he biggest attraction implemented into this year’s game just happens to be its biggest failure. Zooming down into the eyes of a player, ESPN’s first-person mode brings you closer to the pros than you’ve ever been before. For the first few seconds, the sensation of standing in the batter’s box with Randy Johnson staring you down will have you tingling with anticipation. This feeling is killed, however, when the ball is hurled in your direction. Given the batting perspective, you don’t get a good feeling for the strike zone or the cuts that you make. This is a typical example of the problems that plague this mode. Tracking down fly balls is a taxing process that often leaves the player questioning what to do. Should you sprint after the liner? Is it even hit in your direction? You never really feel comfortable in this view.

When it comes to the sheer basics of gameplay, ESPN still has a knack for fielding. Although the AI struggles with specific plays, the control that you have at your fingertips is a beautiful thing. The swiftness of player movement and smoothness of their animations are very true to the game and easy to manipulate. Blue Shift also went out of its way to alleviate some of the headaches that come with the game. To speed up play, you can interrupt your pitcher’s idle animations and quickly go into your windup. When tracking down fly balls, once your player reaches the destination cursor, the game transitions to a catch sequence, thus reducing the risk of the ball bouncing over your head.

Sadly, the pitching and batting interfaces are not nearly as polished. The new Effort meter is a poor man’s version of MVP’s pressure sensitive pitching interface. It’s easy to master and doesn’t really hone in on a player’s skill. When taking cuts, you really don’t get the sensation that you’ve actually made contact with the ball, either. Part of this falls on the fact that the swinging animations are downright appalling.

For the second year running, ESPN simply doesn’t have it where it counts. I found myself more enthralled in simulating games. Without solid pitching and batting interfaces, you can’t help but become disenchanted by this title’s play. I applaud Blue Shift’s decision to innovate, but the formula still needs a lot of work.

The Edge

At the last minute, Blue Shift cut the online leagues from the PlayStation 2 game. Therefore, both versions share the same content. This series started out as an Xbox exclusive, and it still feels the most at home on this system. The gameplay is a hair smoother, and the graphics – primarily the self-shadowing and player model details – simply smoke the PS2 version. Side by side, they really do look like two different games. Without a doubt, The Edge goes to the Xbox.