It is amazing how times have changed. EA has taken the success that they enjoyed with MVP 2004 and added new features, more animations and other elements to the game to create what is, in my opinion, the best baseball game on the market right now.

Many of last year's gameplay modes make a comeback. You still have the Dynasty mode that'll let you guide a team through 120 seasons of play (including drafts between seasons). You'll draft up young players to play alongside your old stars, work them hard in Spring Training and attempt to emulate successful franchises such as the Braves or the Yankees.

One of the biggest additions to the game this year, though, was the Owner Mode. While you play over a shorter period of time (30 years as opposed to the 120-year Dynasty), you also have to make sure your team is financially secure. Yes, you'll have the ability to pull a New York Yankees style move and pay every good player tons of cash to come to your team but doing that will deplete funds very fast and cost you your job. I really enjoy this mode, to be honest. I like taking a team and drafting up young no-name players, developing them into superstars and building a fan base. After being successful, I was able to sign big name players to contracts and continue my dominance. The only problem I really have with this mode is that it is a bit hard to get going at first. A small guide or a financial advisor of sorts would have made this mode better.

Another neat addition is the new mini-games. The pitching mini-game feels like a version of the Popcap game, Collapse. You will pitch a color-coded pitch and try to hit a block. If that block connects with others of the same color, you get bonus points. Having grown up on puzzle games myself, I found it a fun mini-game to play.

Also of interest is the batting mini-game. Here, you're told if the pitch will be inside, down the middle or away. You're also told a general direction to hit the pitch and if you should hit a fly ball or a grounder. Meeting the goals will net you bonus points but deviating wildly from them will cause you to lose points. This game was really helpful to me in regards to improving both my bunting and regular batting.

These mini-games are available both as games in themselves and during Spring Training in the Dynasty and Owner modes. You can use them to increase players' stats. This was a feature that I feel really adds to the game and the whole feel of "training" players.

The other modes are all rather self-explanatory. Play Now will randomly pick two teams, you'll choose to play one of them and the game will start. Exhibition will let you choose a team to play as, select from varying options and then play the game. There are also more unlockables in this year's version - more stadiums, players and uniforms were all added.

The one gameplay mode that I didn't enjoy was the Xbox Live mode. Sure, playing a game of baseball online sounds all fine and dandy until you realize that lag completely throws the game off. When you have half a second to decide on swinging at that 100-mph fastball, 200 ms of lag will really throw off your timing. It also has a negative effect on pitching. The meter has such a small sweet spot and you have so little time to react, you will find yourself throwing a ton of pitches that result in deep home runs. Even after spending some time getting adapted, I found I didn't really enjoy the online mode as the rest of the game.

But enough of the gameplay modes - there were other elements added this year, too.

The animations, for one, are very improved this year. Players have significantly more animations than they did in the previous games in the series and this is, by far, a good thing. The first baseman, for example, will have numerous animations for recovering from a bad throw from the shortstop on a play at first. He'll stretch, he'll scoop the ball out of the dirt, or he'll lay out while keeping his foot on the bag. This just serves to add to the realism of the game.

The other big addition to this year's game is the "Hitter's Eye". This new feature will let you actually read the type of pitch coming to you before it is thrown. A flash of red will tell you that it is a breaking pitch while no flash will indicate a fastball. After some time learning the visual clues, you'll find your hitting game will improve significantly. Related to this is the new system to clue you in on if your swing was off or not. If you're aiming high and inside but the pitch is low and outside, you'll see your batter reach for the pitch and likely miss it. This feedback, coupled with the hitter's eye, serves to make the game a bit easier on hitters. The hitter's eye can be disabled if you feel it is distracting.

Overall, this is a game that you can play for a good long time. My brother and I both have an unholy addiction to sports games and always play while at school. We will play MVP until NCAA 2006/Madden 2006 come out, then we'll play those. We'll spice it up with an NBA game or some such in between but we generally play games in season. MVP 2005 is no different - this one is very fun and will keep you going all the way until the next baseball game comes out.

If you aren't into baseball, though, this game won't really convert you. While it is a fun game, you still need to be a fan of the sport, at least in a casual sense, to enjoy this game. If you aren't sure how hardcore of a fan you are, give the game a rent first. I'm of the opinion, though, that if you are in any way, shape or form a baseball fan that you should pick this one up. You owe it to yourself.