The sport of baseball doesn't really weigh that heavily with me. Don't get me wrong, I'm up for a summertime evening with a few of my friends, watching the Rockies try to hit a few out of the park. But the general sport fails to really entice me to watch. The Boston Red Sox win from last year interested me a little, but then I got knocked right back down with the whole steroids thing. Fortunately, in the virtual world, I still have places to turn to for the good ol' feeling, like RBI Baseball on the NES or Sega's old-school World Series Baseball for the Sega Genesis, still one of my favorites. Now you can add another with Major League Baseball 2K5, easily the most impressive current generation baseball game since the MLB Slugfest series debuted.

The journey of this game hasn't entirely been an easy one. During its development, questions came up about the ESPN license that it utilizes, now in the hands of Electronic Arts and being prepped for use in 2006. Also, Sega Sports, once a highly appreciated sports brand, decimated before our very eyes, forcing the company to sell its development assets, Visual Concepts and Kush Games, to Take Two Interactive. But things got a little cushier, as Take Two introduced the 2K Games label and bought exclusive third-party MLB rights for the next few years, countering EA's masterful move of scoring exclusive NFL rights for a long period of time.

But now, through its troubled journey, it's here, and I'm pleased to say that the wait has most certainly been worth it. Nearly every aspect of the game has been ironed out since last year's release of Sega's ESPN Major League Baseball, and, although a couple of nagging flaws keep it from perfection, it's still one hell of a game of baseball.

Every aspect of the gameplay has been touched on, so let me break it down into the four sections where it matters the most...

Pitching- A new pitching system known as K-Zone is introduced in 2K5, and it works a heck of a lot better than the swing gauge featured in MVP. It basically works with two perpendicular lines with reticles balanced in the center. You tap it the first time and it sways across the pitching area, and you can stop it as close to the center as you please or go wide. The second refines it even further, as a second line slides into place and allows for better accuracy. You can also choose from a number of pitches, so you can lean in for a mean slider or go for the curveball. There are different ones for each team to play around with, though they generally remain about the same. I do love this pitching system, as it allows for concentration while not having you go overboard on having to hit in exact spots, forcing you to walk a person when you don't need to.

Batting- Like last year, the game lets the batter use either a normal contact swing or a power swing, assigned to two different buttons, for ball hits. You can also bunt, if you choose to, but the swings really make all the difference, since you'll want to be driving for the back wall to get in the runs. The batting system is still in great shape, and also introduces a new "Batter's Guess" item, which analyzes your swing and shows where you thought the ball was coming, even if it's just a mis-swing. It's kinda cool, especially for the attentive baseball freaks out there.

Between these two, however, there's a system that doesn't quite click with me as it should. It's called the "Slam Zone", and what it is is a power struggle between batter and pitcher on an incoming pitch. If a batter guesses correctly on where the ball is going to end up, time slows down and a Virtua Cop-like icon surrounds the ball, entering the "Slam Zone". During this, the pitcher and batter must frantically tap on their controllers to see who has the power advantage. If the pitcher wins, it's a hell of a strike. If the batter wins, it's a grand opportunity at a home run. It's an inventive system, to say the least, but I don't think it works as well as it should. It gives the game an unneeded battle of wills. Still, it looks nice, especially on the detail of the pitcher and the ball he's throwing, and those truly irritated by it can shut it off and get back to basics. Now, back to the other two areas...

Fielding- While Maximum Fielding still isn't the ace up the sleeve it wants to be, it is improved upon with the use of the right analog stick. You can use the stick to pull off some impressive plays like climbing up a wall to nab an otherwise home-run achiever, or making a diving catch to score the easy out. It can be a bit finicky at times, especially if you hit the wrong direction at the wrong time, but it mostly still works. I like the inclusion of the "Smart Throw" feature, where, with a tap of the L button, you can automatically throw the ball to the necessary base. It's a bit easy, yeah, but it too executes nicely.

Base-Running- A new feature has been introduced in MLB 2K5 called On-Command, which allows you to control base runners between trigger commands and the analog stick. It takes a little getting used to, and some slides aren't as smooth as I would have liked for them to have been, but the system is wonderful overall, allowing you to advance with ease and keep an eye on your runners so they don't go wandering off. I love it.

The game has numerous modes you can go through, where you can put all of these skills to good use. You have In Your Face, which goes right into the exhibition round between two selected teams; a Home Run Derby, where you pick a particular slugger and then take to the field to slam some out of the park; a Season Mode, where you can complete a full season of baseball games and keep track of your team's health and durability for trading; a Franchise Mode, where you control a major league franchise and try to rebuild a legacy along the likes of the Boston Red Sox or the New York Yankees; an all new GM Career mode, where you put yourself in the shoes of a General Manager trying to build up a dream team (kinda like Franchise, but going in a different direction); Tournament, where you can compete within a number of tournaments; Situation, where you can recreate simulated scenarios from the game itself in an attempt to perfect skills where needed; and online, where you can take the game and play against others coast to coast via Xbox Live.

All these modes have something to offer, but the big grand slam here will obviously be with online play. The Xbox Live support with this title is staggering, allowing you to get into a match-up with ease and keep your eye on statistics from around the league. The Franchise and GM Career modes are deep enough, and allow you the precision to balance out the likes of budgets, player drafting, and making your team the best they can be, but the Owner Mode from MVP Baseball 2005 still remains a bit deeper. Maybe next year, 2K Games can give us the opportunity to build our own little park from scratch. Just a suggestion. The other modes work fine as well, and many players can participate in a number of them to see who's the king of the swing.

Presentation-wise, this game hits a home run. The perspective is really played out like an ESPN broadcast, right down to the instant replays of a strikeout (with each pitch being shown in detail) and a sweet pitching perspective that actually zooms in for more detail, rather than sitting annoyingly on the side. The graphics in general appealingly capture the sport, with players that actually animate like players (no "bony" elbows here, like there are in MVP Baseball 2005) and the fields accurately recreated like the real thing, right down to the lighting in Candlestick Park. I love the fielding perspective a little better, too. Instead of just being given an icon showing where the ball is going, a little meter indicates just how close it's getting to the ground, so you can get a player there in time (with the help of a nudge on the "turbo" button) to make the catch. Throw in some ESPN Gamecast options (which are likely to be missed next year, or replaced by a 2K Sports Gamecast) and some cool little in-game cams (like the slick Chase Cam, which follows a player up the baseline), and it's a presentation that'll knock your Red Sox off.

Another excellent bonus is the Skybox, a place where you can find all the items you've collected and purchase other additional items to fill the halls with the likes of Hall of Fame Jerseys and other goods. There's also mini-games to unlock, and, while not directly dealing with baseball, they're fun diversions. This is a cool little place to check out.

Rounding out all of this is the sound department, and it too doesn't disappoint. Joe Morgan, Jon Miller, and Karl Ravech provide some good commentary, and while it isn't as raucous as, say, "Jimmy Shorts" from MLB Slugfest, it's still leagues better than the banal banter from EA Sports' effort. The sound effects are very close to the sport at hand, and there's some humorous taunts that come from the fans that are worth chuckling over. But what I really enjoyed was the fact that you could use Customized Soundtracks within the game, even assigning particular tunes to players as they step up to the mound. Ah, if only Barry Bonds would have been included- he could've done a lovely walk-on with "Gin and Juice" by Snoop Dogg.

EA Sports tried to battle back against this renegade franchise by lowering the price on their baseball effort to $30, but 2K Sports already has the jump on them, introducing it with a $20 price tag for both PS2 and Xbox. Can you say "damn good value"?

So here it is, the bottom line. You want a game that provides top-of-the-line gameplay, a few game modes that are worth cavorting through, beautiful graphics, endless sound options, uninterrupted online play, and the kind of price tag that even Barry Bonds could afford on chump change? The choice is obvious and clear- Major League Baseball 2K5 is a grand slam, and an introduction to a series that I hope will dominate for a long time.