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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
# 61 Steve_OS @ 03/02/08 02:36 AM
Quote:
Originally Posted by Bucksin06
what does your first post have to do with my questions?
Sorry, I meant 2nd post.
 
# 62 soxnut1018 @ 03/02/08 02:38 AM
Can you please answer my post about sac flies. Thank you.
 
# 63 The Gamer @ 03/02/08 02:38 AM
right, I don't understand the point of changing the name if the announcers and P.A. don't say the correct name. I can understand Jon and Joe being divas and not wanting to put in the extra work (if that's what it is), but hell the p.a. guy should be forced to work overtime to get that stuff right.
 
# 64 Steve_OS @ 03/02/08 02:42 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.
Definitely not available in the list of names. As for editing the names, etc. for the announcing. I will have to check that out at another time. It's time for bed! Almost 3:00 AM! Ugh.
 
# 65 The Gamer @ 03/02/08 02:43 AM
cool. thanks for checking and answering.
 
# 66 Bucksin06 @ 03/02/08 02:43 AM
i added the avatar
 
# 67 michiganfanatic720 @ 03/02/08 02:44 AM
Quote:
Originally Posted by The Gamer
right, I don't understand the point of changing the name if the announcers and P.A. don't say the correct name. I can understand Jon and Joe being divas and not wanting to put in the extra work (if that's what it is), but hell the p.a. guy should be forced to work overtime to get that stuff right.
Its also the fact that you could change someones name to something as simple as Joe Mauer (a name they can obviously say), and Jon and Joe would still call him by his made up name. Its really just stupid.
 
# 68 The Gamer @ 03/02/08 02:48 AM
I'd rather they just say the players number instead of the jacked up name.
 
# 69 soxnut1018 @ 03/02/08 02:53 AM
Just realized I did not have a mini avatar. So I will ask my question again. With the new swing stick how easy is it to hit a sac fly when you need to. Thanks
 
# 70 Brian_OS @ 03/02/08 03:11 AM
Sorry about the Cowboy comment, but hey I'm a Niner fan. I have not seen a decent football game in years and I have toi throw rocks at somebody

I do have a question. Can you see the spalsh down in the bay during HR bombs?(I know your a Gaints fan!) 2k has always let us down with homerun ball tracking.
 
# 71 Spectre @ 03/02/08 03:38 AM
Great impressions Steve, the game sounds like a blast to play.
 
# 72 phillyfan23 @ 03/02/08 03:45 AM
how are walks in the game? will u draw some....will u throw some ? can u weigh in on that??
thanks
 
# 73 davewins @ 03/02/08 07:25 AM
sounds good! Thanx for the write up! Do the players get up off the bench to see how far HR's are hit or do they get up also to see other hits like triples or doubles off the wall etc. Also is this live in game or is it a cutscene/replay. Thanx again!!
 
# 74 arod @ 03/02/08 07:42 AM
sick...i can't wait to try out this new pitching interface. Thanks for the impression..
 
# 75 Bat @ 03/02/08 07:53 AM
Sorry if this has been answered before. Are there practice swings and can we turn off the 7th inning highlight show with Jeanne Zelasko? I know I will get tired of that fast.. I hope we can turn it off. Thanks.
 
# 76 Steve_OS @ 03/02/08 09:40 AM
Quote:
Originally Posted by Bucksin06
-as far as baserunning goes, what feels better in you're opinion?
last year i had to jack baserunner speed up to 100 just so I could steal a base!!!!
-also, have you noticed a variety of cutscenes for different occasions?
Thanks for the impressions,
-bucksin06
Last year, I had issues w/ the game not responding all the time when advancing baserunners, in the beta, I'm not having any issues at all.

As long as I got a decent lead and a good jump, I was fairly successful. But you need a speedster, obviously. But I didn't adjust any sliders or ratings.

I really haven't seen that many cutscenes.
 
# 77 Steve_OS @ 03/02/08 09:42 AM
Quote:
Originally Posted by Bucksin06
have you played at miller park?
if so, how does it look? because it sucked on 2k7
Haven't played there, but there is a screenshot of it, in the screenshots section of the game on the homepage. Or, simply click the link to the article and then click the screenshot image on the right.
 
# 78 Steve_OS @ 03/02/08 09:51 AM
Quote:
Originally Posted by The Gamer
... and can you take practice swings during an at bat to get the timing down. Thanks again.
No practice swings.
 
# 79 Steve_OS @ 03/02/08 09:52 AM
Quote:
Originally Posted by soxnut1018
Just realized I did not have a mini avatar. So I will ask my question again. With the new swing stick how easy is it to hit a sac fly when you need to. Thanks
As answered by baa7.

The answer according to Kushgamer (in a post a couple of weeks ago) is that sac flies, and your ability to hit them, are entirely dependent on the batter's ratings and the pitch location. It has nothing to do pushing the stick to signal your intention to hit a sac fly ala button hitting. You can use the R stick to direct the ball left or right, but not to hit a fly ball or ground ball.
 
# 80 Steve_OS @ 03/02/08 09:53 AM
Quote:
Originally Posted by Brian_OS
Sorry about the Cowboy comment, but hey I'm a Niner fan. I have not seen a decent football game in years and I have toi throw rocks at somebody

I do have a question. Can you see the spalsh down in the bay during HR bombs?(I know your a Gaints fan!) 2k has always let us down with homerun ball tracking.
Yeah, figured as much.

Nope, haven't seen a splash down yet, and I've had a few, so I'm guessing it's not in the game.
 


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