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State of the Union: Baseball Video Games

Cepedachronicles_tiny by oooreebay on

The beginning of February is when my wallet starts it's leather cringe as my thoughts turn towards the annual baseball video game purchase. This annual ritual had been quite joyous in the past, but nowadays it seems like I am just laying down the money out of habit. I'm not nearly as amped about picking up the "exclusive" title as I once had been.

As a 30 year-old long-time baseball video game player, I am quite frustrated by the lack of an "it" title. Baseball gamers have no Madden series to lean on...that is, a game that everyone buys every year that is the undisputed champion across all platforms. I have been waiting for the last 7-8 years for a game that I couldn't set down, a game that I could recommend to other completely.

If you beg to differ, allow me to provide a bit of background.

The Nintendo/SNES/Genesis Years
I believe that RBI Baseball (NES) was the first game I owned, followed by the Bases Loaded series, and then Baseball Stars. As the years went on, I acquired a Sega Genesis and started to get in to the World Series Baseball and Sportstalk Baseball games, neither of which completely engulfed me like Baseball Stars did. Regardless of what new release came out for the latest next-gen system, my friends and I always gravitated back to Baseball Stars for the original Nintendo.

The Playstation 1 and 2 Years
Then came the Playstation 1/2 years, when EA put out a very solid Triple Play game every spring. The improvements year after year were pretty impressive, and I was an annual customer without a second thought. The last game I bought for the PS2 was MLB: The Show, which was a fantastic game that I still play from time to time. It is a much simpler game than many of the next-gen release, with it's simple user interface and Now that we are in the PS3/XBox 360 era, the graphics are getting ridiculous. Looking at re-release screenshots puts me in an art appreciation mode. When the argument used to be, "Kent Hrbek looks exactly like Gary Gaetti - how weak", it has evolved into..."OMFG, Jose Reyes' forearm tattoo is of a RIGHT-facing dragon, not a left-facing dragon - bush league".

The PS3/XBox 360 Era
Now that 2K Sports has the exclusivity rights to MLB, I am becoming increasingly impatient, constantly waiting for that flawless grand slam release. EA Sports now produces an NCAA baseball game, but I'm not drawn to that, as my heart lies with MLB for better or for worse.

Things I love about MLB 2K7:

  • Umm, the graphics.
  • Jon Miller's broadcast is top-notch. Very fews audio boo-boos.
  • In-season options: TONS of them, calling up guys from as far down as AA, and many of them are actual prospects. I'd like to see ALL of them be actual prospects some day. I'd rather call up Tim Lincecum than have to create him.
  • Having the catcher call the pitch and give me a target: So badass.
  • Managing warm-ups in the bullpen
  • Getting your manager tossed for arguing with blue
    • My main beefs with MLB 2K7:
  • Way too many homeruns for guys who average 20+/season, no pop at all for guys who average 10/season.
  • Very little variety in the grounders/flyballs hit. It seems like I know exactly where every ball hit by Omar Vizquel is going. It's either a grounder to 2B/SS, or a shallow flyball. Guys with no power are no capable of extra base hits it seems, even when you guess the pitcher's pitch. This sucks the replay value right out of a game faster than you can say TINSTAAPP.
  • No view of stadium backdrops on balls hit to the outfield, thanks to a low camera angle. This is what makes playing in each "life-like" stadium so unique, yet the only shot we are treated to is that of the outfielder approaching the fence. Web Gems be damned...I want to see how far that ball went! Did I make it into the Cove, or just the arcade? Also, don't just tell me it's foul, give me live visual proof!
  • The controller shaking like crazy with the pitcher's heartbeat in a tight situation (and the cursor going friggin berserk the whole time): This makes it absolutely impossible to throw a damn strike - need to shut this option off, especially when playing against a friend. This is complete bullshit. Do I sound grizzled here?
  • Too many Web Gems...any low hit liner is going to be caught, and it gets ridiculous after a few games. Any HR hit just over the fence is going to be coming back when playing the CPU.
    • Summary (?)

    Graphics and MLB rights be damned, Baseball Stars (and Baseball Stars II) are still the most
    enjoyable physics engines to date and the gold standard for the unpredictability a baseball game
    should showcase.

    If you are a baseball gamer, what are your thoughts on the current offerings?

    1. What is your favorite baseball game of all time?
    2. What is lacking from to make the "Madden" for our beloved baseball?

    This FanPost is reader-generated, and it does not necessarily reflect the views of McCovey Chronicles. If the author uses filler to achieve the minimum word requirement, a moderator may edit the FanPost for his or her own amusement.

    0 recs | Comment 69 comments

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    Re: State of the Union: Baseball Video Games
    Atari Baseball was dope.  I could beat all of my cousins.  But then dad would come home & just hit homerun after homerun.  He was like that.  He'd never 'let me win'.  To this day I still have to watch for elbows in the gut when he posts up down low.  A little off-topic.

    by ResDog on Jan 22, 2008 9:20 AM PST   0 recs

    Re: State of the Union: Baseball Video Games
    I never had a console so the shitty EA Sports MVP Baseball 2005 for the PC is good enough for me.

    I could sell my copy on ebay for like 90 bucks now.

    Pedro Feliz: Marginally better this year.

    by SloIsLonelyForTheOrange on Jan 22, 2008 9:34 AM PST   0 recs

    Re: State of the Union: Baseball Video Games
    There is nothing shitty about MVP 2005.  I love that game. Jon Dowd is the man.

    by KCE on Jan 22, 2008 9:36 AM PST to parent up   0 recs

    Re: State of the Union: Baseball Video Games
    Shitty was maybe too harsh.  It's just really outdated and Krukow gets really annoying.

    My opinion of the game better reflects my frustration for a lack of PC Baseball games.

    Pedro Feliz: Marginally better this year.

    by SloIsLonelyForTheOrange on Jan 22, 2008 9:40 AM PST to parent up   0 recs

    Re: State of the Union: Baseball Video Games
    The beauty of having the PC version is that you can update MVP 05 to your liking so it stays current. Can't do anything about Kruk's banter though.
    Nattowear | comics | Durham? I hardly know 'im!

    by Natto on Jan 22, 2008 10:07 AM PST to parent up   0 recs

    Re: State of the Union: Baseball Video Games
    very true, though Vista really super does not approve of those types of shenanigans.  It didn't work when I tried.
    Pedro Feliz: Marginally better this year.

    by SloIsLonelyForTheOrange on Jan 22, 2008 10:21 AM PST to parent up   0 recs

    Re: State of the Union: Baseball Video Games
    I have Vista and it's working fine. At least Dynasty Mode is, which is all that really matters.
    Nattowear | comics | Durham? I hardly know 'im!

    by Natto on Jan 22, 2008 10:35 AM PST to parent up   0 recs

    Re: State of the Union: Baseball Video Games
    Is anyone else really bothered that when you end your dynasty after 120 seasons it just says game over. Couldn't they have at least summarized your stats, compared you to Jon McGraw or even just shown some retarded video clip?

    by Scottsdale on Jan 22, 2008 1:22 PM PST to parent up   0 recs

    Re: State of the Union: Baseball Video Games
    I've never played that many seasons, so I wouldn't know. Wow. 120 seasons.
    Nattowear | comics | Durham? I hardly know 'im!

    by Natto on Jan 22, 2008 3:36 PM PST to parent up   0 recs

    Re: State of the Union: Baseball Video Games
    Well I am fairly illiterate when it comes to Vista.  I knew my way around XP pretty well, but Vista just pisses me off.  I can't even print pictures simply any longer.
    Pedro Feliz: Marginally better this year.

    by SloIsLonelyForTheOrange on Jan 22, 2008 1:29 PM PST to parent up   0 recs

    Re: State of the Union: Baseball Video Games
    Really? I find Vista to be nearly identical to XP, except with a prettier skin and gadgets. I guess I don't do anything very dramatic with Windows, but it seems pretty darn similar to me.
    He is Vengeance. He is the Knight. He is Dave Righetti. PRAY TO HIM!

    by howtheyscored on Jan 22, 2008 1:52 PM PST to parent up   0 recs

    Re: State of the Union: Baseball Video Games
    Vista is a weird OS. They've done some great things with it and some things horribly wrong. I've made my peace with it though.
    Nattowear | comics | Durham? I hardly know 'im!

    by Natto on Jan 22, 2008 3:42 PM PST to parent up   0 recs

    Re: State of the Union: Baseball Video Games
    I swear to god someone is going to die the next time this computer asks me if I really do actually want to run this executable file!

    It's quirky, prohibitive and not really revolutionary enough to make a difference.

    Pedro Feliz: Marginally better this year.

    by SloIsLonelyForTheOrange on Jan 23, 2008 6:58 PM PST to parent up   0 recs

    Re: State of the Union: Baseball Video Games
    Oh yeah, that part was really annoying for a while. Now it's all just insignificant white noise to me.

    But it is ridiculous.

    He is Vengeance. He is the Knight. He is Dave Righetti. PRAY TO HIM!

    by howtheyscored on Jan 23, 2008 7:07 PM PST to parent up   0 recs

    Re: State of the Union: Baseball Video Games
    I can understand their reasoning behind implementing that. It's security for those who are less than computer savvy or maybe those more paranoid types. OS X has a similar thing where you have to input your password whenever you want to install something. But yeah, that's one of the first things I disabled when I started using Vista.
    Nattowear | comics | Durham? I hardly know 'im!

    by Natto on Jan 23, 2008 9:26 PM PST to parent up   0 recs

    Re: State of the Union: Baseball Video Games
    I still bust out MVP 2005 on the PC once in a while - that is/was a fun game.

    Haven't played a game on a console since Sports Talk Baseball on Genesis, though.  

    by KCE on Jan 22, 2008 9:35 AM PST   0 recs

    Re: State of the Union: Baseball Video Games
    No doubt. Favorite game of all time. RBI Baseball for Ninetendo. Nothing beats two buttons, and  my beloved Giants 87' lineup with hackman, The Thrill etc.

    And who can forget the music: Dun Dun Dun Dun, De Dun Dun Dun , De Dun Dun .

    Second baseball stars. Way ahead of its time with the way you could create players and improve their attributes.

    Your 2010 NL rookie of the year,... Andy D'alessio

    by ramirez415 on Jan 22, 2008 9:37 AM PST   0 recs

    Re: State of the Union: Baseball Video Games
    As far as newer games.

    PS1 has a awesome game when it first came out. I think it was called Hardball. Then I got into the Triple Play games, they where done very well.And like you did, I thought MLB The Show 06' was a great game too.

    But again nothing beast RBI and Baseball stars. I need to get my hands on a NES so I can play those and Tecmo SuperBowl

    Your 2010 NL rookie of the year,... Andy D'alessio

    by ramirez415 on Jan 22, 2008 9:41 AM PST to parent up   0 recs

    Re: State of the Union: Baseball Video Games
    Or, just get a Wii and buy them on the virtual console!

    Every one of these games is available (I believe), as well as other classics from Mario and Zelda, to Sonic and Ecco, to Hockey and <other classic>!

    He is Vengeance. He is the Knight. He is Dave Righetti. PRAY TO HIM!

    by howtheyscored on Jan 22, 2008 2:52 PM PST to parent up   0 recs

    Re: State of the Union: Baseball Video Games
    Harry Spilman was good for a late inning homer on RBI. And Big Daddy's drop ball was unhittable (until he got tired).

    by Goat on Jan 22, 2008 2:46 PM PST to parent up   0 recs

    Re: State of the Union: Baseball Video Games
    earl weaver baseball for the pc...so far advanced stats-wise for its time it makes me giddy thinking about it
    thank god the patriots dont have the giants' first round pick too

    by son of riles on Jan 22, 2008 9:47 AM PST   0 recs

    Re: State of the Union: Baseball Video Games
    Aw man. Earl Weaver Baseball was amazing for its time. My uncle used to have this on PC when I was a kid and it blew me away. Took 15+ years for games to catch up.

    by Birdman on Jan 23, 2008 12:06 AM PST to parent up   0 recs

    Re: State of the Union: Baseball Video Games
    ebay has cheap nes systems and games
    thank god the patriots dont have the giants' first round pick too

    by son of riles on Jan 22, 2008 10:30 AM PST   0 recs

    Re: State of the Union: Baseball Video Games
    I feel you on your idea of no "it" game. In a perfect world, there would be a game that blended the presentation and depth of the 2K series with the gameplay of the MVP series. I still play MLB 2K5 and MVP 05 on occasion, mostly the latter since I can update that. The one thing about the 2K series that bugs the heck out of me is that every batting motion looks the same, no matter what the batting stance is. It's really disorienting.

    Baseball Mogul deserves a mention, although there isn't really much in terms of gameplay. I've spent many late hours playing with that thing though.

    Nattowear | comics | Durham? I hardly know 'im!

    by Natto on Jan 22, 2008 10:34 AM PST   0 recs

    Re: State of the Union: Baseball Video Games
    Ditto to the Baseball Mogul mention. The graphic based games consistently fail to draw me in - Baseball Mogul has kept my attention for 5+ years, and I don't think it'll get old any time soon.
    I'm as tall as Mel - why can't I hit 500 home runs?

    by Ott on Jan 22, 2008 10:44 AM PST to parent up   0 recs

    Re: State of the Union: Baseball Video Games
    I'm DEFINITELY going to buy BM08 today (looks so amazing), but should I buy the download and get it today or buy the disc and get it 4-7 days from now?

    Is there some way to reload the dl for free if I ever remove it from my computer? If not, I better just get the disc and play sims or KOTOR2 in the meantime.

    He is Vengeance. He is the Knight. He is Dave Righetti. PRAY TO HIM!

    by howtheyscored on Jan 22, 2008 2:41 PM PST to parent up   0 recs

    Re: State of the Union: Baseball Video Games
    So apparently the word "definitely" has no meaning anymore.

    I think I'm going to wait for BM09. I'm a sucker for updated junk and stuff. Unless there's a good reason to just go for the 08 version right now, 3 months doesn't seem a long time to wait for the most up to date, comprehensive baseball game ever.

    He is Vengeance. He is the Knight. He is Dave Righetti. PRAY TO HIM!

    by howtheyscored on Jan 22, 2008 4:39 PM PST to parent up   0 recs

    Re: State of the Union: Baseball Video Games
    For only $20-25 bucks, BM is consistently one of the best buys I make any given year, and I do buy it every year.

    I think it's worth the money to buy it now, but I can sympathize with those that want to wait a couple of months for the new version. It's only going to get better, after all.

    I'm as tall as Mel - why can't I hit 500 home runs?

    by Ott on Jan 22, 2008 7:39 PM PST to parent up   0 recs

    I wouldn't worry about it...
    I'll buy the new one when it comes out, but I'll download HoustonGM's rosters once they come out.  The rosters that are default can be screwy and not include some players.  It's fun to see what you can get players to develop into.  I've had Rich Aurilia become an amazing player... .340 AVG and 50 HR seasons.  For those of you familiar with the ratings, I had him at 100/100, first time I've ever seen that.
    Coming to you from the Land of Many Beers

    by WalrusMan on Jan 22, 2008 11:19 PM PST to parent up   0 recs

    Re: State of the Union: Baseball Video Games
    If there's one reasn why Baseball Mogul Rocks: This is one of five sample images they use on their site!

    Sorry for the size, everybody. I could't scale it down anymore with my nifty html and still have it be remotely legible.

    He is Vengeance. He is the Knight. He is Dave Righetti. PRAY TO HIM!

    by howtheyscored on Jan 22, 2008 2:49 PM PST to parent up   0 recs

    Re: State of the Union: Baseball Video Games
    Hey, that's the same record Lowry had in 2010!
    Nattowear | comics | Durham? I hardly know 'im!

    by Natto on Jan 22, 2008 5:07 PM PST to parent up   0 recs

    Re: State of the Union: Baseball Video Games
    So what are you guys smoking when you get these results?
    "I think I'd trust Amy Winehouse to guard my bag of coke before I'd trust Sabes to build my offense." -Dan Szymborski, Baseball Think Factory

    by Lyle on Jan 23, 2008 3:02 AM PST to parent up   0 recs

    Re: State of the Union: Baseball Video Games
    A .580 winning percentage and we finished Third in the West! What a waste of a Cy Young year!
    He is Vengeance. He is the Knight. He is Dave Righetti. PRAY TO HIM!

    by howtheyscored on Jan 22, 2008 5:25 PM PST to parent up   0 recs

    Re: State of the Union: Baseball Video Games
    Just curious: Has anyone with Mozilla noticed this site's favicon, or is it too small to distinguish?

    by Grant on Jan 22, 2008 10:40 AM PST   0 recs

    Re: State of the Union: Baseball Video Games
    I can see it, it is hard to distinguish, but I can see something.  Looks like home plate, maybe?
    Adopted Giant Brian Wilson: Your 2008 closer.

    by sfgreg on Jan 22, 2008 11:02 AM PST to parent up   0 recs

    Re: State of the Union: Baseball Video Games
    it's the green and brown blob i associate with this site.  I guess its a batter at the plate, but I miss the reference.

    by kennv on Jan 22, 2008 12:15 PM PST to parent up   0 recs

    Re: State of the Union: Baseball Video Games
    Yep,
    Silhouette of a batter mid swing...
    As long as there is one I don't really care what it is, I just have having a bunch of blank page icons on my bookmark bar.

    by Scottsdale on Jan 22, 2008 1:26 PM PST to parent up   0 recs

    Noticed it..
    Yea, can't tell what it is though.
    Coming to you from the Land of Many Beers

    by WalrusMan on Jan 22, 2008 2:36 PM PST to parent up   0 recs

    Re: Noticed it..
    I was scared y'all would say that....

    It's a tiny piece of a Baseball Stars screenshot. I was so proud of it when I made it, but I realized that it was almost totally unidentifiable.

    by Grant on Jan 22, 2008 3:37 PM PST to parent up   0 recs

    Ahhhh
    I've been wondering what that was. I've never played Baseball Stars though.
    Nattowear | comics | Durham? I hardly know 'im!

    by Natto on Jan 22, 2008 3:40 PM PST to parent up   0 recs

    Re: Noticed it..
    I can make it out fine with IE. Still small, but obviously a lefty batting, mid-swing.
    He is Vengeance. He is the Knight. He is Dave Righetti. PRAY TO HIM!

    by howtheyscored on Jan 22, 2008 3:48 PM PST to parent up   0 recs

    Re: Noticed it..
    It's small with firefox, but obviously a batter from the Ninja Blacksox.

    And yes, Baseball Stars is the best baseball game ever. I used to wake up on a summer day and look at the box score in the newspaper to make sure lineups of my six created teams (usually Giants Dodgers, Cubs, Royals, Yankees, Twins) were accurate.

    On a side note, the only game that could rival Baseball Stars for me was Dusty Diamonds All-Star Softball. Anybody play that? Loved how you could draft a team from the crazy characters available who all had different skills.

    by Birdman on Jan 22, 2008 11:56 PM PST to parent up   0 recs

    Re: State of the Union: Baseball Video Games
    MLB 07 The Show is an excellent game that I keep playing. Very realistic as far as attributes, and the amount of home runs hit on both sides. I would imagine they will be making a better game than 2ksports again this year.

    by KCDrummer82 on Jan 22, 2008 10:50 AM PST   0 recs

    Re: State of the Union: Baseball Video Games
    I've been playing Power Pros on the Wii.  Aside from the horrible voice acting by the announcers (mispronouncing just about every name), it's actually quite good and deep.  The players are Wii-ified, but still look pretty recognizable.
    Tim Flannery? More like Tim Flattery!

    by pme on Jan 22, 2008 11:06 AM PST   0 recs

    Re: State of the Union: Baseball Video Games
    Actually, the players are exactly how they should be based on the Japanese arcade game they've been ported from!
    He is Vengeance. He is the Knight. He is Dave Righetti. PRAY TO HIM!

    by howtheyscored on Jan 22, 2008 12:17 PM PST to parent up   0 recs

    Re: State of the Union: Baseball Video Games
    The console games don't offer much, but I have heard good things on power pros.

    MVP 2005 with Pujols on the cover was my favorite. Between that and Ken Griffey on N64 those are the only games where Ive finished the entire 162 game season playing all the games and winning the world series

    Frandsen for 3B (til July 08)

    by NeifiChicken on Jan 22, 2008 11:44 AM PST   0 recs

    Re: State of the Union: Baseball Video Games
    My biggest beef with games is I never can walk enough or give up enough walks. It's just far too easy to have pinpoint control.

    MVP was one of the best, with more fine tuned animation and the imrpovement of certain statistical  adjustments I think that could be perfect

    Frandsen for 3B (til July 08)

    by NeifiChicken on Jan 22, 2008 11:51 AM PST   0 recs

    Re: State of the Union: Baseball Video Games
    MVP 2005. Mvpmods.com (already mentioned) cohesively updates the game every year. The '07 incarnation was fantastic. The game has held up very well with all the updates, and it seems like they're able to improve more and more each year.

    by MidKnight on Jan 22, 2008 11:56 AM PST   0 recs

    Re: State of the Union: Baseball Video Games
    I'm a huge fan of the MVP series, and was really depressed when they stopped making MLB ones.  What I loved was that the salary was realistic, and the way players' attributes were rated seem perfect as compared to The Show's.

    I've become a MLB: The Show fan with MVP out of the way, and it's not too bad.  A lot of the pitching and hitting motions are very realistic (except a simple windup manages to somehow look retarded) and the gameplay is pretty fun.  The Career Mode can be very addicting.

    Brian Anderson: I can has spot in Fresno 'pen?

    by Anticon23 on Jan 22, 2008 11:58 AM PST   0 recs

    Re: State of the Union: Baseball Video Games
    Well, semi-realistic. I was able to sign Johan Santana as a free agent going into the 2006 season...

    It's realistic for free agents. I still have yet to encounter a game which is realistic for pre-FA salary structure.

    by PaulThomas on Jan 22, 2008 12:42 PM PST to parent up   0 recs

    Re: State of the Union: Baseball Video Games
    Hasn't been the same since the High Heat games.  sigh

    by DaStick on Jan 22, 2008 4:48 PM PST   0 recs

    Re: State of the Union: Baseball Video Games
    First there was Intellivision baseball.
    Then, a series of nondescript games for Nintendo, Sega, Genesis.
    Finally- High Heat baseball-- a game play masterpiece.
    And lately, the Bigs. Awesome baseball vid.
    Defender of Noah Lowry.

    by Kid Fresh on Jan 22, 2008 5:47 PM PST   0 recs

    Re: State of the Union: Baseball Video Games
    The Bigs is pretty fun. Too bad Damon Bruce does the play by play.
    Nattowear | comics | Durham? I hardly know 'im!

    by Natto on Jan 22, 2008 5:57 PM PST to parent up   0 recs

    I just picked up..
    30 Intellivision games for Playstation and the Baseball game is on there so I'll get back to you on that.
    Coming to you from the Land of Many Beers

    by WalrusMan on Jan 22, 2008 11:15 PM PST to parent up   0 recs

    Re: State of the Union: Baseball Video Games
    Glad to see someone else remembers High Heat.  The only baseball game I have in Sammy Sosa High Heat Baseball 2001.  It runs under XP with the patch (although the sound is a bit garbled), and I've never played another game that approached it.  Not too cartoony, not too much thumb jockeying, and a lot of options for controls.

    There was once a very active modding community, so there were all sorts of classic and fantasy teams, stadiums, uniforms, etc.  I made a 1954 roster, and have played many enjoyable games with that, and never finished all the stadiums for a 1977 roster (although I ended up with all the various dayglo unis).

    Before that, I have to go with HardBall 5 (or 6, can't remember the last one). I enjoyed the original EA baseball game for the Sega when it came out although it looks about like the HardBall game Fred Savage plays on the Nintendo at the beginning of the Princess Bride.

    BB

    All those Giants fans down in Giants land love that Crazy Crab!

    by BlackDougal on Jan 22, 2008 5:48 PM PST   0 recs

    Re: State of the Union: Baseball Video Games
    I will never quit playing Ken Griffey Jr. Presents Major League Baseball on the SNES ('94 season).  The other game I have is All-Star Baseball 2003.  It's buggy and outdated, but I still play the expansion mode regularly.  That will soon become obsolete when I buy MLB 2k8 this year.  I played Slugfest 2004 the other day, and it's fun, but not realistic at all.  Gotta love being able to punch other players, though.  
    "Just another ahahahaha... laugher."

    by capnk on Jan 22, 2008 8:11 PM PST   0 recs

    Re: State of the Union: Baseball Video Games
    I liked the career mode in MLB 07: The Show last year. I really suck at hitting in baseball video games and I like to just pitch, so I got to do that (and rack up ridiculous numbers). The only problem was that my manager always took me out in the 7th inning on if I gave up a single baserunner.
    Matt Cain: He'll save children, but not the Dodger children.

    by jponry on Jan 23, 2008 1:15 AM PST   0 recs

    Re: State of the Union: Baseball Video Games
    Why are you letting Felipe manage your team?
    "I think I'd trust Amy Winehouse to guard my bag of coke before I'd trust Sabes to build my offense." -Dan Szymborski, Baseball Think Factory

    by Lyle on Jan 23, 2008 3:06 AM PST to parent up   0 recs

    Re: State of the Union: Baseball Video Games
    No love for APBA baseball?  Still, imo, the most interesting of the baseball sims.  I love MVP baseball for PC and wish that for the first time since who knows when, they will put out a new PC baseball game.

    APBA suffers from a high cost.  $20 a season is just ridiculous.

    by positiveuphemism on Jan 23, 2008 10:16 AM PST   0 recs

    Re: State of the Union: Baseball Video Games
    MLB Slugfest '03 is fun for one reason: you can beat the holy hell out guys like Speizio and Erstad!

    by BuffyLaCoss on Jan 23, 2008 12:00 PM PST   0 recs

    Re: State of the Union: Baseball Video Games
    Did anyone here play Super Action Baseball on the ColecoVision?  What was cool about that game were these specialized controllers that came with it.  Some people didn't like them, and I'll admit that their build quality wasn't the best, but I loved them.  You had a trigger for each finger, plus a joystick, keypad and two-directional wheel.  I thought it was awesome.

    A long time ago, in a galaxy not so far away, my brother had a Radio Shack TRS-80 computer, and he wrote a baseball game for it, called Knuckle Ball.  You'd enter your lineups and some basic stats, and then you'd see the "field" - foul lines made of colons, little stick-figure infielders/pitcher/batter, and these enormous bases, plus a bat that was three times bigger than the batter.

    He'd do the actual programming, but I'd feed him ideas.  Our game had rain delays in it.  You could make your little stick figure manager walk to the mound and chew out the pitcher, and if you did that twice, you'd have to remove him, just like the rule says.  Our game even had beanball wars - if the batter got hit by a pitch, there'd be a 25% chance he'd run to the mound and start a fight.  The little stick figure infielders would race to the mound and this huge clusterfuck of pixels would occur.  We even added Batman-style visual cues - POW! BANG! SMACK! and such.  Then when it was over, each team would have a player or manager ejected and you'd have to replace them.

    The first time we had a fight in a real game, we laughed our holy asses off.

    Bochy: grounded until he stops hitting and running with slow runners and crappy hitters

    by Stuttering John Tamargo on Jan 23, 2008 12:22 PM PST   0 recs

    Re: State of the Union: Baseball Video Games
    I now must play that game you and your brother made.
    He is Vengeance. He is the Knight. He is Dave Righetti. PRAY TO HIM!

    by howtheyscored on Jan 23, 2008 12:32 PM PST to parent up   0 recs

    Re: State of the Union: Baseball Video Games
    is there a website we all might access to play said game?
    thank god the patriots dont have the giants' first round pick too

    by son of riles on Jan 23, 2008 12:42 PM PST   0 recs

    Re: State of the Union: Baseball Video Games
    Itoo must play said game. Anything to kill more time at work.
    Your 2010 NL rookie of the year,... Andy D'alessio

    by ramirez415 on Jan 23, 2008 12:54 PM PST to parent up   0 recs

    Re: State of the Union: Baseball Video Games
    This has been very enlightening, but can somebody set up a poll to reach a consensus of the best game(s)?

    by marklar on Jan 23, 2008 2:29 PM PST   0 recs

    Re: State of the Union: Baseball Video Games
    What, no mention of Sierra's Front Page Sports 1994? or 1996? Those games were fanastic, and one of the first true baseball sims. Realistic stat ratings (endorsed by Stats Inc!) and terrific, deep gameplay.

    I played the hell out of the FP series when I was around 12-14 years old.

    I've also been a big fan of

    • High Heat Baseball on the PC, they were some of the best PC baseball games, next to Sierra's Front Page Sports stuff.
    • MVP 05, like a lot of people, I was saddened that this series died when it lost the MLB rights. One of the more playable baseball sims, deep pitching system, great fielding and base running, and pretty good hitting. More games should be like this.
    • Bases Loaded, I played the heck out of this game when I was a kid. Paste was a beast.
    I own a 360 now, so I'll probably go with MLB 2K8 for my next baseball game. 2K7 was so-so, I hated the fielding and base-running but the pitching system was decent after tweaking with sliders. I hope that 2K8 fixes some of 2K7's bugs.

    by xanthan on Jan 23, 2008 3:25 PM PST   0 recs

    Re: State of the Union: Baseball Video Games
    100% agree about Sammy Sosa High Heat 2001 for PC.  That game was outstanding.  The interface was really simple and intuitive, and the pitching and fielding were great.

    Man I miss that game.  Never could get it to work on XP, and now the CD is scratched up.

    MLB The Show 07 is also very good, though I have a list of about 10 small pet peeves with it.  Hopefully they fix some of that.  

    by ImFeklhr on Jan 23, 2008 6:13 PM PST   0 recs

    Re: State of the Union: Baseball Video Games
    Same here regarding The Show. The pitching control was lacking to me even with the sliders all the way in your favor. A pitchers control stats pumped up all the way didn't really help either.

    But man do I miss the MVP series. Fun to hit and pitch. Greatness all around.

    Adopted Giant: Randy Winn. Can't wait for Zito to start Opening Day '08 so I can get a leg up on my drinking.

    by Punch Rockgroin on Jan 27, 2008 9:42 PM PST to parent up   0 recs

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