guessing the pitch
correctly triggers an icon that shows exactly where the ball will land.
Guessing isn’t easy, but the payoff is great so I still attempt it even when
I’m clueless as to what is going to be thrown next.
Pitching and
batting controls are really easy to learn. Release Point Pitching is typical
among the sports genre: press the X button to start the meter. Press it again
when it reaches the sweet spot, and again to line it up properly. Sounds like
every golf game on the planet, does it not? MLB ’06 takes it one step further
with unique timing and release points for each pitcher. You’re bound to find
similarities due to the limits to how much a meter can be extrapolated. But
I’m already experiencing a greater level of difficulty in having to change my
style, or at the very least my timing, every time I change pitchers.
In addition
to King of the Diamond, Rivalry Mode has also been added. Rivalry lets you set
up multi-game rivalries between several gamers and/or computer-controlled
opponents. Statistics are saved throughout the experience whether playing
online against a real opponent or offline against one that’s purely
artificial.
Another new
feature comes from the game’s Branch Point Technology: multi-branch fielding.
With it you can control any fielder and influence everything that goes on in
the game. You also have full control over the base runners and can influence
their motions with the press of one or two buttons. Effective, simple, and
takes no more than a couple of minutes to learn.
At this
stage in the game the AI is smart, but not too smart. There were times when I
could throw the same pitch three times in a row and my opponent would fall for
it each of the three times. This was not the case with the harder difficulties
(there are four: Rookie, Veteran, All-Star, and Hall of Fame), but there are
still a few tweaks that have to be made. I think most newcomers will start
with Rookie, which could lead them to believe that being cheap makes you a
winner. There’s still time to balance this out, so hopefully, by the time the
game ships, the Rookie difficulty will be easy enough for everyone to access
but smart enough to keep gamers from having repeated success with the same
play.
Due for
release at the start of the new season, MLB ’06: The Show is shaping up to be
the hottest hitter this baseball season. Online play wasn’t available in this
build, but new and enhanced features are already being implemented for the
final version. They include an online news service that updates multiple times
each hour with news, trades and events from 31 different feeds. Gamers will
have access to downloadable rosters, live sports tickers, message boards,
buddy lists, headset functionality, and a chat feature that works with any USB
keyboard (presumably. Though I have yet to encounter any problems, there may
be some USB keyboards that don’t work with PS2). This, of course, in addition
to the plethora of online gameplay features, including King of the Diamond,
Rivalry Mode, and 32-team tournaments.
