MLB POWER PROS (2007) PS2 FAQ
Tips and tricks for "Success Mode" (Create a player)
By: Joe Cummings
Version: .25
Hello everyone! This is my very first attempt at making an FAQ,
and I hope you find it useful!
After scouring the internet, I could find next to nothing about this game,
and I am sure other players are struggling mightily with getting their
Created Players into their Season Modes. Well it's my goal to help fix that!
First off, a couple of things:
- You can go ahead and email me if you have questions
(
[email protected]).
I will do my best to answer you.
- This guide assumes you know the controls and movement around the
Success Mode. If you are unsure, just double-check your manual.
- This guide will be a "work in progress" as illustrated by the
25 Version number. I hope to give answers for what will happen when you
use each different Fate card for every "life" decision you can face in
Success Mode. This will take some time!
Table of Contents
-----------------
1. Explaining Success Mode
2. The various bars and their functions
3. Explaining the Fate card system
4. Training
5. Home (your dorm room)
5a. Explaining the sub-areas in the dorm room
6. Equipping your player
7. Shopping with Baron
8. Seeing/Using your items
9. Boosting your abilities
10. Ways to get a "game over"
11. Tips and tricks
12. Final thoughts
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1. Explaining Success Mode
Unlike other "create a player" features in countless sports games,
MLB Power Pros forces you to take your player through the "Success Mode".
Your goal is to progress through 3 years with the Tulips and ultimately get
noticed by an MLB scout and get yourself a minor league contract.
You then can go into the "Season" mode, add your player to the minor
league system for your favorite team, and then call them up to the MLB level
if you wish!
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2. The various bars and their functions
At the initial screen, you'll see several bars.
Below I will explain them and what they mean...
a) Your "Vitality" bar is much like a health bar in other games.
When this bar is full, you can do any activity (training, dates, work, etc).
As you do, the bar will go from blue, to green, to yellow and finally red.
If the bar goes to zero and you try ANY training you WILL get injured and if
you do this at the wrong time (as I will explain later), it's game over and
that means STARTING over. You don't want that.
The ways to restore your vitality are:
- Resting
- Various activities during the game (usually involves eating)
- Using items (i.e. Powerin)
b) Your "Bookworm" bar is tied into your Study command.
The more your study, the more your bookworm bar fills up.
When you reach a certain point, you will upgrade which will allow you to study
longer, retain more, use less vitality while studying, ace your exams,
and raise your stat gains from training.
c) Your "Money Man" bar is tied into your Work command.
Early in the first year you'll get a chance to work.
Every time you do, this bar will fill.
At certain points you'll upgrade, getting access to better paying jobs,
using less vitality while working, and at one point you'll start investing
and get money EVERY cycle when it comes back to your room!
d) Your "Ladies Man" bar is tied into your Date command, and in various life
decision actions you have. When you start Dating, this will increase/decrease
depending on what happens. Just like real life. :) The first upgrade will
make you a (virtual) Stud, the 2nd will make you a Hunk. This also gets the
attention of the scouts who will ultimately decide where you go (or if you go)
so this is VERY important!
e) You also have a "hyper recovery" bar. Basically what happens is when you
are working out, as your vitality drops, your hyper activity bar fills.
Once it is in the yellow area, and you rest, you will gain additional points
for your ability boost as your muscles "heal" and grow stronger.
It is worth your while to pay attention to this bar!
The stats you gain from it can be very useful.
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3. Explaining the Fate Card system
Early in the process, you'll get introduced to the Fate Card system.
At various times in Success Mode, you'll be prompted to make a decision.
This cards help (or HURT) your ability to make the right choice.
They are dealt and replenished at random so use them wisely!
a) The "YES" card: Says what it means. You're agreeing to whatever the
choice is. Be forewarned: This is NOT always a good thing! One example
would be when a fraternity is using a "pledge" and wants you to steal a
trophy from the women's dorm. It turns out to be a "trick" and you'll
lose statistics. And when you are on dates, it is VERY important to have
these cards. Otherwise you could tell your girl you don't want to give her
a present (OOPS!)
b) The "No" card: Also says what it means. You are refusing whatever the
action or opportunity is. Example: When you are working at the fast food
joint, you might be offered the opportunity to deliver pizzas (which would
give you a raise). If you choose "No", you stay in your current job. If
you CAN get rid of these, all the better. Just don't tell your date NO. :)
c) The "Challenge" card. I'm still learning about this one, but it can also
be good or bad. A good example would be when you first get hired on your
job, if you "Challenge" when he asks you to eat his "pizza", you'll get a
$1 raise ($120 vs. $100 every time you work). A bad result is when you
challenge Toby (in Season 2 of Tulips) to be the team captain. You'll
lose, and you will also lost stats. This card can be thought of as a
"YES" with some umph behind it.
d) The "Marvin" card. Marvin is your roommate in the game. And you can have
him "pinch hit" for you, usually with some hilarious results. Be careful
though...if it involves something with dating or leadership, you can take
a hit by doing this. One example of having Marvin do it is when a thief
steals a woman's purse. If you send him chasing after him, he will catch
the thief and return the purse, and it will save your vitality! Again,
still learning the effects of this card.
I have had occurances where I went up to 5 Fate Cards and some when I went
down to having only 3. I think this has to do with your Fortune rating.
However there is no bar for this, and I have no idea on how to raise it.
I do believe there is an item for it, I will confirm in a future FAQ.
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4. Training
The training stat gains you receive are the same for batting and pitching,
they are just called different names (i.e. Fielding is called "bunt practice"
for Pitchers). Eventually I will get the exact stat gains, and vitality
losses in my FAQ.
Strength (weight) training is your best bet for Strength Points (+30).
However, it also uses the most vitality of any training.
Sprints will raise your quickness. This is good for running bases and
fielding.
In future FAQ's, I will go more in depth. Just know, to increase your
stats (and get the coach to notice you so you are in the lineup in
Season 2), you MUST train! So not dating or working all the time! :)
=======================================================================
5. Home (your dorm room)
This icon looks like a house. Lots goes on here! Just like real life,
you'll spend the majority of your time on this screen (at home). I wanted
to break this down further below as their is a LOT going on here...
=======================================================================
5a. Explaining the areas in the dorm room
Rest: This is used, well, to get some sleep! The key to optimum stat
gain is to balance this with training and the other activities. Remember,
when you get into the yellow area of the hyper recovery bar, you get bonus
stats!
Also remember: Anytime you use another action, you'll use vitality. Don't
wait until your bar is gone! Usually if you only have 1/4 of your vitality
left, you need to REST. :)
There is a pillow you can buy at certain times for $150 that will improve
your rest and increase how much vitality is recovered.
This is a good investment. :)
Working: This looks like a moneybag. Using this option sends you to work
your part-time job. There are many branches in this option, depending on
how much you work. The ones I have seen are:
- Fast Food worker
- Pizza Delivery
- Lawn Maintenance/Home Care
The lowest you'll make is $100 unless you are dead tired (one time I only
made $1!!!) or chit-chat (there's a scene where Marvin is telling you about
his new Gundam figurine and you'll get docked $20). The highest I made in
one turn was $180. Again, this is tied to your Money Man bar. And, as
this fills, you'll get offered different jobs, raises, and eventually
invest! You use money to buy items and equipment. So this is important,
however...it is my view that this has the least impact on your chances to
get to the MLB level.
Dating: Eventually (heaven willing!) you'll get a girl to give you their
phone number. Here is who's numbers I have received so far, in various
games:
Sarah
(you'll see her if you decide to raid the woman's dorm in the pledge life
choice)
Annabelle
(she's a math whiz and will get plunked by a foul ball you hit. She will
help increase your Bookworm abilities and help you stay out of trouble in
school)
Becky
(the pro scout's daughter; if you get in with her, and don't mess it up,
you are almost assured of getting your player to the MLB level and into the
game. But she is a PAIN. LOL
If/as I see others, I will post them in my FAQ.
Girls are like anyone else...they want ATTENTION. And PRESENTS. So make
sure you are doing plenty of both. So here are the "do's and dont's of
dating in MLB Power Pros:
a) DO NOT FORGET CHRISTMAS AND VALENTINES DAY!
You absolutely MUST go on a date on these two occasions! These two days
probably have the most impact on your chances of not only increasing your
Ladies Man bar but also getting to the majors. You've been warned. One time
I accidentally gave my date back the gift she gave me...and I got docked in
SEVEN different areas. Oops.
b) DO vary the locations you take her!
Just like real life, if all you do is go to the park, beach, etc...she'll
get bored. Try to take her (ESPECIALLY Becky) to all 5 places. But also
remember: A park is no fun in January. Or the beach. LOL
Make SENSIBLE decisions!
c) DO make sure you protect your "YES" fate cards.
You can do some serious damage to your Ladies Man and relationship with
your girl if you say "No" to something like "Am I pretty?" or
"Do you have a present for me?". Make sure you take care of these!
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6. Equipping your player
In this area, you can change your equipment around. I prefer to just
auto-equip when I buy something from the shop, because why wouldn't you
want the stat upgrades? :) But it is here in case you buy multiple gloves,
bats, etc. and want to switch around.
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7. Shopping with Baron
In the middle of Year 1, you'll run across Baron. This is the place
where you can buy items! A few things here:
- The shop appears 1 time a month. So be careful about your money!
- Pay attention because if it appears and you choose to do something else,
you are SOL until next month (and if it happens to be Christmas or
Valentine's Day, you might be sans gift, a no-no.
You can buy...
- Bats (which improve control, power, etc)
- Gloves (improve fielding)
- Spikes (improve running)
- Various items (some help with scouting, injuries, recovering vitality, etc.)
A full list will be following in future FAQ's. Just know this is where you
spend your money from your part-time job!
=======================================================================
8. Seeing/Using your items
You will see an item icon at the top of your screen when in your room.
This is where you can see your items.
Some things you can use from this screen are:
- Any Powerin item you have
- Any Hyper Recovery accessory
- Fragrance that makes you more desireable for scouts (???)
- Choosing a gift when on a date with a girl
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9. Boosting your abilities
Eventually I'll give an entire chart of all abilities for both pitchers
and batters, but for now I will just explain this area.
Everything you do in practice, and events that occuring during the "life
cycle" in college will give you points. You then use these points to
upgrade your abilities. For example...
- As a batter, using 9 Strength points will result in a 1 increase in your
Power attribute.
Now, one trick that comes into play is the Gambling ticket. If you have
at least a couple of the requirements for an ability, but not all, you can
use a gamblers ticket (like a slot machine). You will see a percentage of
the chances you'll receive the upgrade.
If it lands on the upgrade, you get it! This is the ONLY realistic way to
get some of the harder ones for both pitchers and batters because if you
"blow your wad" on one of these, your character will suffer dearly in all
other areas. AND...all your stats go to ZERO. WIN OR LOSE.
As was mentioned earlier...SAVE OFTEN. You can then keep trying until
you get what you want.
My advice would be to focus on what kind of player do you want. Do you
want a speedster on the basepaths? Do you want a power pitcher? Have a
plan and then use your points accordingly!
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10. Ways to get a game over
There are a few ways this will end painfully for you.
- If you fail a final exam, and then fail to do the paper required.
- If you fail to impress the scouts enough at the end of Season 3
- If you get injured and end up missing the end of Season 3 or a final exam
The most typical Game Over is when the scouts don't see you and you don't
get the minor league contract.
=======================================================================
11. Tips and tricks
- When you first meet Baron, he will offer you a wooden bat for $50.
Either use a "Yes" or "Challenge" fate card. This will release Willy from
the bat. Willy is CRITICAL if you want to get the minor league contract.
He will not only pinch hit but pinch pitch for you. And his abilities far
exceed your own. Otherwise you will have to be near perfect in the games
you participate in. Especially in season 3.
- Your fortune rating has a direct impact on how many Fate cards you can
possess. As you make decisions in the game, pay attention to what happens.
You can get as many as 5 Fate cards and as few as 3.
- There is an item called the "Shuffle Whistle" that will sometimes appear
in the Shop. You can also get this from Becky's Father (the scout) at
Christmastime if "Fortune" is one of the choices and you choose it.
This will let you shuffle your fate cards, GREAT to have if you get stuck
with all Marvins or No's.
- Pay attention to your vitality meter! If you get injured, you can lose
up to 3 weeks of training/choices, and if it is something like a bad
fingernail, you'll waste a lot of money and lose vitality/training
effectiveness. The best way to avoid this is to keep your vitality in
the green, but then you likely will not receive any hyper recovery bonuses.
Ah the catch .22 of video games. :)
- Don't ignore the various items you can purchase. Some of these can
really be beneficial to you!
- If you are trying to get a batter through to the majors, don't think
you will be hitting home runs (unless Willy possesses you). Instead simply
try to focus on getting on base, either by bunting or a base hit.
- If you are trying to get a pitcher through, the best advice I can give
you is keep the ball low. Your fielders are not the greatest and if the
team you are playing gets the ball in the air, they likely will get a
double, at worst. Above all, don't walk anyone!!!
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12. Final Thoughts
This is a great game and I'm still learning about everything! Feedback is
welcome and encouraged.
You can use this FAQ on another site, as long as you
acknowledge me as the creater (JC827).
Good luck and I'll see you in the Majors!
JC827
[email protected]
