MLB 11 The Show Demo Available Now, Post Your Impressions Here

[Sportsforever]

Quote: Originally Posted by lenny819

This is the first ever mlb the show Id be getting on my new PS3 and I'm a little concerned. Watching youtube videos, the game looked amazing. Are the graphics not so good because of the demo or is an HD tv required?

If you aren't using an HD TV they aren't going to look like the vids you've been seeing...an HD TV is a must to really get the most out of these games visually.

[Tyler4]

First off I think the graphics look amazing! I thought the updated stances were also pretty sweet. Some little things I noticed while playing the demo was that was...
I really loved how when you press X for the pre-swing motion (or whatever you guys call it around here) it looks more like one fluid motion this year instead of being all laggy and video game with two separate motions from previous years. I noticed how when there's a ball hit to the edge of the field that they don't run right into the wall they put their hands out to catch themselves. Another interesting piece was when you throw a ball in the dirt with a runner on third the pitcher automatically runs to cover the plate. Another thing I like is the starting pitcher warming up before the game to see what some of his pitches look like, etc. This is just a few of the things that caught my attention. I'm going to play again later and I'll post more up after I play again. Can't wait to get the full game!

[Sco291]

Welp, I can honestly say - this game is horrible.

Just kidding I thought the demo was really realy good. The new lighting engine is just draw dropping. I loved how the clouds actually move in the sky at a noticeable rate of speed. I had hit a homerun with Aubrey Huff in the bottom of the 3rd, and when he rounded 3rd base i could especially that 1.) I LOVE how the stadium lights were on in the 2nd inning, and 2.) LOVE how the light from the stadium was projected on Huff as he was rounding the bases. Just too cool.

The commentary surprised me - it's not that bad. I unlike a lot of people think Karros is Great. I was so thrilled to hear Vasgersian and Karros INTERACTING. Just makes me a happy camper. I can sort of tell they each have a different like, talking level, like they don't sound like they recorded in the same room wi the same conditions. But overall the commentary I found to be just fine, and once the final game is released I think it'll be even better.

Analog. Ohhh boy... Um...I LOVE analog pitching. It's awesome and just a more interesting way to get through a game. I had it from the very start and I love how accurate it is. The analog hitting was hard for me at first but I somewhat got the hang of it, so i'll most likely go back to timing hitting or maybe zone. Analog fielding, although it has been pissing me off lol, ios really fun. Knowing you're the one who makes the errors now, or at least can, is just cool to know. Plus the fielding in general IMO has been tweaked nicely.

Little Things i noticed: I was just ASTOUNDED and giddy as hell when I saw the grounds crew animation after the bottom of the 3rd inning. Nothing too long or intense, but I was really impressed by that just adds to the atmosphere of the game, or just realism i suppose. I remember asking about the grounds crew animation in the wish list thread last season after 10 The player faces are incredible, i did a replay just to look around and i could actually see the hair on the arms of the guys in the texas bullpen, along with their eyes actually moving following the ball trial and them chewing gum and showing teeth, pretty awesome. Stances have been tweaked I see, Sandoval is much better as is Andrus. Lincecum's delivery from the stretch is much better too. Also noticeable was the grass looking somewhat better than last year, and also the crowd noise. On a few 2 pitch strikes I heard the crowd get louder so that's definitely a plus.

Last thing.... I like how when you pitch, the ball seems to just go right to the glove, not sure how to explain it, but the ball very nicely fires into the catchers glove and is a smooth animation. Also caught eye of the catcher throwing the ball back, it looks like when he throws its much tweaked, like he snaps his wrist more when throwing the ball back top the pitcher.

That's it for now until release, I can't wait to incorporate my sounds of the show and start up my Yankees franchise in a few weeks!

[bcruise]

So....yeah, I think I need to hit the batting cages for analog batting.

I liked all of the analog options more than I thought I would, even while flailing away while batting (but, honestly, most of the K's were the looking variety, I didn't miss THAT many times). Due in part to all that looking, I did manage to draw 2 walks which, while it's never been a problem for me in previous versions, was nice to see once again. Fielding felt great - I mentioned how I got different results from what seemed like the same motion and I think that was the player ratings kicking in. I thought the pitching worked well too, but despite getting the yellow indicator on the meter I had some pitches that were way off the mark. Might have been ratings or trying to throw too hard, or something like that. It got better later on though, as I got yellow, the pitches were a lot more spot-on.

CPU seemed to be a little easier to fool at the plate than in previous years, perhaps to compensate for the increased difficulty in analog pitching. Mind you, this was on the default all-star so your mileage may vary.

Commentary...well, I pointed out the Karros additions earlier, but it is still relatively the same structure, despite the lines flowing a bit better between Vasgersian and Karros.

Couple of issues I hope are patched or don't exist in the retail:

When first starting up the demo I think the ambient crowd noise (the "dull murmur") got stuck in some kind of loop, making it stutter non-stop even after the game started. I reset the demo and it was fine the second time. Might have had something to do with the fact that I was in the XMB while it was starting up - I was trying to get my controller switched around since my fightstick was still plugged in, and it was low on battery power to boot. Just a weird situation.

In the last inning, with Josh Hamilton on 3rd and 1 out, I worm-burned a fastball for ball 4, and it bounced off the catcher and rolled up the 3rd base line. Hamilton takes off for home and is easily tagged out when the catcher picks up the ball - he didn't even have to move. This wasn't one of those "maybe he should" type of situations - the catcher had the ball and was standing in the 3rd base line waiting for him.

Gonna play a few more games, but this will just make the wait to March 8 that much tougher.

[thaSLAB]

Words cannot explain how disappointed I am!!!

Spoiler

Not with the demo, but with the fact I am out of town on business, and I can't download and enjoy it!!

[Blzer]

Quote: Originally Posted by vinny_b

I like it too. Although, i take it the audio quality is compressed in this demo. Either that, or i need to re-wire my speakers.. _

Nope, I hear the exact same thing. Hopefully this was just for optimization purposes to make the demo size smaller.

[tekulve66]

Enjoyed the demo. A good sign is that I'm in bed reading impressions and I'm debating whether to play some more and forget I have to wake up at 5.

What I liked:
Player models
Lighting (as has been mentioned numerous times)
Unis look really detailed and vibrant. Noticed an overall crispness and detail in everything compared to '10.
Analog is the way for me. Jumped right in, probably helped from 2K days, but hitting, pitching, fielding is all very fun to me.

Dislikes:
Familiar cutscenes, replays seem to need a tweak- maybe some new camera angles. Perhaps more play on released version will reveal more variety.

Crowd seemed somewhat muted, and I'd have to echo some other comments that say the atmosphere is kind of dull. Perhaps it's due to it being a 4 inning exhibition game.

I did encounter a bug which may be demo related. Hit a home run with Torres, driving in Tejada. Unfortunately, on the next play, there sat Tejada at first and SF was only awarded 1 run. I'd hate to see that pop up every now and then ( it happened, I swear).

Can't wait for March 8 and check out the other stadiums, unis, and in season stats (enjoyed seeing OPS having more of a presence in some stats, such as player of game, hopefully it's shown more for in season purposes rather than 1 game, where OPS can quite inflated with the limited plate appearances. Anyways, quite satisfied.

[edm18]

Quote: Originally Posted by ARoid1313

feels like the game took a step backwards visually.. crowd during gameplay behind the plate is an eyesore! they are upresed during replay / NIS. rendering feels dirty, overall just not as polished. Feels like they cut some visuals to real hit a solid 60 frames. also hope the sound was compressed for the demo cause it sounds like an AM radio! demo was a let down and i absolutely loved this game for the past 3 years

just my opinion. but Id take smoother game play over a pretty crowd any day.