Major League Baseball 2K8 360 Impressions

[kingdevin]

One of the best things this game has going is the ariel cam and the AI sliders. I don't like the cutscenes of the batters coming to the plate.

[MizzouRah]

Quote: Originally Posted by Pared

Great post, Mizzou. I'm sure if they had extra time the framerate wouldn't even be an issue. Don't agree with you there at all. The installs to the hard drive are to speed up load times (or in some instances, eliminate them completely) as games are using textures now that aren't a few MB's in size. It's either that, stare at a loading screen for 5 mins or get a game with terrible textures. ------ I've spent more and more time with the game and it's not the HUGE disappointment it first was. They really lowered a lot of the graphical effects and that's sad to see. Others may say the downgrade isn't that bad but I don't agree with them. The graphics were really nice last year and they're just ok this year, especially with some strange looking animations at times. At least last year these animations look strange with the graphics at such a high level. It's frustrating because you expect the game to look better every year, not worse. Gameplay though... very, very nice. I love how loose everything feels. Very MVP-ish on the field. I'm really liking the pitching the more I spend time with it, but as someone else said, it's still a meter. The only difference is the motions you're inputting. Still is a nice diversion from the norm. I still hate the meatball thing. Such a stupid, stupid idea. The way the CPU always hits a no-doubter where they pose and everything is another stupid inclusion. Makes you wonder who was in charge of this aspect of the game. I can understand the CPU making you pay with a nice double down the line but to have it practically a HR most of the time is... ugh. That's a very arcade aspect that I hate and this series always seems to have something like that. WHY??? I'm seeing the CPU throw a decent variety of balls/strikes but the lack of walks is killing me. Once you get the hang of the meter you can still pinpoint your pitches. Again, get rid of the meatball and make the player miss his spot out of the zone sometimes as well. This series is just beyond frustrating. If it's not one thing it's another. Last year it took heavy slider work to get the game to play a sim-game of baseball, but it looked great and the camera angle they added after the patch was tops. This year, the game looks flat and dull at times as it took a graphical hit with the gameplay being a bit better and more involving. Still needs heavy slider work, again. It's just frustrating to think this could be the only baseball game out there because of exclusivity. It certainly is nice to have a choice. If only we had the same thing in football.

Thanks Pared!

I haven't seen many HR's from meatballs yet, mostly swings and misses.. but I believe you.

The strikezone is HUGE and I agree, on defaults the CPU throws strike after strike it seems (I will confess though, walks don't bother me one bit, I hate them in console baseball games) or maybe I just like to swing at everything to get the game moving.

[MizzouRah]

Quote: Originally Posted by y2dan

A couple quick questions for some of you: 1) When using swing stick 2.0, when should I be stepping back for my swing? I'm always late or early, I can't seem to get it right. 2) When pitching with runners on base, why does it seem like the effectiveness meter doesn't matter? I always have such a small "green" zone when choosing the accuracy for my pitch when not pitching out of the stretch. Thanks

1. Right before the pitcher releases the ball.

2. Haven't noticed that yet, but I've read others have.

[MizzouRah]

Quote: Originally Posted by kingdevin

One of the best things this game has going is the ariel cam and the AI sliders. I don't like the cutscenes of the batters coming to the plate.

LOVE the aerial cam!!!

[orion523]

What a disappointment! I was so pumped after last years game because I thought they had a really great game with the exception of a few things(fielding,hit variety,a few other small things) but the bones were there for something great.Then this years version comes and...BOOM....they killed it.....This game is awful.Cmon fellas,just be honest.The graphics stink,the new pitching mechanic is ridiculously stupid and unnescessary and the frame rate is horrible which makes the fielding sketchy at best.Anyone who says they like this game is lying to themselves and I guarantee once "spring fever" wears off you'll be trading this in for GTA IV.

[metal134]

I'm not lying to myself because:
1) Framerates do not bother me
2) Graphics are not very important to me
3) The pitching mechanic is enjoyable to me

The problem is that you are assuming what's importnat to you is important to everyone else. It never occured to you that some people don;t care about graphics or framerates or presentation. Now, whether will I be able to get the right slider tweaks to get the statiscal realism that I crave remains to be seen (because when it boils down to it, that's whats important to me; not graphics, not framerates, not bat sounds, none of that stuff). And whether I will be able to work around some of these bugs remains to be seen (so far, the only two that bother me are the reseting roations and the lack of pitcher injuries in franchise). I certainley seem to be on the right path to getting what I want so far. I still say the Show is a better game, but this game is shaping up to be satisfactory for me.

[sportyguyfl31]

Whew!! I just had myself one heck of a tense game. I finally beat the dang yankees. I used the Indians and won by a 4-1 score.

Sizemore had a solo homer, and haffner went 4-5. I actually had myself a dang good pitching performance:

Sabathia 6IP, 7 hits, 1 run, 5 k's

The biggest out of the game came in the 7th inning. I was up 3-1. I retire Melky and Damon..then damn Derek gets on base bringing up Abreu against Kamitah..I strike Abreu out with a beauty of a 2-2 curveball low and away to retire the side..Betancourt pitches the 8th and "hold your breath" Borowski gets the save in the 9th. A very clean, well played game. I almost feel ready to start a franchise.

I still wish to see more balls.and I notice the CPU isnt all that aggresive on the bases. I have yet to see a steal attempt in about 5 games. Anyone notice this?

[orion523]

Quote: Originally Posted by metal134

I'm not lying to myself because: 1) Framerates do not bother me 2) Graphics are not very important to me 3) The pitching mechanic is enjoyable to me The problem is that you are assuming what's importnat to you is important to everyone else. It never occured to you that some people don;t care about graphics or framerates or presentation. Now, whether will I be able to get the right slider tweaks to get the statiscal realism that I crave remains to be seen (because when it boils down to it, that's whats important to me; not graphics, not framerates, not bat sounds, none of that stuff). And whether I will be able to work around some of these bugs remains to be seen (so far, the only two that bother me are the reseting roations and the lack of pitcher injuries in franchise). I certainley seem to be on the right path to getting what I want so far. I still say the Show is a better game, but this game is shaping up to be satisfactory for me.

The most important thing to me is also getting sim like stats which the game also fails at miserably but thats not the point.The point is that 2K released a game that was worse than last years game and if they're going to charge premimum money for a game it should at least be as good as the previous years version.Look I'm not one of those trollers who looks to write bad things about a game,(you can check my posts,there's rarely any negativity)but when I pay 65$ for something I do have certain expectations.This game in my opinion is a failure on all fronts and thats a disappointment.