Home

Major League Baseball 2K9 Hands-On Preview

This is a discussion on Major League Baseball 2K9 Hands-On Preview within the MLB 2K forums.

Go Back   Operation Sports Forums > Baseball > Other Baseball Games > MLB 2K
Why Player Ratings Change When Starting Dynasty Mode in College Football 25
What Is Pro Yakyuu Spirits 2024/Professional Baseball Spirits 2024, and How Do You Get It?
The House Rules Hub for Recruiting in College Football 25 Dynasty Mode
Reply
 
Thread Tools
Old 02-16-2009, 11:51 AM   #1
Editor-in-Chief
 
Steve_OS's Arena
 
OVR: 77
Join Date: Jul 2002
Location: OS Eastern Office
Posts: 32,443
Blog Entries: 556
Major League Baseball 2K9 Hands-On Preview

I have played quite a bit of our beta copy of Major League Baseball 2K9, so I will give my impressions of what I have seen so far. Just keep in mind, some of the issues I have witnessed will not be in the final retail version, according to the developers of the game.

Some Unanswered Questions

The biggest question has to be the frame rate and the A.I. swinging at anything remotely close to the strike zone. After multiple games, I can definitely tell you there are some issues with the frame rate, but those issues are not consistently popping up. For example, here are some instances where I have seen hiccups in animations one time, and then a few innings later, seen the exact type of play and not seen any hiccups.

Read More - Major League Baseball 2K9 Hands-On Preview

Platform: PS3 / Xbox 360
Steve_OS is offline  
Reply With Quote
Advertisements - Register to remove
Old 02-16-2009, 11:59 AM   #2
MVP
 
baseball88's Arena
 
OVR: 11
Join Date: Apr 2003
Re: Major League Baseball 2K9 Hands-On Preview

Steve

Could you post a video for the Baltimore Orioles at Cleveland Indians


I would like to see what the Indians batting helmet looks like for home.

Thanks
baseball88 is offline  
Reply With Quote
Old 02-16-2009, 12:01 PM   #3
RIP Ty My Buddy
 
nemesis04's Arena
 
OVR: 52
Join Date: Feb 2004
Location: Long Island NY
Posts: 13,548
Blog Entries: 1
Re: Major League Baseball 2K9 Hands-On Preview

Nice preview Steve, basically all the concerns you mentioned can been seen in the samples you gave us. If the cpu AI swinging was addressed but not the frame rate, do you think the title would still have legs?
__________________
“The saddest part of life is when someone who gave you your best memories becomes a memory”
nemesis04 is offline  
Reply With Quote
Old 02-16-2009, 12:07 PM   #4
MVP
 
OVR: 13
Join Date: Jul 2002
Location: Cary, NC
Re: Major League Baseball 2K9 Hands-On Preview

Steve, thank you for your hard work. You keep a lot of people here very happy (and unproductive)!

  • I won't worry about the framerate yet; the code is unoptimized. The fact the same play can hitch sometimes and not others tell me there is the potential for the entire game to run smoothly at all times

  • CPU swinging at everything does concern me

  • Drawing walks? Yes!

  • The hit variety you describe sounds dreamy

  • The "little" things and real-time world have me very excited


All in all, it sounds like the game is still rough around the edges. But it sounds (from your hands-on) that if the game played smoothly and the CPU swung less, we'd have a solid baseball game on our hands.

That sounds great!
brendanrfoley is offline  
Reply With Quote
Old 02-16-2009, 12:09 PM   #5
Rookie
 
larma's Arena
 
OVR: 9
Join Date: Feb 2008
Location: Finland
Finally some info about the PS3 version. Sounds good compared to what we got last year. Nice preview, thanks.
larma is offline  
Reply With Quote
Advertisements - Register to remove
Old 02-16-2009, 12:16 PM   #6
MVP
 
Trevytrev11's Arena
 
OVR: 19
Join Date: Nov 2006
Re: Major League Baseball 2K9 Hands-On Preview

Quote:
Originally Posted by Steve_OS
All in all, I am enjoying my time with the game even though I have a few gripes with the gameplay. If the developers tweak the game so the A.I. does not swing at everything in the zone and get the frame rate right, I will be satisfied, and I am sure most gamers will be as well.
Pretty much how I feel from what I have seen and read. If they can fix this (or make it fixable), it sounds like everything is stuff I can live with if it is not fixed.
Trevytrev11 is offline  
Reply With Quote
Old 02-16-2009, 12:17 PM   #7
RIP Ty My Buddy
 
nemesis04's Arena
 
OVR: 52
Join Date: Feb 2004
Location: Long Island NY
Posts: 13,548
Blog Entries: 1
Re: Major League Baseball 2K9 Hands-On Preview

Quote:
Originally Posted by larma
Finally some info about the PS3 version. Sounds good compared to what we got last year. Nice preview, thanks.
I know it says ps3 but I thought he was playing the 360 version?
__________________
“The saddest part of life is when someone who gave you your best memories becomes a memory”
nemesis04 is offline  
Reply With Quote
Old 02-16-2009, 12:22 PM   #8
MVP
 
OVR: 13
Join Date: Jul 2002
Location: Cary, NC
Re: Major League Baseball 2K9 Hands-On Preview

More in-depth thoughts on my end...
Quote:
Originally Posted by Steve
I can definitely tell you there are some issues with the framerate, but those issues are not consistently popping up. For example, here are some instances where I have seen hiccups in animations one time, and then a few innings later, seen the exact type of play and not seen any hiccups.
The lack of consistency is a good thing. There are times the game runs smoothly, and the code likely just needs optimization.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Steve
When playing the A.I., it seems it swings at everything in the strike zone, rarely swinging at balls outside the zone. So, it makes it very difficult to get a decent pitch count.
This is my biggest concern, and many people here. This could actually be a "deal breaker" for me.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Steve
On the other end of things, I have been able to generate walks for my team.
Wonderful news, though it leads to more questions... why would the developers create a sim experience on the hitting end, but not the pitching. The CPU swinging at everything must be early code. I hope.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Steve
The hit variety has got to be seen to be believed. Even though I have not actually captured most of the various hits, I have witnessed seeing-eye singles, bloop singles, slow grounders, dribblers, line drives just over the leaping infielders, as well as foul balls off the batter's foot.
More great news.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Steve
The commentary is very solid. There are some repetitive sayings, but it is very well done and appropriate in all situations.
Having the commentary this finely tuned more than a month before release is another great sign.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Steve
Speaking of the fans, they get a little more frantic as the game progresses. You will especially see this in the ninth inning of a close game because you will slowly see fans stand up in different parts of the stadium, until finally all the fans are up out of their seats cheering the home team on.
Awesome.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Steve
Real-time atmosphere is very nicely done. I cannot tell you how well it has been implemented. You see some of it in the videos, but there are so many other instances of it.
More awesome.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Steve
When foul balls are hit into the dugouts, players jump out of the way. This also happens in the bullpens.
I'm tired of saying awesome, but that's awesome.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Steve
Just keep in mind, some of the issues I have witnessed will not be in the final retail version, according to the developers of the game.
Fingers crossed!
brendanrfoley is offline  
Reply With Quote
Reply


« Previous Thread | Next Thread »

« Operation Sports Forums > Baseball > Other Baseball Games > MLB 2K »



Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is On
Trackbacks are Off
Pingbacks are Off
Refbacks are Off



All times are GMT -4. The time now is 03:11 PM.
Top -