RaychelSnr's Blog
Tuesday is d-day baseball fans.
Well…at least for those of you who own a PS3. The question is simple: should you buy the perennial champion of Baseball, MLB: The Show or should you delve into the world of the feisty upstart MLB 2K11?
Well in the next few paragraphs, I'll try to explain the best choice for you. I must admit this is a nearly impossible task simply because there are more situations possible here than I could ever come up with, but I think my guide below should help you out a bit.
Please note that this guide is only meant to help you make a purchasing decision on launch day and are the result of a guy who has seen both games in action about as much as the rest of you guys at this point. We will have full and awesome coverage starting Tuesday of each game, leading to their reviews. If you can afford to wait a few days, I'd keep an eye out for that.
Who's got the realism?
This is the topic that has the entire community at odds with one another and the rhetoric seems to be more fit for political theater than baseball video games -- but this is an important consideration for a lot of baseball purists.
Trying to wade through this minefield is going to be difficult, and I'm sure someone from both sides are going to take what I say the wrong way -- but that's the breaks of writing here at OS.
Taking the track record combined with my impressions of the demos into account, the most realistic game this year will without a doubt be MLB: The Show. Few sports games can approach the things that The Show does, which I think is partially due to it being a platform specific title and also for having a great group of developers who understand that platform behind it.
The Show is a more deliberately paced game, just like the real game of baseball is, and it requires a bit more mental aptitude of the game to be able to succeed on many levels. Add in the thousands of little touches that just help to engross you which are the result of tweaking and adding items on top of a game which was solid several years ago, and you simply just have a much more complete version of baseball. For some players of The Show, this evolution (rather than revolution) has resulted in a feeling of staleness -- which might be a good argument for you to take a dip in 2K's title this year.
That's not to say MLB 2K11 won't be realistic in it's own right -- but it's a different kind of realism. The game is made for a different crowd that wants to sit down and play a game of baseball a bit faster and it's made to play more like a video game. You can and will get realistic results out of 2K11 this year, moreso than previous years. However, the game has had some serious flaws in several past editions -- enough so that you have to worry about this year's title having 'something' wrong with it. I'm sure there's a psychological term for that feeling of doom I can't just shake, as last year's title was particularly quality outside of the flaws.
Take away the flaws and 2K10 played a good game of hardball. So if you have played The Show for several years, and you feel you want something a bit faster and quicker to play through, along with something that just plays a different brand of baseball, 2K11 is your game. That's not to say 2K11 is arcadey, it's just that it doesn't play as close to the sport as The Show will in terms of pacing and whatnot. For some The Show's deliberate pace is a huge turn off, even though they're big baseball fans. I think 2K11 will suit baseball fans just fine -- but it's still not quite on the same level as The Show in terms of pure engrossing realism when it comes to the total experience put together.
….But does more realism equal more fun?
Despite what I just said about 2K11, I think it might get more of my time this year moreso than The Show. It's fun: the pitching mechanics, the analog swing controls, it all just works for me. So long as the game's AI doesn't make absolutely terrible decisions that no manager would ever make in any setting of baseball (who valued their jobs at least), I like the pick up and play aspect of 2K11 a bit more right now. I'm a busy guy these days, and my gaming time has been getting stretched a bit more -- and The Show just plays slower compared to 2K.
That's not a knock against The Show either from a quality standpoint, it's more of a personal preference at this time. As I said before, The Show's pacing really lends itself to be a bit better experience for the complete baseball purist given the full effort there from gameplay, realism, graphics, and audio. But I'm sure if you sat down and timed it, MLB 2K's games would be significantly shorter -- which lends itself to be a more convenient title for busy people given that it already looks to put out pretty darned solid numbers statistically.
So you mean both games are good buys?
It seems baseball gamers have found themselves in a great position because that's exactly what I'm saying. Both games have differentiating aspects to them, and I think it's best to sum it up like this: The Show is more realistic, but it's pacing and whatnot might turn some off. 2K may lack some of the extremely polished touches of The Show when it comes to realism, but it's control scheme and general pacing make it a game which you could easily describe as more fun to play for some --especially people who aren't hardcore baseball purists who can forgive some AI flaws which have been present in the past.
So what game should you buy? That's the million dollar question which I think is a tough question to really answer for any one person. You cannot go wrong with either game -- and getting caught up on little issues as to whether you should buy one game or the other is the wrong approach. I think what game you should choose ultimately comes down to the time and energy you want to put into the game. The Show lends itself towards a more hardcore type of person investing a lot of time into statistics and the more cerebral parts of baseball while 2K11 is geared a bit more towards the baseball fan who wants an authentic experience that's more convenient to play.
However, I don't think it's possible you can go too wrong with either title this year -- and I'll have both titles in my gaming library when they hit store shelves Tuesday, a choice I'd recommend for anyone who can afford such a move.
# 31
chris68pj @ Mar 7
I wanted to hate 2K just for financial reasons in not wanting to buy both, but the demo completely sold me and I know that the final build will only be better. I have way more friends on Live so it's great that the 360 has a quality title. If I want real I'll play The Show and if I want fun I'll go with 2k11.
# 32
chris68pj @ Mar 7
How do you figure? The greed of the NFL cost us quality football games. I genuinely enjoy both experiences. If I want to be challenged and occasionally frustrated, I pop in The Show. If I want to have a more fun experience overall with a more user-friendly game, then I go 2K11.
If you think that mentality cost us 2K football, then what cost us 2K hockey and EA basketball?
If you think that mentality cost us 2K football, then what cost us 2K hockey and EA basketball?
# 33
tril @ Mar 8
Ive always liked both games, with 2k getting a slight advantage due to commentary and quickness of the games. Ill be purchasing both.
2k11 for my PC and the Show for my PS3.
2k11 for my PC and the Show for my PS3.
# 34
sportyguyfl31 @ Mar 8
Unfortunately, threads like this inevitably contain posts that takes pot shots at others love and knowledge of the game.
Which game you like, doesnt say anything about you.
Liking The Show, doesnt make you a better baseball fan.
Liking MLB2k11, doesnt mean you are lazy, casual and dont love or appreciate what makes baseball great, any less then anyone else.
In the end this is all recreation and about blowing off some steam after a day at work, class, or whatever and having fun.
I find it great that both games present strong cases. That means they both did their job.
Which game you like, doesnt say anything about you.
Liking The Show, doesnt make you a better baseball fan.
Liking MLB2k11, doesnt mean you are lazy, casual and dont love or appreciate what makes baseball great, any less then anyone else.
In the end this is all recreation and about blowing off some steam after a day at work, class, or whatever and having fun.
I find it great that both games present strong cases. That means they both did their job.
# 35
russ99 @ Mar 8
Absolutely getting The Show on Day One, but something tells me I'm going to end up playing 2K more, solely based on hitting style and mechanics.
It's not realistic where every hitter in the lineup has to be super-patient and take tons of pitches in order to be successful, and where all pitchers regardless of skill level can rack up a huge amount of strikeouts just by getting ahead in the count.
Maybe if The Show left the strike zone indicator on the screen during the pitch this could be less of a deal breaker than it currently is.
It's not realistic where every hitter in the lineup has to be super-patient and take tons of pitches in order to be successful, and where all pitchers regardless of skill level can rack up a huge amount of strikeouts just by getting ahead in the count.
Maybe if The Show left the strike zone indicator on the screen during the pitch this could be less of a deal breaker than it currently is.
# 36
DaReapa @ Mar 8
Very true.
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# 37
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