What do you play baseball videogames for? Is it the look of the crowd as you belt an 0-2 pitch into the cheap seats in right-center field? Is it for making that spectacular defensive play, or getting it all just right so you can hit that dinger?

With EASports latest version of MVP Baseball (in this case, MVP Baseball 2005), if you are in it for the crowds filling the park, forget it and go elsewhere. They are repetitions flat two-dimensional cardboard cutouts. Some of them look rather scary – especially when you see two of the same person right behind the home plate section of the ballpark. Some of them have a face on the front and back of the cardboard cutout.

Ok, it had to be said. Now, let’s move on …

The ball is hammered to straightaway center … Jim Edmonds gets on his horse and sprints toward the wall … at the last possible second he makes a fully extended dive, belly flops onto the warning track and somehow almost-impossibly manages to catch the ball. But then he told you he would do that. In the video intro to the game, the certified hall of fame-caliber outfield tells you that he is in the game.

Albert Pujols comes to the plate and scorches a knuckle-curve back through the box and into centerfield for a single. What is remarkable is the pitcher animation – athleticism induced by sheer terror and self-preservation. It other words, it was a jaw-dropping bit of bailing before getting whacked by a fast-moving baseball..

EASports MVP Baseball 2005 has it all. There are very few stumbles as this PC title turns that frozen rope to the gap in the outfield from a stand-up double into a head-first sliding triple. Catcher blocking the plate, it’s train-wreck time!

“What was that last pitch?”

“Something really fast.”

“Ya, but was it a two-seam fastball, a four-seamer, or what?”

“Don’t know, just that it was really fast.”

With the Hitter’s Eye feature of this game you will learn how to recognize pitches, how to turn on them and powder them. The game also features the ability to place hits with the Pure Swing System..

The 2005 version of the game sports two new modes (in addition to the exhibition, dynasty, home run showdown, manager mode and scenario editor) – owner mode and mini games. The latter is broken down into batting, pitching and untimed pitching, and there are four difficulty settings, depending on where you want pinpoint accuracy or a somewhat-forgiving experience. The batting mini game has you placing hits. The pitching game is akin to knocking out colored blocks with certain pitches. They are time, of course, and you have to be fast and accurate.

The other new mode, as mentioned, is the owner mode. From the owner’s box, you can work on the team finances, set pricing, buy assets, set up promotional days, hire staff, design a ballpark and even do a virtual tour of your stadium. The team chemistry, and fan happiness all come into play, and even players will want to renegotiate their contracts or gripe about playing time (too much or lack thereof).

Owner’s mode is similar to dynasty mode though the emphasis is more on building a franchise and catering to the fans in the former, while establishing the farm system, drafting and trading for players really factors into the latter.

Some of the situational AI is a little suspect. A key player is injured and the injury takes 12 days to heal. Upon the ability to play again, that player is inserted into the lineup and a day later complains about playing time. A rookie is called up and gets inserted into the starting lineup to shine and become the everyday fielder. The conditional report shows the rookie rarely drops into the mid-80s, and yet he complains about his playing time. Do these guys know what it is to have a real job? To go to work everyday? At some points it would have been nice just to take off that owner’s hat and not worry about the lineups and/or who gets to play and concern oneself with working through the season as a player, not as the manager. But this is a minor item.

And there are three ways to play the actual game part of the title – play, manage or sim. You can intervene in the latter two, and both are fast paced.

You can earn MVP points with in-game accomplishments. This can allow you to unlock retro uniforms, classic stadiums, legendary players and (after unlocking all 25 players) legendary teams.

And yes, you can create players and negotiate contracts with them.

When it comes right down to it, the sterling graphic elements and attention to baseball nuances are what make this game a pure delight. The control elements are somewhat easy to understand, though mastering them (without field assist turned on) can take a little time.

The sound is pure EASports, solid and a good supporting cast member.

EASports MVP Baseball 2005 is everything you like about videogame baseball, with the great athleticism and tactical gameplay that makes the game of baseball so exciting. If you love baseball, and own a PC, you need to own this game.

Gameplay: 9.2

You can learn to read pitches, fine-tune the single-player controls to give you more room for error or tighten them up to make each pitch a challenge. Climb the wall to rob a homer, dive for that dying quail toward the foul line, this game gives players the ability to tailor their game from the mundane to the spectacular.

Graphics: 9.2

There were some frame-rate issues when the resolution was popped up, but generally this game has remarkable baseball animations and the ball physics are spot on. Some of the load screens are a bit fuzzy on a bigger monitor, but the in-game graphics are crisp.

Sound: 8.7

The announcing does have some repetition, and the music relies on too few tracks if you play this past 10 hours straight, but the sound is typical EASports – solid from top to bottom.

Difficulty: Med/Hard
You can ramp up the challenge to make this game as challenging as you wish. The game’s options do let you fine-tune almost every aspect of the game.

Concept: 9.2
This game has all the elements that make for a great game. Customization, challenge and spectacular animation.

Multiplayer: 8.8

If you want to test your abilities, there is no better way than to hook up for some Internet games through the EASports. Not only can you get the current rosters, but any other patches available. The game comes with rosters as of early January. The latest patch (at the time of this review) was with rosters accurate as of Feb. 20. You do have to have a EASports membership and registered game to play online. Players are rated and their number of disconnects are also listed.

Overall: 9.0

This is an amazing game, addictive and a pure delight for baseball fans young and old. The controls are kept simple enough to learn quickly and the options allow each gamer to customize their experience. This is what PC baseball is supposed to be like.