I was very disappointed that EA lost the rights to the Major League Baseball license. Just as the MVP series was starting to look like a franchise on the level of NBA Live or NCAA Football, they get sent back to the minors. Or, in this case, back to college.

MVP 06 NCAA Baseball is the first big-time college baseball simulation ever made and does have some good qualities. The game simply feels more like college baseball then pro baseball. There are more errors, the players aren’t quite as smooth, and EA did a good job of capturing the physics of how a ball will fly off an aluminum bat as opposed to a wooden one. The franchise experience is also fairly extensive. You can create your own school or take an existing one and guide your program through conference play, through the regionals and super-regionals, all the way through to the college world series in Omaha.

Where MVP 06 has the basis for a solid college baseball simulation there are several game play problems that take away from the experience. The first of these problems is the new batting system. As with many other EA games, NCAA Baseball puts the right analog stick to use. The game player has the opportunity to both hit and throw using the stick. On the surface this should increase the value of the game but it proves to be very difficult to swing and hit for power and it is even more of a frustrating feature to use while throwing around the diamond and attempting to turn a double play. Baserunning, which actually improved in last year’s game, also took a step backward this year.

I do like the concept of a college baseball simulation since I am a fan of that level of play. This game has some potential but the game play problems keep it from being an enjoyable experience.