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989 Sports has another homeroom, well almost. MLB 2006 is a good baseball game, with particularly great graphics and a notable improvement over last year’s versions. Though I didn’t have to review either MLB 2K5 or MVP Baseball 2005, I can safely say that MLB 2006 is comparable to both of those games. In some aspects, it even bests them. Not bad for a company that two years ago was struggling to produce mediocrity (MLB 2004).
MLB 2006 includes a number of gameplay modes. You’ll find Exhibition, Home Run Derby, Season, Franchise and Career mode. In Season mode, you’ll be a player-manager as you go through a number of games trying to make for the best team. Franchise mode is a bit more in-depth as the finances are also brought into play. You’ll not only need to make sure that your team is good, but you need to make sure that everything is profitable. There are a number of options like training the players and vendors for the stadiums. Certainly very in-depth. Career mode is less of a management sim and more of getting the best player possible. You’ll need to build a player from the minors and get him contracts by playing well, getting training points to better him, and such. It is particularly interesting to use the bargaining tool to try to get as much money as possible from the teams.
The online portion of the MLB 2006 is incredibly well done. You’ll be able to participate in tournaments with a multitude of players, download rosters, and of course, play exhibition games against your peers. As expected, the extensive list of community features from MLB 2005 return. You can send e-mail, post in message board, and set up a friends list.
There are a number of gameplay improvements to make the game more competitive to its competition, as well. Pitching has been improved so that you need to get timing of your pitch exactly right in a meter for the pitch to be effective. Aiming is still done by picking a zone, before the actual pitching interface takes place. Hitting is effective, as well. You can try to guess the pitch or its location, and this in turn will make your chances of getting the hit much greater. All of this is done very intuitively; 989 Sports did a great job implementing it. Fielding and baserunning is managed pretty well, also. The game doesn’t make it all that difficult to keep track of your players and effectively manage them. There are a number of statistics in play, including an excellent physics system, to keep the game interesting and accurate.
989 Sports’ MLB series has taken strides in graphics during the past few years. Though MLB 2004 was little more than a higher-resolution PS One game, MLB 2005 managed to get the visuals to a comparable level with the competition. MLB 2006 continues this as the game is simply beautiful. The game’s stadiums are scarily accurate complete with 3D fans populating them. The player models are respectable as well, and the variety of animations fit the action perfectly. Player uniforms even get dirty as the game goes on, so you’ll notice dirt and grass stains on them. The camera angles aren’t quite as spectacular as its competition in terms of replicating a TV broadcast, but they amply show the game. Moreover, 989 Sports included progressive scan and widescreen support.
The audio portion of the game consists of the expected sound effects. The commentary, provided by Matt Vasgersian and Dave Campbell, is fitting, although nothing out of the ordinary.
989 Sports has done an excellent job with MLB 2006 that makes you forget about the past misguided entries in the franchise. With great visuals, fine audio, pleasurable online and solid gameplay, MLB 2006 is a recommendable purchase for any PS2 baseball fan.
-- Jose Liz & -- Adam Nunez, PGNx Media
---- Mar 25, 2005
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