Operation Sports MLB 13 The Show Community Impressions Thread

[sydrogerdavid]

Busch Stadium looks better than ever. The grass was improved and really well done. There are so many visual improvements, it's hard to list them all right here before class. There are a couple of head scratchers in there, but they should be easy fixes when the time comes.

[Babrook]

What is everyone's impressions of the new Begginer Mode that supposedly makes this game more accessible? I have always loved the idea of this game but from playing the demo from a few years ago for ~10 hours and still being terrible at hitting I have shrugged off the purchase. When I saw this year that there is a mode that adapts to how well you play, I got pretty excited. I was curious as to if anyone has used this yet and have any insights to how well it works.

[queensbomber]

IMO...this is the best version thus far. So far beyond polished in just about every aspect of the game. It feels like every feature they've implemented the past 4 years have finally been perfected.
The game feels so solid, looks great and the crowd is really into it most times. The new menus and overlays give it a fresh look and they have done a lot to add to the presentation. My one and only gripe(so far) is that the commentary just plain, sucks!
Yes psycho steve lyons is in but how could anyone even tell if he has about 2-3 lines everry game!? there are times where its dead quiet.
this of course will never break the game for me.
This may be the last one i get for ps3 because its just that good.

[Marino]

Really enjoyed the brief session I had with it today. And I won a HR Derby match online, I love the way they have it set up this year.

[wonkyr]

I know it seems like a small issue....but am I the only one that noticed how far down the logos are on each teams hats?

*If you can't tell....instant reply....zoom in on any fielders hat*

(posted here too because people were upset that I made my own thread about this topic)

[TGov]

Really like the presentation for RTTS, the zooming in and out of FF and on-field play is awesome!

[Drew127]

Impressions after a couple of games played. Disclaimer: I am well aware that I am still in the infatuation phase with this new game. It is still shiny and the newness has not worn off yet, so some of these impressions might be overstated.

1. One word to describe the game this year is "polished". All facets, from the graphics to the presentation to the animations and the hit variety have been touched and this game is very, very well done.

2. I think the presentation upgrades have been great. The new overlays look sharp, and I like the new lineup/pitcher presentation screens with the smoke effects. I love the opening shot of the stadium from behind home plate when the game first loads, and I love the way the matchup is displayed on screen. Doesn't look like an arcade game like it did in years passed. This year the presentation is very professional and feels as close to watching an MLB broadcast as any video game has come, IMO. I feel like the presentation has made small steps each year but the end result is a stellar package after the incremental changes each year. Pop in MLB 09 and tell me the presentation has not come a long, long way.

3. Love the new score bug. I also love how the animations during camera cuts seem to happen in real-time now. If they do a close-up of the hitter up to bat between pitches as he steps out of the box and stretches, he will still be doing the same thing when the camera cuts back to behind the pitcher. Before, these cut-scenes were not in real-time I feel like. As soon as the camera cut away back to the pitcher, the hitter would be back in the box ready to go all of a sudden. Subtle changes like this are terrific examples of the polish I mentioned.

4. The wear and tear on the field is sustained through the entire game, such as the chalk in the batters box and down the lines. Before, the chalk and dirt would always reset every few innings and go back to looking fresh like they did at the start of the game. Again, polish.

5. Lighting seems to have taken a subtle step forward. Player self-shadowing and shadows on the field at night are more pronounced and look even more natural than before.

6. The commentary, despite all the criticism I have given it myself, is still more than good enough. More emotion and banter would be nice, as always, but Steve Lyons is great IMO. He adds legitimate insight instead of corny one-liners like the other guys in the past have done. Those days are gone.

7. New ball physics are amazing. I've seen hits already that I've never seen in this game before. Had two doubles down the line that bounced just fair, and then died in the corner when the ball scuffed against the outfield wall. Looked so real and true to life. I've seen line drives just out of the reach of the leaping SS, with realistic tail on the ball. The way the ball moves on the ground is spot-on. I've seen the CPU outfielders misplay the carom off the wall, which is also a welcome addition.

8. Seen some nice animations that add polish (yeah, not done using that word yet). Comebackers to the pitcher where he stabs at the ball, then knowing there is plenty of time to throw out the runner casually turns around and tosses the ball to first base. Just looks like real life. Other animations, especially in the infield, add similar authenticity. I like the way the first baseman quickly comes off the bag after making the put out on ground outs. Throwing animations for 3B/SS across the diamond look better too.

9. The pitcher deliveries are buttery smooth this year (when the stutter is not happening!). Looks just like right. Pitcher deliveries in general are spot on, Halladay looks great for example.

10. Now for some negatives. I've noticed the dreaded foul ball choppers around the plate happening frequently again. Thought these were gone this year? I've also seen some weird pop-ups where the ball is popped straight up at the plate but only 20 feet or so, the catcher gets up and catches the ball immediately without even having to leave the catchers box. Looks very strange and I've seen this happen twice already.

11. Small sample size, but I feel like balls are hit too hard this year and advancing from first to third or scoring from second on a single to the outfield is much harder. In fact I've barely seen it so far, seems like you can only advance one base on a single to the outfield, both for me and the CPU. Again, hopefully just a small sample size. It seems like a combination of the ball being hit hard and outfielders getting to it quickly.

Still haven't dug into any of the modes really, so these are just my gameplay impressions from the first few games.

[Sweed]

Played one game on all-star default (play now) with Cubs at Wrigley vs. Oakland. Garza lost 3-2 giving up two dingers. I scored on a solo HR.

Pitch count was 142 for me and Oak ~115, 48 total foul balls in the game. Looking very good for default, IIRC ~50 balls go out of play in a real MLB game. Pretty sure I always had to tweak the game before to get them right.

The expected great game play is there. Just takes a little time to find the areas that do need to be tweaked. Still the best console sports sim on the market IMHO.

Some things with the gui that really bother me. When you pause the game it goes to a very nice screen showing who's on base, pitching, hitting, and the lineup with current batter highlighted. The lineup doesn't show anything but name and position. It doesn't show what side of the plate the players hit from. If you aren't familiar with every player on the opponent you'll have to go to another screen to find this info. It's the same between innings. The little part where they show the next three batters due up does not show handedness. This seems to happen in most screens. At least when you go to your bullpen the next three batters are shown with handedness. But really why wouldn't this information be front and center? It was in v11 and before (I skipped 12 so don't know how it was there).

The batter\pitcher comparison screen in game is not well done either, IMHO. The screens themselves are the same as v11 and before which is good enough. Its what happens when you hit L1 or R1 to change to batter and pitcher performance screens that I don't like. Previous versions the screen would scroll right or left. In v13 the current screen kind of folds and disappears in the middle of the tv screen and then unfolds and reappears with your new view. To me it is irritating as hell and amounts to change for change sake instead of staying with something that already works very well. Yeah, we're all different and some will love the new way, just not me.

So after one game played my only gripe is gui related and that is a very good thing. I can certainly live with these things I just don't understand them. Especially taking key information like batter handedness from screens that already had them. Really? Why?


Now, shall I talk of the "all important" eye candy It doesn't mean a thing if the game sucks but The Show doesn't suck so... Day game at Wrigley and the lighting was awesome. Everything looked upgraded from v11, which is a great looking game. The thing that really drew my eye was a noticeable difference in the caps, they look like they are made of cloth. Zoom in and you can see the grain of the cloth. Again it doesn't make the game but they are getting so detailed in the graphics and it is really amazing.