Major League Baseball 2K8 Review

[Skyboxer]

Very good review. Totally agree.
The game has so much potential and time could have been better served working on the main core rather than a card system.
Also to a previous poster, you can get patches via the silver account also. You don't need gold.

[CMH]

This is one of the better reviews of this game. You dug deep into it's positives and negatives. Maybe I feel that way because everything is exactly how I feel. It's a good game of baseball that has inexusable negatives that should have been fixed before retail.

The audio and presentation should have been the downfall of 2k8. It should have been something that people would say, "Lets wait for 2k9 because I love 2k8!"

Instead, because of the frame rate issue people are experiencing, online lag, downed graphics, and minor bugs here and there, people are ignoring the good of the title and rendering 2k8 unplayable.

Honestly, I don't blame people for feeling this way because the above issues are, again, inexcusable.

Solid review that covers everything. When you consider it all I think a 6/10 is fair. The graphics taking a hit is a full point right there. The lack of audio and presentation is another point. And then I'd say if framerate was ironed out we'd have another point. It's crazy to know that if those three things are fixed then MLB2k8 would have been a 9/10 title easily.

Hopefully, the gameplay remains the same or continues to improve and 2k9 focuses on their above negatives. Because if it does then Brinkman and team weren't wrong.

[BlyGilmore]

Quote: Originally Posted by jim416

The game "crashes"? You mean you'll be playing then, bingo, crashes like a computer game would?

Yep. Completely freezes. You push buttons, nothing happens. after a few minutes of waiting all you can do is turn off the console and start over.

[BlyGilmore]

Quote: Originally Posted by Brophog

For the review, I agree that a 6 is a tad harsh, but I don't know his scale.......everyone has a different 1-10 scale. On mine, it's a tad harsh. On his, it may be generious.

Funny you bring this up because it was a topic of our staff meeting last night.

We have some review guidelines. I thought they were live but they weren't. Look for them to be posted later in the week or first thing next week.

In the case of MLB 2K8, here's the description for games in that range ...

5 to 6.5 – Average to slightly above average. While fun at times these games generally have some glaring issues that need to be addressed before it can be considered a good game. These games tend to have some design issues and an overall lack of depth. In other words a little more time in development probably could have done these types of games some good. You are also firmly in, "if you're not a fan of that sport you shouldn't pick up this title" land.

[BlyGilmore]

Quote: Originally Posted by Slizeezyc

So we talked about a re-review type deal post-patch Brophog, but I actually think that's a bad idea and I don't think we'll do something like that. I'll explain my thought process on that though: In the same way it's shaky ground to criticize a game for something it's not, it's also shaky ground to praise a game for what it could be. That's my general philosophy at least, and I think since the game comes boxed one way, that means some people won't be able to get a patch etc. Now all that being said, I do agree it would make sense to take a second look once patches and all that come out, and I think we certainly will. But I just don't think it will be under the guise of a re-review.

Yeah i agree, a full blow re-review probably won't happen. we'll certainly have some "MLB is patched - its better now!" coverage - assuming it is better.

but IMO you can't give companies mulligans. patching a defective product doesn't make up for the several months gamers had to deal with it being broken. If the patch was released in the first week it might be different, but weeks to months after release?

[roadman]

Quote: Originally Posted by BlyGilmore

Funny you bring this up because it was a topic of our staff meeting last night. We have some review guidelines. I thought they were live but they weren't. Look for them to be posted later in the week or first thing next week. In the case of MLB 2K8, here's the description for games in that range ... 5 to 6.5 – Average to slightly above average. While fun at times these games generally have some glaring issues that need to be addressed before it can be considered a good game. These games tend to have some design issues and an overall lack of depth. In other words a little more time in development probably could have done these types of games some good. You are also firmly in, "if you're not a fan of that sport you shouldn't pick up this title" land.

Ah, thanks Bly, that makes sense.

I'm in the minority and don't have the frame rate issues some people are having, plus I thought 2k did a great job with all the animations and signature styles.

The other part of the article was spot on.

[gallandro]

Quote: Originally Posted by BlyGilmore

but IMO you can't give companies mulligans. patching a defective product doesn't make up for the several months gamers had to deal with it being broken. If the patch was released in the first week it might be different, but weeks to months after release?

Exactly, this problem is nothing new for the 2K Baseball line. MLB2K6 practically had the same problems (slow fram rate and periodic freezing) which stemmed from the VIP system. You'd have thought they learned by now.

I used to be the biggest 2kSports fanboy. I'd take NHK2K over EA's NHL series any day, I'd take NFL2K over Madden in a heartbeat, NBA2K or CH2K without a second thought... my how things have changed...

I've turned to EA for hockey this year. LOVE NHL 08. I now get my football fix with the NCAA series, and The Show for my baseball addiction. The only 2K standby that I turn to on a regular basis now is College Hoops and now that's been canned.


Yancy

[Pared]

Quote: Originally Posted by BlyGilmore

Yeah i agree, a full blow re-review probably won't happen. we'll certainly have some "MLB is patched - its better now!" coverage - assuming it is better. but IMO you can't give companies mulligans. patching a defective product doesn't make up for the several months gamers had to deal with it being broken. If the patch was released in the first week it might be different, but weeks to months after release?

A patch should fix minor issues and improve the game.

A retail copy of a game should be able to stand on its own. Glad to see you guys are following the same mind set.

What kills me is had EA had done this with the exclusive license they'd get killed for it.