Major League Baseball 2K8 360 Impressions

[Bat]

Quote: Originally Posted by Motown

How's the HR Derby fellaz?

The Hr derby is basically the same as last years. I don't like how far back the camera is from the batter though. Its not the same view in the actual games. I don't think there is a option to change the hr derby cam. I could be wrong about that though.

Quote: Originally Posted by Motown

What's REALLY sad is when folks come back to reality and realize There won't be a patch for the framerate. I don't think there's EVER been a 360 or PS3 game that had it's framerate fixed via patch...that i can recall. i challenge anybody that can name a game that was.

Well wasn't Saints Rows framerate miserable at first? Then they did a patch and it was fixed? I know they enabled V Sync which did it but still. Two Worlds was also patched for framerate and other issues.

I think if it is indeed a VIP issue it could be patched. Thats just a guess though.

[Bat]

Quote: Originally Posted by cardinalred24

For those having issues with the ticker, I think the issue is this: the sports ticker would show you scores from around the league. Like in your franchise mode. The one we are all seeing is real life scores and info, so I wonder if you turned the option off and disconnected from XBL if it would disappear? Just a thought.

You could be right. If it was just referring to the franchise ticker wouldn't it be in the franchise setup screen instead of the other general play settings?

Anyone else noticing way too many flyballs?

[kcxiv]

Well, here goes mine.

We all know the framerate issue. I seriously hope it does get patched. If this game ran smoothly without having to take out my Hard drive, i would forgive this big mess up they got into.

Pitching. I love it. Its definately challenging now. If you serve up a meat ball its going to get drilled. Took me a few innings to get the hang of what i was doing, but now i know how to pitch and i am ok at it. No longer can you throw to the spot you want it and hit it every single pitch. Huge improvement over 2k7

Batting- I am shocked i got the timing down. I was horrible with the swing stick in 2k7 for a long time. Maybe, i just got used to it and thats why it didnt take me that long to get the hang of it.


Fielding. Its pretty damned good. You it feels alot better and more fluid then last years game. Throwing the ball is way better. What got me was when i tried to turn my first double play, i held the power to throw down way to long which resulted in my short stop taking longer to throw the ball. You have to just flick it so he does a quick throw. I was like damn, i should have known better. Now, that you can actually break up a double play or the baserunner will try to avoid being tagged out if your running at him. Pretty cool.

What impressed me the most was the way the ball flies off the bat. It feels natural. You can actually pull the ball in this game correctly. No more inside pitches going to right field when trying to pull it. Ball physics seem alot more fluid.


The gameplay for this game is much much improved, now if we can only get that darn patch to fix the lag due to the hard drive. I wont comment on the franchise, mini games and whatever else it has going on, as i dont ever mess with that. Its just not my thing.

[Qb]

Finally got a few games in and I'm struggling. I'm stubborn so I went to all-star; now I'm getting POUNDED by the CPU hitters. Guess I shouldn't have jumped the gun on that one...

I really like the use of the right analog stick in pitching/fielding, but I am have a hell of a time throwing breaking balls. It's mostly meatball after meatball unless I stick with the heater. I think I can throw a better hook in real life than I can in this game!

It seems like you can influence your hits with the left stick, but maybe it's my imagination. I played a game with the Angels and pressed down with Figgins almost every time, slapping a few good grounders. Wasn't able to hit the sac fly when I needed to though...

Probably the only thing I'm really disappointed with is the CPU pitching. I put all of the 'throw strike' sliders at zero and still didn't see a good amount of balls. I had a few two and three ball counts, but not nearly enough overall. I didn't have an issue with this at all in 2K7; in fact, in about a half of a season in dynasty mode I was in the top half of the NL in walks drawn with the Pirates. Maybe even more frustrating is that they continually pitch up in zone, especially with offspeed stuff. This is utterly unrealistic. Watch an MLB game and you'll see the majority (by far) of pitches are well below the belt.

As for the framerate, it seems about the same as last year in that it's not smooth when throwing across the infield, but it's not nearly as bad as it was made out to be. I was expecting the worst though, so if some choppiness really bugs you, 2K8 may not be for you. It's definitely no NHL 08, which would be tough as I still can't get over how smooth that game is almost six months later.

And for one last minor annoyance (which I kind of expected would be messed up somehow), I set a few player beats and they seem to be played on the road as well as at home. Oh well, it's the thought that counts, right?

I need to get some more games in (and probably go back to Pro) before I can truly pass judgment on 2K8, but I love baseball games, so I'll likely play despite any flaws that can't be resolved through sliders/patch/etc...

[sleepytercel]

Positives:

- Pitching system is excellent. Once you learn the controls, pitching becomes very intuitive and interesting

- Fileding controls are much improved. The throwing meter, though subtle, is a nice addition

- Baserunning is very easy to keep control of

- Plays a solid game of baseball when two people understand how to pitch

- Ranked games are locked into current mechanics so everyone plays an even game

- Lag has been minimal in my time with the 360 version

- Animations are much improved over 2K7

- Much improved ball physics and hit variety. The ball will skip off the dirt and take bad bounces.

- Lots of different batting angles that can be changed online. The wide batting angle gives a good perspective of oncoming pitches.

Neutrals:

- Swingstick 2.0 keeps things simplified, but feels shallow and empty overall

- Some interesting camera angles

- Meatballs become an issue when someone can't pitch and can create an offensive explosive game that can turn people away. However, when learned, the game become much more balanced.

- Framerate, though sometimes erratic (especially with poor connections online), is improved over last year. I've played games where it runs quite smooth, and some where it's jittery. Offline, the game moves smoother overall than 2K7 IMO.

- The overall presentation is okay. Not the best and not the worst. Too familiar to those who have played the series since 2K5

- auto switch fielder can be erratic and change without notice. However, turning the feature off will provide a better fielding experience.

Negatives:

- They ommited the 2K feedback system for no reason. Now you must guess whether your opponent will be a good one or a bad one.

- Presentation feels disjointed and tacked on as if added from a different company and inserted into the game. There isn't much fluidity in progression. This causes even more stuttering and quick "waiting for opponent" screens when playing online. The pause inbetween batters really hurts the overall flow of the game, and it seems to get worse as the game progresses.

- Infield fielding can be very hit or miss

- I would like to beat Jon Miller down if I hear about the '41 World Series again. When playing against someone who can't pitch, you get a lot of balls in the dirt that trigger this response over and over.

- Game locks up when accepting lobby challenges (at least for me. Cleared the cache, but didn't help)

- Lobbies are currently unranked. You must use quick game to play ranked games. Maybe this is intentional to allow people to get used to the game, or this is a flaw in the online service

- Playing people who can't pitch will be the longest and most boring game of your life.

----------------------------------

I can't think of anymore things to say. I played one offline game and about 6 online games. Overall, the gameplay is actually pretty fun, but only when playing against people who know what they are doing. I don't know why people would jump online without knowing how to play and not even use a mic so you can at least help them to save yourself from homerun derby. Beating people 27-3 is only fun in football. I will conclude that the IGN review was pretty spot on. However, I am enjoying the game, and if 2K can patch the inbetween batter stuttering, the overall flow would be much improved.

The gameplay is very interesting and rewarding overall, and it's one of those sports games where the better player will truly win the game. I suggest everyone to use the pitching tutorial before heading online. Please spare us from the homerun fiesta you will create and the aggravation you will obtain.

[merff11]

Oh my Lord! Can I just say, I attempted to play on legend last night cause all star was tough but hitting was ahead of the pitching. So my effort to make poitching more difficult worked.

The meters are so unforgiving on legend and the hitters so good you almost can't stop them from scoring. And the hitting is way more difficult than all satr as well, maybe add a bit more to the power sliders. Yes thats right, ADD to the power. I only manged to hit two balls to the outfield in 9 innings against the lowly Giants.

Perhaps I suck, which may be the case, but on all star I made better contact regularly and didn't throw one meatball in 9 innings. Legend is almost too unforgiving. So I may tinker a bit with these sliders on all star to balance it out.

4 games in and I love it.

[MikeB_20]

Quote: Originally Posted by sleepytercel

Positives: - Pitching system is excellent. Once you learn the controls, pitching becomes very intuitive and interesting - Fileding controls are much improved. The throwing meter, though subtle, is a nice addition - Baserunning is very easy to keep control of - Plays a solid game of baseball when two people understand how to pitch - Ranked games are locked into current mechanics so everyone plays an even game - Lag has been minimal in my time with the 360 version - Animations are much improved over 2K7 - Much improved ball physics and hit variety. The ball will skip off the dirt and take bad bounces. - Lots of different batting angles that can be changed online. The wide batting angle gives a good perspective of oncoming pitches. Neutrals: - Swingstick 2.0 keeps things simplified, but feels shallow and empty overall - Some interesting camera angles - Meatballs become an issue when someone can't pitch and can create an offensive explosive game that can turn people away. However, when learned, the game become much more balanced. - Framerate, though sometimes erratic (especially with poor connections online), is improved over last year. I've played games where it runs quite smooth, and some where it's jittery. Offline, the game moves smoother overall than 2K7 IMO. - The overall presentation is okay. Not the best and not the worst. Too familiar to those who have played the series since 2K5 - auto switch fielder can be erratic and change without notice. However, turning the feature off will provide a better fielding experience. Negatives: - They ommited the 2K feedback system for no reason. Now you must guess whether your opponent will be a good one or a bad one. - Presentation feels disjointed and tacked on as if added from a different company and inserted into the game. There isn't much fluidity in progression. This causes even more stuttering and quick "waiting for opponent" screens when playing online. The pause inbetween batters really hurts the overall flow of the game, and it seems to get worse as the game progresses. - Infield fielding can be very hit or miss - I would like to beat Jon Miller down if I hear about the '41 World Series again. When playing against someone who can't pitch, you get a lot of balls in the dirt that trigger this response over and over. - Game locks up when accepting lobby challenges (at least for me. Cleared the cache, but didn't help) - Lobbies are currently unranked. You must use quick game to play ranked games. Maybe this is intentional to allow people to get used to the game, or this is a flaw in the online service - Playing people who can't pitch will be the longest and most boring game of your life. ---------------------------------- I can't think of anymore things to say. I played one offline game and about 6 online games. Overall, the gameplay is actually pretty fun, but only when playing against people who know what they are doing. I don't know why people would jump online without knowing how to play and not even use a mic so you can at least help them to save yourself from homerun derby. Beating people 27-3 is only fun in football. I will conclude that the IGN review was pretty spot on. However, I am enjoying the game, and if 2K can patch the inbetween batter stuttering, the overall flow would be much improved. The gameplay is very interesting and rewarding overall, and it's one of those sports games where the better player will truly win the game. I suggest everyone to use the pitching tutorial before heading online. Please spare us from the homerun fiesta you will create and the aggravation you will obtain.

Nice impressions, thanks!

[Saint19]

Hi all,

Just got the game last night for my ps3. I've only got an SDTV. So far its pretty good. I've played THE SHOW for the past two years and really liked it. But this year I felt that although the gfx were awesome....I didn't really see much difference from last years game. So I decided to pick up 2k8.

So far the only thing I'm really disappointed with is the small text size on my SDTV. It does make it hard to read stat info on batters, pitchers, lineup card etc.

I was a little down about not having ANY custom soundtracks in the game. I guess I didn't notice that ps3 users wouldn't get this feature.

FRAMERATE has been buttery smooth the whole time. I've played 3 games 2 in Yankee stadium cuz I love the Yanks. The other was in Wrigley Field where last year I found it unplayable in 2k7 cuz of stuttering issues...especially with men on base. But in 2k8 I've got NONE...NADA...ZERO stuttering. I was worried about that after reading the threads about framerate. But nope ...no problems.

The faces....errr well, not great. Some are OK. But again not near as what I saw in THE SHOW demo. It reminds me almost of last years version of the SHOW instead....it just looks like a computer game with some OK faces. But when I'm playing I don't really notice it...its only doing walkups etc. ..as I said some are ok.

I like how the shadows move across the field as the game wore on.

I LOVE that I've seen broken up double plays...THAT I DID NOT SEE LAST YEAR IN THE SHOW.(Still love that game too.)

The pitching is really cool this year. It'll take some time to get used to. But I really like it. I'm not to sure how much I like Swing Stick...but it hasn't been bad. I've only hit 2 homers so far....1 with Giambi, and the other with Matsui. I'm playing on PRO while I get used to the game.

I will say on PRO that I've seen an awful lot of dropped balls. I'm not sure if its just my throwing...or what. Some fielded balls have been dropped too.

I've not played FRANCHISE yet as I've got very little time with 2 kids and another onthe way.

Oh well I'm not good at this reviewing sorta thing. But I hope this helps some.

Saint19