MLB 2006 is a tease. It leaves a wonderful first impression but the more you play the more bizarre things you are likely to see happen and in the end the weak AI and other issues start to overshadow all of the things that the game does right. That's a real shame because if these issues ever get resolved MLB has the potential to be an A-List baseball series. It's another lesson that a few significant shortcomings can have a drastic impact on the overall playability of a game.
Let's start with the good stuff. MLB 2006 offers many batting options. You can opt for a strictly timed based swing (not worrying about bat location) or you can go all out and try to time your swing as well as your placement of the bat using a cursor method. You can also use the Guess Pitch feature to really zero in on a pitch. MLB goes a bit further, though. If you guess the pitch correctly the strike zone outline flashes red, telling you that you have guessed right and thus allowing you to prepare for the pitch. Guess wrong, however, and your chances are making solid contact drops dramatically. This is a fantastic feature and it's put to very good use in the game.
There are also different pitching methods. You can use a pitching meter or an "effort based" system. Again, offering different options is a superb way to allow players to play the game how they wish rather than forcing players to use one particular setup. MLB adds another twist in that the pitch meter moves a bit faster when men are on base and your pitcher is throwing from the stretch. It's not pronounced quite enough, but still it's a smart way to design it.
Another quick note about the pitcher/batter design is that the game's use of "Fast Play" is something that every baseball game on the planet should adopt. Fast play isn't too fast (like MLB 2K5) but rather it simply ignores all of the cut scenes (throwing the ball back to the pitcher, batter walks ups, etc.) without sacrificing information. You can play a game of MLB 2006 in 25-35 minute and this feature should not be overlooked, especially if you have designs on playing a full 162 games.
The graphics and animations, especially for a PS2 only sports game, are exceptional. The batting animations are vastly superior to MLB/ESPN 2K5 and the fielding and throwing animations are better than any baseball game released this year. Additionally, the sound and play by play are top notch; maybe not as good as MLB 2k5 but much, much better than MVP 2005.
Finally, player ratings seem to matter more in MLB 2006 than in any other game released this baseball season. You'll see Gold Glove fielders make plays that regular players simply cannot – and a player like Adam Dunn will definitely miss more pitches than a contact hitter like Sean Casey. It's great to see some of these nuances simulated.
With the solid pitcher batter interface and first rate audio and video aesthetics, it's a shame that the game is marred by so many strange AI and gameplay lapses; it has some basic AI flaws that no next-generation baseball game should have. The examples are long and varied: pitchers in the National League will not sacrifice runners over when they should; the CPU will at times let a pitcher bat in the top of an inning and then bring in a relief pitcher at the start of the bottom of the next inning. These are things that should never, ever happen.
Arm strength is also a major issue in the game. For example, in one game the Reds catcher Jason LaRue laid down a great SAC bunt, only to see the CPU first baseman charge the ball and field it about halfway down the line and spin and rifle the ball to second base to get the force-out. Again – this is something that you should never see in a baseball game. It's just out of the realm of possibility. Base running gaffs are also a reoccurring issue. If there are runners on first and second and a base hit is smacked to left field the left-fielder should never be able to throw the runner out at third in a force play—and yet you'll see this from time to time in MLB 2006.
The base running combined with the cannon arms of every outfielder makes for some other odd happenings. Line drives off the wall will sometime result in singles, and even more frustrating is that balls hit in real life that would be certified doubles are simply base hits in MLB 2006. If a batter rips a line drive over the bag at third base in real-life– it's a double. Unless a massive shift is on, that ball will rattle around in the corner and the batter will be standing at second base. Not in this game, though. The outfielder cuts the ball of so quickly and rifles it to second base with such speed that there's no chance that the batter can advance. There are doubles in the game but the only time you can get one is on a gapper into right or left center field.
Lastly, MLB 2006 suffers from the same issue that every baseball game on the market today struggles with and that's a severe lack of walks. Pitch control is simply way too accurate and if you draw a couple of walks per game you should consider yourself very lucky. Part of the problem is that if a ball just nicks the strikezone the umpire calls it a strike. Throwing a strike when you need to is just to easy to do and removing the fear of a 3-2 bases loaded walk just isn't baseball – MLB 2006 is not alone in this as every game suffers from it but developers need to figure out a way to simulate this vitally important part of the sport.
These AI and gameplay issues make it very hard to dig in and enjoy the depth of the game's franchise and career play – after all if the game doesn't act like real baseball why bother with an extended season? Thankfully, two-player games are much, much better and when you remove the bonehead managerial AI from the equation the game improves tenfold.
In the end, MLB 2006 is a game on the verge. It's impossible to ignore all of its shortcomings, some of which are very significant, but if they can ever be addressed, Sony and 989 will have a top notch game on their hands. But it's not there yet. Like the old adage says: wait 'til next year. - William Abner
