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MVP 06 NCAA Baseball xbx Game Reviews
MVP 06 NCAA Baseball
Critic Score
Metascore: 75 Metascore out of 100
User Score  
9.5 out of 10
based on 29 reviews
Read critic reviews
How did we calculate this?
based on 18 votes
Read user comments
Rate this game

This new version of the best-selling and critically acclaimed MVP Baseball franchise celebrates everything that makes NCAA baseball unique – aluminum bats, intense action, and stadiums filled with school spirit and packed with passionate fans. MVP 06 NCAA Baseball debuts new batting and throwing systems, the nation's top universities and conferences, and a deep college-specific Dynasty Mode that takes you on the "Road to Omaha" with baseball's brightest young stars. Complete with an engaging visual presentation and ESPN's Mike Patrick and former Stanford All-American Kyle Peterson calling the action, MVP 06 NCAA Baseball features an all-new Custom Ballpark feature and a robust Create a Player option. The game also includes exclusive new online features for the PlayStation2 computer entertainment system and Xbox Live. [Electronic Arts]

PUBLISHER: Electronic Arts
DEVELOPER: EA Canada
GENRE(S): Sports, Baseball
PLAYERS: 2
ESRB RATING: E (Everyone)
RELEASE DATE: January 18, 2006

What The Critics Said

All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...

91
The Onion (A.V. Club)
The mini-games are awesome, especially the batting challenge, which lets you get used to EA's "load and fire" batting system (which, we hear, was licensed from Club Jenna).
Read Full Review
90
Operation Sports
They took an existing series that worked; did a 180 when they lost their MLB license - and produced a product with more features that was even better.
Read Full Review
88
Cheat Code Central
Much like you, I wish this was an official MLB game - which would definitely make it one of the best baseball games ever released - but it's still a great game of ball no matter how you look at it.
Read Full Review
87
IGN
A great baseball game. Load and Fire, which will surely be imitated in future baseball titles to come, is the most fun and satisfying hitting system to date. The pitching, baserunning and fielding is all vintage MVP.
Read Full Review
86
Talk Xbox
The new gameplay elements and controls are great innovations, and they really force players to develop some skill.
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85
Worth Playing
Even if you are not a fan of the sport at the collegiate level, at the core of MVP '06 lies the same game of baseball, maybe in its purest and most competitive form, which we all love and enjoy.
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85
Game Over Online
The Online Everywhere system is an excellent demonstration of what continual online connectivity can provide, the precision throwing system is a nice addition to fielding and the Load and Fire system is a great addition to how baseball games will be played from now on.
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83
Gaming Age
Even if you don’t know who these players are, don’t follow college sports, but you do want a great baseball experience, MVP 06 NCAA Baseball fills the void, at least until the big boys start the new season. At only 30 bucks, you would be a fool to pass this up.
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83
GameShark
Unique, challenging, and a ton of fun. The game proves that baseball is baseball and when it's done right it doesn't matter if you're using Pedro or a young freshman from Kansas. It's still the National Pastime.
Read Full Review
81
Xbox Solution
The most impressive, realistic game I have seen in a long time. It won't dazzle you with graphics or great sound but it works together well.
Read Full Review
80
DarkStation
EA works its charm down on college baseball, further perfecting the previous installment with deeper frachise mode and refined controls.
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80
The New York Times
The big news is a different online feature, ESPN Integration, which uses your network connection to run a live ESPN news ticker along the bottom of your screen as you play. This is a wonderfully ingenious way to increase the sense that you are experiencing an actual baseball game, and to keep sports aficionados satisfied.
Read Full Review
80
1UP
The analog hitting is MVP 06's most significant addition, and it'll certainly be tough to go back to button-press swinging in the other upcoming baseball sims.
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80
GameSpot
Its overly plain presentation will probably turn off the casual set, but MVP 06 NCAA Baseball's top-notch gameplay is exactly what baseball purists are looking for.
Read Full Review
80
GameSpy
Dynasty and Tournament Modes offer rewarding single-player experiences, and mini-games lifted straight from MVP past are good for passing the controller with a room full of people.
Read Full Review
79
Team Xbox
No matter how you slice it, the lack of an official pro license (in a sport where the following of the pro level is strong) for this year’s MVP holds this title back a bit.
Read Full Review
75
Game Revolution
Sure, it lacks the licenses and loving treatment given to the major league games, but it's innovative enough for to warrant a go. Although some of its risks don't pan out, we still recommend recruiting this surprisingly skilled kid.
Read Full Review
75
Game Chronicles
I really could not thank EA more for the enhanced Online Everywhere Xbox Live support, and the cool control scheme really injects a big slug of coolness into the game.
Read Full Review
74
Next Level Gaming
The game itself is pretty decent, but it doesn't pack the punch of an MLB license.
Read Full Review
70
GamePro
EA Canada did a worthwhile job in making this year's version of MVP stand out, even if it serves up a great deal of redone material. [Feb 2006, p.84]
Read Full Review
70
Official Xbox Magazine
So while the hitting mechanic and improved ballpark creator are cool and the integration of a live ESPN sports ticker is sweet, you'll need to think long and hard about buying what is largely last year's game sans major league appeal. [Feb 2006, p.77]
70
Maxim Online
But after nine innings, it's basically the same game, including easy to master controls that'll finally allow you to be big man on campus.
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70
Game Informer
This game did little to lure me into the college fold. It falls more into the category of a generic baseball game than it does a part of EA's college series. [Feb 2006, p.104]
67
Electronic Gaming Monthly
This baseballer does a good job of simulating the minor-league quality of college ball (read: errors seem more realistic and common), but the overly convoluted functionality of the game kills it for me. [Feb 2006, p.106]
Read Full Review
60
Stuff
The baseball action, even sans the MLB license (it belongs to 2K Sports, now), is still the best in the business.
Read Full Review
60
G4 TV
Merely a “good” game that could be far better with more attention to the visuals, presentation, fielding, and in repairing some minor glitches.
Read Full Review
50
Detroit Free Press
The game itself has decent game play, but is hurt because of the lack of attention given to the bells and whistles.
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50
GamerFeed
The game has plenty of features to offer, including a full integration of ESPN's services online, a decent Dynasty mode, and some stellar gameplay ideas, but the execution feels rushed in too many areas and the game comes up short of being a winner.
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40
Computer Games Magazine
The only addition is Online Everywhere, which lets you check out the live ESPN ticker while still in the game, and it's hardly essential. [Apr 2006, p.93]

What Our Users Said

Vote Now! The average user rating for this game is 9.5 (out of 10) based on 18 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.

Dave R. gave it a10:
Great baseball game. College baseball at its best. This game surpasses an aready great MVP 2005 MLB edition. This is a definite buy for baseball fans.

Andrew A. gave it a7:
Not up to par with past years, but it looks like this is the beggining of a above average new series from EA.

Slappy gave it a9:
Fun game... revamped hitting system is nice.

[Anonymous] gave it a9:
Improved graphics from last year, gameplay is good. Has all the extras you could want: create a player, team and ballpark. The dynasty mode is also deep; recruiting, all division 1 teams and the best of all the college world series.

Adam N. gave it a7:
basically the same game as 05 but with new fielding and batting. The basethrowing can be enraging but u get used to it. its a little bit hard to throw to the cut too. When u first play the game youll have trouble hitting but u get used to that too. overall a great game for a first college baseball game.

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