Team Spirit

Serious baseball fans looking for something a little different this season are in for a treat.

MVP™ 06 NCAA® Baseball doesn't just do away with pro teams and players in favor of collegiate-level squads and athletes. It also gives you the power to create your own roster of simulated sluggers and take them out on the road to Rosenblatt Stadium, home of the NCAA College World Series in Omaha.

Of course, you'll be especially pleased by options for batting and fielding using the right stick, which make the game feel more realistic than any competitor. Not to mention the title's support for seamless online integration. Still, nothing beats the thrill of taking a crew of deadbeats you've custom-designed from worst to first in the span of a week.

Here are just a few of the ways in which you can build your own "mod" squad using Creation Zone, the game's built-in editing suite.

Teams are yours to individualize.

Create a Team
When creating a new team, you start by choosing an existing team's roster to use as a default. Squads are available from several conferences such as the Atlantic Coast, Big East, and Big Ten.

Nothing's off limits, so you can easily select your hometown heroes or favorite team to build on, including the Clemson Tigers or Iowa Hawkeyes. Once done, you're presented with a list of variables that can be changed, including:

• Logo: Choose from dozens of optional images that serve as your school's signature logo. The list includes bears, beavers, bulls, and more. If you want to get really esoteric, designs featuring devils, dragons, and even comets are also available.
• School name: It's your alma mater—enter a cool name for it using the in-game keyboard function. Can't think of a good one? Try basing it off your official state animal or, if you're feeling really silly, fruit or tree.
• Nickname: Select the slang term people use when they refer to your crew. For example, if you're the Jamestown Firecrackers, consider calling yourself the "Crackers" for short. Alternately, you can choose from a preexisting list.
• Abbrev. name: A one- to four-letter abbreviation that's used when referring to your team during various parts of the game.
• City: Input your own hometown or choose from a range of existing locales. Remember, though: No matter how proud you are of them, sometimes your favorite rural or even metropolitan area won't be on the list.
• Jersey (home and away): Determine what type of uniform your team wears during home and away games. Do you prefer pinstripes or buttons? Blue or purple lacing? You decide what's fashionable this year.
• Ballpark: The ballpark that fans most closely associate with your team. Go with a generic metro or suburban arena, or take your pick of 19 real-world venues like Atlanta's Russ Chandler Stadium or Los Angeles' Dedeaux Field.

Change players' every attribute.

Create a Player
Players can also be created using base character models and preset attributes, all of which are fully modifiable. Translation: Individual batters and fielders are, to a man, putty in your hands, and can quickly be tweaked and transformed into superhuman athletes. Here are just a few of the many ways in which you can adjust players' look and performance:

• General information: All manner of personal information is yours to adjust. Give your character a name and jersey number, and then assign them a home state and position. Next, choose whether they're left- or right-handed. Height and weight can also be customized.
• Appearance: Scrub or sexy beast—each athlete's appearance is yours to shape. Skin tone, hair color, and facial hair can all be tinkered with. And yes, the handlebar mustache remains as in-style as ever ...
• Face shape: Ever dreamed of playing plastic surgeon? Now you can. Eyes, ears, nose, mouth ... Change shape and proportions to your heart's content, and then have fun with your Frankenstein-like creation.
• Body build: Short and waiflike or tall and stout ... By changing the specs on a player's upper and lower body, adjusting everything from wrist size to thigh fat, you can directly affect their physical form.
• Equipment: Bring on the shin guards! Here's where you can outfit yourself with a cap or just slather on the eye protection.
• Batter/fielder/pitcher ratings: Set your character's skill level by adding and subtracting points from ability ratings that track their talent at bunting, throwing, and scoring strikes on overenthusiastic hitters.
• Tendencies and hot/cold zones: How well does your protégé hold up under different types of pressure? Are they more adept at picking up certain pitches than others? Craft your own personal nuances, and then see how sluggers hold up at the plate.

Define hot/cold zones, and then swing away!

Some more good news: You don't need to cut your creative impulses short here. An additional Create a Ballpark utility doubles the fun, letting you choose field surfaces, plot locations and wall sizes, or just edit existing arenas to suit your own tastes.

That's MVP 06 NCAA Baseball in a nutshell for you—as powerful as sporting simulations come.

Article by Steve Richter