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Major League Baseball 2K8 Beta Impressions

Yes, these quick blurb impressions are all over the place, as I just typed some things down over the days I played the game.

I'm not working w/ retail here, just beta. I'm not sure how "complete" it is. But there are times where the game doesn't run 60FPS. During pitching/hitting, no problems, but there are occasional hiccups when throwing across the diamond. A few herky jerky animations here and there as well. Again, these may just be issues w/ my Beta.

Yankees stadium has roll call.

Runners are somewhat aggressive on pitches in the dirt.

Got A-Rod on an inside changeup on a 3-2 count. He jumped back as the pitch got closer and headed towards first, ump pumped his fist and A-Rob looked a bit pissed.

Fans do not go after homeruns or foul balls. The fans in general are not fun to look at. They sound pretty good, reacting to situations, etc. But they just look horrible.

Bat sounds are MUCH better than last year.

Ump throws the ball to the pitcher, after a foul ball, most of the time.

Matsui homerun swing/trot looks amazing. Same w/ Manny, Griffey, Beltre to name a few.

On pop ups behind the catcher, you can see the frustration from the batter, as he looks up at it, throws his bat down and jogs to first base, waiting for the catcher to make the grab. Happens w/ pop ups in the infield on occasion as well.

Funny moment. Pop up to the pitcher Wang, A-Rod comes over as Wong settles under it. He runs right into Wang and he falls on his face. Ball drops in play.

I'm actually impressed w/ the pitching interface. It has taken me a few games to get used to it, but wow. It is FUN to pitch!

Seeing a ton of variety in hits, liners, bloopers, hits sprayed all over. I do have an issue w/ the players in the outfield, kinda lazily getting under a fly ball, instead of getting in position, they sort of are in range of catching it...then as it gets closer, they race to actually catch it. Mind you, it doesn't happen all the time, but noticable enough to mention.

Baserunning is extremely easy and to me, feels like second nature.

Benches react on at bats, getting up off the benches to see how far the ball travels on homeruns.

If the AI has someone warming up in the bullpen, you'll see it flash at the bottom of the screen, then a few pitches later, show him warming up.

Jeter made a sick play from short, backhanding a ball to his right, taking 2 steps, then jumping, turning his body and firing to first....bang bang. SICK!

Saw a boneheaded AI play, where the 2nd basemen, instead of throwing to the SS at second for the force, tried to run the runner down going to second. He was safe and no play at first. Only saw this happen once, so far.

Very slick 1st baseman flip to the pitcher, who was on the run. Pitcher makes the catch and heads to the bench, as it was the 3rd out of the inning.

Announcer issues....I'm hearing quite a bit of repeating and a few things that don't make sense. For example, Joe Morgan says it's 3-2, the runners will be running on the pitch, then right after the pitch, screams out, the runner is stealing!

After the 7th inning, they show one of the big plays from the game. Jeanne Zelasko talks about what it's going to take for a team to win, lose, etc.

AI robbed me of a homerun. Nothing spectalar, but a pretty animation nonetheless.

Collision detection....players will run through players...haven't seen any during gameplay, but after a play is made, you will see some players running right through each other.

Runners will advance to home, more often than not, on singles hit to the outfield. Not seeing the third base coach waving the runner home.

Very cool to see a runner go by first and sometimes turn around, real quick after a bang bang play to see what the ump called. Looks very nice...

At the end of the game, Jeanie zolasko mentions the Chevy player of the game.  Showing highlights from the player of the game, then highlights from the game itself.


Member Comments
# 41 vernond @ 03/02/08 01:49 AM
Is there a full crowd during a game or are there some empty seats during the game?
 
# 42 ubigidiot @ 03/02/08 01:52 AM
ahh good question, i was wondering bout the amount of people at games as well
 
# 43 Bucksin06 @ 03/02/08 01:58 AM
have you played at miller park?
if so, how does it look? because it sucked on 2k7
 
# 44 rock85 @ 03/02/08 02:05 AM
Quote:
Originally Posted by Steve_OS
Come on Rock. Read the second post!
Sorry Steve long day/night 17 hours of work
 
# 45 Bahnzo @ 03/02/08 02:07 AM
How different (if at all) are the camera(s) for fielding, and is there improvement with the depth perception? With 2k7 it was difficult at times with balls hit around the plate/pitcher.
 
# 46 Steve_OS @ 03/02/08 02:10 AM
Quote:
Originally Posted by pjv31
With the aerial camera for fielding, does it keep the ball in view the whole play on fly balls?
Nope. You can't see the ball for the entire flight.
 
# 47 Steve_OS @ 03/02/08 02:11 AM
Quote:
Originally Posted by ubigidiot
what has progression been like in franchise?
Sorry, haven't touched Franchise, besides checking on how many teams you can manage. (Which is 4 btw.)
 
# 48 PVarck31 @ 03/02/08 02:11 AM
Quote:
Originally Posted by Steve_OS
Nope. You can't see the ball for the entire flight.
Doesn't seem like we will ever see that in a baseball game again.
 
# 49 Steve_OS @ 03/02/08 02:12 AM
Quote:
Originally Posted by vernond
Is there a full crowd during a game or are there some empty seats during the game?
Well, I've just been playing exhibition games so far. Not seeing many empty seats, if at all.
 
# 50 The Gamer @ 03/02/08 02:14 AM
Steve, thanks for answering these small questions. Can you throw the ball completely around the infield after an out, and can you take practice swings during an at bat to get the timing down. Thanks again.
 
# 51 Bucksin06 @ 03/02/08 02:20 AM
can you answer any of my previously posted questions?
thanks
 
# 52 Steve_OS @ 03/02/08 02:20 AM
Quote:
Originally Posted by Bahnzo
How different (if at all) are the camera(s) for fielding, and is there improvement with the depth perception? With 2k7 it was difficult at times with balls hit around the plate/pitcher.
Well, the aerial is set pretty high and actually looks pretty good. A little hard to adjust on sharp hits to the outfield, but I'm sure there are some that will enjoy that view. I keep it at default myself and haven't had any issues.
 
# 53 HK-47 @ 03/02/08 02:21 AM
Do teammates interact with each other?
Examples:High fiving each other after a home run, after winning a game do they lineup to high five each other?
 
# 54 Brian_OS @ 03/02/08 02:23 AM
what happend to the Cowboys dude?
 
# 55 Steve_OS @ 03/02/08 02:25 AM
Quote:
Originally Posted by The Gamer
Steve, thanks for answering these small questions. Can you throw the ball completely around the infield after an out, and can you take practice swings during an at bat to get the timing down. Thanks again.
There is an option in the menus to have your players throw around the horn at appropriate times. Otherwise, there isn't much time to wing it around after a play.
 
# 56 Steve_OS @ 03/02/08 02:26 AM
Quote:
Originally Posted by Bucksin06
can you answer any of my previously posted questions?
thanks
Read post #1.
 
# 57 Steve_OS @ 03/02/08 02:26 AM
Quote:
Originally Posted by Brian_OS
what happend to the Cowboys dude?
Oh you just had to go there didn't you Brian?
 
# 58 The Gamer @ 03/02/08 02:29 AM
Hate to be a pain, but Is Kosuke Fukudome's name available in the list of names when editing players? can you edit the name and see if the announcers still say the fake name? I know its a bit much, but I appreciate it.
 
# 59 Bucksin06 @ 03/02/08 02:31 AM
what does your first post have to do with my questions?
 
# 60 michiganfanatic720 @ 03/02/08 02:35 AM
Quote:
Originally Posted by The Gamer
Hate to be a pain, but Is Kosuke Fukudome's name available in the list of names when editing players? can you edit the name and see if the announcers still say the fake name? I know its a bit much, but I appreciate it.
This was a MAJOR problem in 2k7. If you edited a prospect and changed his name to his real name, the announcers would still say the fake one, even though you edited it! Made me very mad.
 


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