The skinny:
You'd better start learning to really like this game, chief, because 2K's exclusive MLB licensing deal means that this is the only hardballer featuring real players, real logos, and real teams for the next seven years. Unfortunately, 2K5 still plays second-fiddle to EA's MVP, but only slightly so. There are signs of improvement here. The super-slick ESPN tie-in makes the game look and sound exactly like a Sunday Night Baseball broadcast. The new pitching system is still vastly inferior to MVP's, but it's a big step in the right direction. The Franchise mode feels downright stale, mostly because it's basically the same exact Franchise mode we played through last year. The graphics are the best ever seen in any baseball game but the animations are occasionally choppier than a Charlie Chaplin film.

2K5's Barry Bonds replacement:
A white guy with beady eyes and a robust Plato's Retreat beard named "Joe Young." Joe stands 5'7" and weighs an impressive 250 lbs., which means that he's technically a "fat" man.

Tantalizing tidbit:
This game features the best hecklers of all time. When Boston's hirsute Johnny Damon steps to the plate, someone in the crowd shouts, "Cut your hair, you hippie!" Amen to that, brother!

Buy, rent or run away screaming?
Go ahead and buy. The online experience is much better than the one MVP offers. And if you have an Xbox, you can rip CDs to the hard drive, then assign specific tunes to specific batters for their walk-up music. Need another reason? 2K5 retails for $20, which means you can buy the game and still have enough greenbacks left over to purchase a copy of Jim Bouton's Ball Four, the funniest damn baseball book ever.