Major League Baseball 2K6
- April 24, 2006 14:51 PM PST
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2K Sports brings the big game home, but commits a few too many errors to win one for the home team.
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But right below the surface lie numerous annoying elements, all of which drag the fun factor way, way down. It's disappointing, because MLB 2K6 could have been, should have been, something special. And while it's not awful, it's not great either. It's barely good.
Here Comes The Pitch
Let's start with the good stuff. The pitching model is far and away the most entertaining and realistic of all games and of all time. Instead of utilizing a pitching meter or another artificial method of locating and executing pitches, the game uses an ingenious mechanism that made me feel like I was really on the mound of a real-life major league game.
Pitching is a unique three-step process that combines equal parts fast-twitch reflexes, baseball smarts, and confidence. The key concept is that you spot the pitch's "break... point, not its final destination. As an example, if you spot your curve in the bottom left-hand corner of the strike zone, it will likely break down and in, resulting in a low-and-in pitch. Once you spot your break point, you determine how much or how little spin you'll apply to the ball. Finally, you attempt to perfectly time the pitch by clicking the button at just the right moment.
The end result is an unprecedented sense of realism, a greater understanding of how pitchers hang curveballs high in the strike zone, and a greater appreciation for why pitchers predictably throw fastballs on 3-1 and 3-2 counts. The moment you have to choose between successfully spotting a curveball down and outside on a 3-2 count with the bases loaded or a fastball in the same location, it all makes sense.
This is enhanced by an all-new pitcher composure rating that has a direct impact on pitch accuracy. In tense game situations, the icon for spotting pitches bounces around like a jumping bean. The pitcher's composure rating determines how great or how little the jittery effect is. This means that in a pressure situation, aiming with any precision becomes even more complicated - depending on who's on the mound.
Every Player Is The Same
Swinging the bat feels very much like EA Sports' MVP Baseball series. You pull back on the right analog stick to time your step into the swing, and you release the stick to hit a line drive. Alternatively, you can drive the right analog stick forward to hit a fly ball, which is useful in sacrifice fly situations and when you want to try to hit a home run.
The fact that MLB 2K6 forces you to time your step for optimum power isn't a bad idea - winding up your swing at the right time is an important element of baseball. What is a bad idea is that there's only one way to time it properly. The reality is that every MLB player has different timing for their backswing. Why shouldn't the player be allowed to create their own timing? After all, the most important element of a good hack is how smoothly and efficiently you transfer power from your hind foot to your front foot.
And Now For The Bad/Mediocre
While the other major gameplay elements- fielding, graphics, controls -have above average potential, I was often under whelmed with their implementation.
As an example, fielding works in a predictable and fairly straightforward fashion. The ball gets hit, the game gives you control of the appropriate fielder, and you catch/field the ball and throw it to the appropriate base. Sounds good, right? Unfortunately, the controls for moving your fielder around and throwing the ball feel muddy and unresponsive.
Compounding the laggy controls, after playing three or four games, you'll feel like you're seeing the same plays and animations over and over again. During my first four games, I saw infielders make over-the-shoulder pop flies over 20+ times. Additionally, in one game alone, my fielders knocked themselves out by running into the wall three times in one game. (He was okay, thankfully. In the game's defense, fielding does introduce one new and welcome element: players can now run into each other. One a pop fly into shallow right field, you have to make sure you call your teammate off; otherwise they'll collide and possibly injure themselves.)
Visual quality is also hit and miss. At times, the stadiums look positively lifelike. But during the game, the colors and grass appear more cartoon-like than realistic. Even the players' appearances are inconsistent. Let's put it like this: If I were the designer responsible for Roger Clemens' face, I would be worried about running into him.
And then there's the AI, which consistently makes baffling strategic decisions and substitutions. At times, it almost feels as if the game is constantly balancing itself in order to allow you to win. Here's an example: men on second and third, the AI is up by two in the bottom of the eight, and they PITCH to Albert Pujols? (I hit a home run and won by a run.)
Only If You Love Baseball...
I could go on and on. It seems like every single innovation in the game is offset by a flaw. Deep statistics are offset by a clunky interface. A deep career mode is offset by annoying seasonal goals. Hi-res graphics are offset by frame rate issues. Great musics and stadium songs are offset by flimsy on-field sound effects. And so on.
For hardcore baseball fans, the pitching model and the surprisingly robust career mode (including player drafts) will keep you coming back, even if you're not entirely sure you're having a blast.
In reality, it's not like Xbox and Xbox 360 fans have any other choice. Because of Take 2's exclusive license with Major League Baseball, this is the only official baseball game that will be released this year. For what it's worth, MLB 2K6 is an amazing foundation, and if Visual Concepts is able to improve the gameplay across the board, Take 2 will have a classic, best-of-all-time game on their hands in 2007.
