I have to say that writing this review really frustrates me because I wanted to love MLB 2005. The months leading up to the game's release truly got me excited because I believed that 989 could and would deliver on all that they promised; I was prepared to write a glowing review but sadly I can't. Nevertheless, the final product is still a good one, and 989 as a team should be proud because they're one step closer to greatness (fingers crossed).

Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery some would say. And MLB 2005 borrows elements from previous baseball titles that fans have come to love. The zone-style batting and cursor-based pitching seem reminiscent of the mighty High Heat franchise. As in High Heat, you can also guess pitch type before a pitch is thrown; guess right and you should have a better chance of making solid contact. One area that differs from High Heat is the use of the Dual Shock's pressure sensitive buttons. While pitching or while fielding, the longer a button is held down, the harder the throw will be. Pitching harder will drain stamina faster and will sometimes make pitches less accurate, so it adds a bit of strategy to that part of the game. It's too bad that stamina isn't displayed on-screen at all times, but it can be checked by pressing the select button. MLB 2005 also borrows the picture-in-picture baserunning windows pioneered by EA's MVP Baseball, and I'm glad they did; using little dots just doesn't cut it anymore.
MLB 2005 does introduce batter specific strike zones and interactive hot/cold zones, both of which are great ideas. Seeing the same strike zone used for every batter in other games was getting tiresome. And the fact that you can personally transform a batter's cold zone into a hot zone by consistently hitting balls pitched to that spot is a satisfying feature.

However, there are some serious problems with the core gameplay that, when combined, detract significantly from the experience. Hits are too frequent (during most games, even on the top difficulty setting against ace pitchers, I can easily manage hits in double digits); there's no way to check your swing; you can't choose different camera views for pitching/hitting unless you switch them every half-inning; unintentional walks are seemingly non-existent; intentional walks force you to watch as all four balls are thrown; errant throws are basically absent and almost all throws are on the money; pitchers who can't even approach upper 90s registered as much as 100mph on the gun; errors seem to be the "through the wickets" kind rather than the dropped ball kind; and worst of all, outfielders often fail to pick up balls that hug stadium walls. This last glitch has made me want to rip my hair out at times, as I wait for a CPU-controlled fielder to come running across the field to retrieve a ball I'm standing on top of.

It's also a bit strange that the developers programmed breaking pitches the way they did. In most games, where you place the cursor is roughly where the ball will end up. In MLB 2005, though, you must set the pitch for where it will start to break. This means that a curveball or splitter placed anywhere in the bottom half of the zone could drop out and be called a ball. Once you become accustomed to this peculiarity, however, it's not very difficult to spot your pitches. That being said, in general, I found ball physics to be realistic, both when a ball is pitched and hit.

One feature that was perhaps the only highlight of last year's version and returns this year is the career mode. This mode is just as compelling as ever, as it feels almost RPG-like in its implementation. You create a character however you see fit and distribute an allotted number of points among various attributes/skills (e.g. contact, power, throwing accuracy, fielding, etc.). You then can attempt to make any Major League club in spring training by completing various goals -- you'll be competing with the guy who currently holds the position you're after. Once you're on the team, you can improve your custom player by reaching milestones, which earn you more points to distribute. Eventually, after several seasons, your player may get released or retire.

Some may consider MLB 2005's franchise mode the best on the market. It allows you to control everything. When I say everything, I mean just that. You can draft players, trade players, hire coaching staff, negotiate/renegotiate contracts, set ticket and concessions prices (charge $10 for a hot dog, mwahaha!), purchase locker room and medical equipment, control marketing campaigns, purchase modes of travel (bus, jet, etc.), and more. You can even tell your coaches exactly what to help out with -- teach pitchers a new type of pitch, improve hitting ability, etc. The only negative here is that you can't call up players from the minor leagues; this is disappointing considering that MVP Baseball lets you control real AA and AAA teams.

As long as you have a PS2 Network Adaptor, you'll be able to play MLB 2005 online. If you want a smooth, lag-free experience (and USB headset chat support), you'll definitely need a broadband connection. Luckily, the server allows you to see connection ping, so you can make sure you play someone who also has broadband. The cool thing about 989 Sports Online is that you can run your own custom tournaments, similar to Microsoft's XSN. The one glaring omission from MLB's online component is the utter lack of downloadable rosters. At least the default rosters are more up-to-date than MVP though.

MLB 2005's graphical presentation is surprisingly good. Although you won't see moving shadows on the field or planes and birds whizzing by in the background, the stadiums are mostly accurate and the player models are fantastic. In fact, MLB 2005 boasts the most personalized batting stances, pitching wind-ups, and spot-on faces that I've ever seen in a baseball title. No game has captured Mariano "Best Closer in History" Rivera's likeness better. The players also animate very well, which is no doubt helped by the fact that MLB runs at 60fps. It's just too bad the animations aren't as varied as MVP's but they are quite pretty, especially on double plays. In fact, the double plays are much easier to turn than in other baseball games.

The game's audio is not as pleasing, unfortunately. The two-man team of Dave Campbell and legendary Vin Scully is quite dull. The lines they were given are not insightful at all, and the manner in which they deliver them feels forced, even robotic at times. The third man in the booth, Matt Vasgersian, serves as a kind of stats guy, and he chirps in during basically every other at bat with the batting average of the current player. It's annoying and not informative at all. The crowd also seems to have been programmed at a lower sound level. You have to really turn up the volume to be able to hear what some of the fans are yelling; and once you do, you'll discover that there are no player-specific cheers or jeers. The best aspect of the audio in some ways is the variety of humorous PA announcements. For example, while in the Tropicana Dome I heard: "Attention Devil Rays fans: Please let your team know you are here." Another good one was: "Attention fans: Be sure to pick up a souvenir from the gift shop on your way out... because $5.00 for a soft drink just isn't enough." I was also surprised by the selection of licensed music that plays during the menu screens; the variety and number of songs was much more appealing than what's found in MVP.

MLB 2005 also sports some very cool extras, if you have the accessories to enable them. The EyeToy can be used to create a virtual you, and the face scan technology is actually pretty decent if you can place your head in front of the camera just right. Additionally, if you own the PS2 USB headset, you can call out pitching and defense commands to your players such as "infield in" or "fastball".

MLB 2005 has made me believe in 989 Sports again. If next year's installment can fix all of the problems mentioned earlier, the franchise could truly be on the path to greatness.