The stats were right in line with what you’d expect in a college baseball season. Curiously, the game doesn’t accrue team stats, just individual stats. It does track split stats for each player, though, which is a plus!
MVP 07 is stocked with the standard assortment of game modes, but the meat and potatoes of the game is Dynasty mode. It combines the great gameplay on the field with the big fun of managing a program, including roster management, hiring staff, cumulative player fatigue, recruiting, injuries, academic suspensions and off-the-field transgressions, players complaining about playing time, and the chance to earn special equipment and gear by meeting certain sponsorship goals as communicated via your in-game email.
It is very reminiscent of EA’s NCAA College Football Dynasty mode, with the main exception being that the recruiting just isn’t as polished. For example, you can’t break down prospects by state. Also, when I started the season, no players were interested in playing for my Buckeyes, which I find unusual. There are no “recruiting pitches” to offer players, no prospect feedback provided, and it’s extremely costly in terms of your weekly allotment of recruiting points for the coach to visit a player, or to invite a player to attend a game. Although, you can skip a week or two and let your recruiting points build up, and then bring some prospects to campus. An additional challenge is balancing the amount of aid you offer each player, as scholarships are limited, and most players get a partial scholarship. You have to combine that partial or full offer with a promise of playing time, and attempt to lure the player to your squad. It’s an interesting dynamic.
The game definitely reflects the more laid back fan attitude and atmosphere that’s present at most collegiate (and sometimes professional) baseball games. The crowd is present and noticeable, but not extremely vocal. The commentary is average at best, with calls occasionally being late, combined with a fairly silent color commentator (unless you ask for his opinion). Mike Patrick definitely has great pipes, but he seems to have a limited vocabulary and some trouble discerning a fastball from a breaking ball at times.
Graphically, the player models are pretty generic, and the overall look is typical fare for the Playstation 2. The animations are very good, though, as players dive, sprint, jump for the ball, get taken out by a sliding runner, contort their bodies to turn two, throw a pitch from the windup or the stretch, and take a homerun cut at the plate with adequate realism. My only gripe is that between pitches, the batters have a tendency to fidget with their batting gloves, tap their cleats with their bats, and so forth, and there’s no way to bypass these frivolous animations. This adds significant time to the length of each game. MVP 07 is not a “looker,” but I’d guess most gamers aren’t hanging on to their PS2’s for their graphics capabilities.
It's apparent that EA didn't set aside a large budget for the development of this game. College baseball is merely a niche sport in the world of video games, and I have to wonder about EA’s commitment to the series in the long term, especially since it was released for the PS2 only. Hardcore fans will be disappointed with the roster issues and the lack of completeness in terms of teams and stadiums. However, if those items aren’t a priority for you, MVP 07 plays a great game of baseball. Combine that with the fun of managing a program, and you still have a very solid baseball game. The question is can it continue to compete with the popularity of Major League Baseball games? The sales figures will tell the story, but for NCAA Baseball fans, this title is the only game in town. For baseball fans that aren’t necessarily bent on playing an MLB game, MVP is definitely a viable option.
