MLB 2006 info

[Discrim]

heh...may as well help out the cause

basically, it's either shipping tomorrow or next week...if you didn't play last year's version, give this year a shot. I'll run it down for ya. *puts on salesman hat*:

Hitting: varies by level.  rookie level hitting is purely timing...when you get acclimated, veteran level offers High Heat-style zone hitting with 4 zones.  all-star level is also zone hitting, only with 9 zones.  the right stick can be used to influence either a fly ball or a grounder, and before the pitcher winds up you can guess what pitch is coming (rookie and veteran, you get a power boost.  all-star, your swing covers more of the strike zone).

Pitching: regardless of level, you'll have to get to know your staff.  quickly.  breaking stuff differs depending on pitcher, and instead of aiming for where the pitch ends up like in MVP, you aim for where you want the pitch to break...IMO this actually makes you think like a pitcher.  last year's approach, which will be this year's secondary pitching, was basically locate, hit X and let'er rip.  this year, an MVP-like meter debuts, as does pitcher confidence.  i'll admit it-the only difference in MLB's meter from MVP's is that it's based on the release point, which will vary depending on the pitcher and pitch thrown, among other things. 

Fielding: IMO it was pretty good last year.  this year, ratings tie into it more, most notably on the fly ball.  like most games, there's gonna be a ball icon showing where the ball will land.  unlike other games, ratings will tie in: a great fielder's icon will appear sooner and shrink faster, while a poor fielder will see his icon late and have the disadvantage of a large icon.

Strike zone: they went by the book, so the strike zone may seem larger than you think it should be.  anyways, each player has his own strike zone that takes his height and stance into account...so Corey Patterson's zone is the size of a box while Richie Sexson's looks like a phone booth.  like in other games, there are hot and cold zones.  performance can change the hot/cold zones, and the AI also remembers how you pitched it last time up, so hitting the cold zones all the time won't work all day.

Career mode: other games use career and franchise interchangeably.  MLB career has you create a player and follow his career.  Your starting point is Spring Training 2005...hopefully the endpoint is Cooperstown.  Along the way you'll try to go from AA to the bigs.  you can get pointers from your coaches, train hard, see about gettin promoted, try to get traded, and if you're just that kind of guy, retire in midseason for no real reason

Franchise mode: MVP 05 pretty much copied this mode (why they didn't copy the preceding mode, I don't know), although their version isn't nearly as deep.  the only thing you can do in MVP that you can't in MLB is build a new stadium (not like you have a choice there).  Thing is, MLB actually bothered to check real stadiums' seating arrangements and such so money can be made. 

Players progress and regress bit by bit daily.  scouts and coaches are on the job everyday.  you gotta decide on whether 115 games/5 years on the regional network is better than 40/3 years on the national network.  toot your horn about your latest signing.  put Aramis Ramirez on a radio spot.  take out a few bank loans.  build an aerobic room.  spend a bit more on pitch development.  upgrade from a coach flight to first class.  improve the grass before the next homestand.  install a pool at Wrigley (okay, bad example).  have the loans you took out from the banks combine with the luxury tax to bite you in the ass   yes, i'm serious.  that's a damn lot...and that's just the tip of the iceberg.  the best thing is you can control as much or as little as you want here.

Fast Forward: getting blown out?  giving the beatdown?  fast forward!  this is a new option to skip ahead to a later point in the game, and while it's available in all modes, you have more options in career.  if your guy's a batter, you can skip ahead to his next plate appearance...relievers can skip to the point where the manager calls for em.  etc, etc.

the best always emerges last...remember that!