Major League Baseball 2K9 Demo Available, Post Your Impressions Here

[tmac55]

Compared to 2K8, this is so much better. Great gameplay, nice framerate and best of all some nice HD graphics and lighting.

Good job in a one year turnaround by VC. It's a good game of baseball and though it's not perfect, it's definitely an improvement.

[SFGiantsPBA]

I struck a batter out and he looked at all the pitches.

It seemed the better I started using the pitcher circle the more K's got called without a swing.

[TheTruth]

Count me as one of those that are impressed with the demo. After the first 3 inning game this demo felt totally different than last year's mess. The presentation is great, I saw all kinds of different hits, the controls felt good, I saw 2 errors in 3 games, and I had FUN playing. And I would have to say the commentery is the best I have heard in a baseball game. I was caught a couple of times just listening and not paying attention to the action on the screen. The only real negative I thought was the ai did seem to swing at almost everything that was in the zone. But I did have my share of strike outs as well. I am very excited to get this game upon release.

To switch baserunners, you cycle between the runner using the A button.

[wookie48]

Some things I like:

1. Commentary is soooo sweet! Love the booth guys as they are right on with all their calls

2. Gameplay is smooth as ever. The ball off the bat or the IF throw to first is smooth as glass and very natrual looking.

3. Lighting is good

4. Hitting is very organic and just feels right. the bat noiseis top shelf as well

5. Presentation is very primo. Love the crowd, the noise the cut aways and the overall broadcast is nice.

Cons

1. I hate the between innings transition. I know this wont be in the final but crap I hate it none the less

2. All the arcade options I turn off anyways but the strike zone and all the other fluff is annoying

3. Baserunning is really wierd. I figured out how to steal but overall BR is hard as crap.

4. PLayer faces and graphics are bad. I hope for the most part this was an early build but honestly the faces and the gear, as well as the game has a graphical weirdness to it. Makes me think of mlb the show 07.

5. Sig stance for a couple of players flat out suck. One that sticks out like a sore thumb was bj upton.

6. Kinda got bumbed about the HR that I hit with ibanez and the bell rung but didnt do its swinging thing and it wasnt really exciting even though it was in the 2nd and it won the game for me.

***Not really worried about some of these things, as to its a demo after all. It looks as though this was an earlier build than what steve has here at OS. I know sliders are present bt the speed of pitches was waaaaay to slow. Cant wait for the final build. I have both PS3 and 360so the show and 2k are getting bought this year first day

[Heelfan71]

Game is a lot better than last year. Nice frame rate too. Not sure what is going on with the demo but the steals are just crazy. Wish we could change the camera angles and hitting and pitching interfaces though.

Graphics are decent, not as good as The Show. I do like the announcing better in MLB than I do in THe Show though.

[therizing02]

Quote: Originally Posted by brendanrfoley

This stinks; the demo is no longer available. I went to MLB 2K9 in the list of demos. MLB 2K7 shows 2K9's box art, 2K9 has is listed but shows a a blank box, and the 2K9 demo is listed as "content unavailable." This sucks.

Brendan,

When I went to get the demo this am I saw the same message. Go to the game and select "All downloads" and it should be there. That's how I got it.

Good luck.

[DaveDQ]

Quote: Originally Posted by wookie48

1. I hate the between innings transition. I know this wont be in the final but crap I hate it none the less

Wookie, I think that's going to remain. I think they are shooting for an in between feel where you transition from commercials to game. I like the flow of it where the audion blends back in, giving the feel like you got back just in time.

[jzal8]

Alright, my impressions from two games this morning.

+ I was very impressed by the presentation. There was alot of talk about bringing in a broadcast feel and thats exactly what it has. Only played two games but both times the "broadcast" opened up with something different, once zoomed in on ryan howard stretching talking about how he was going to be a difference maker in the game, and once on the bell in the outfield with a little blurb on philly. Every bit of presentation added to the television broadcast feel. Especially, at the end of the side of an inning they break almost like they are going to commercial. My initial concern was this could really slow things down and get old fast, but i was able to shuffle through fairly fast after I had seen it a few times.

+ The pitching controls were new to me since I hadnt played 2k baseball since mlb 2k7. Would have really been nice to get a tip available on it, but after getting shelled the whole first game (9-0 in three innings) I finally figured it out, and think it may have potential.

+ I am not much of a graphics/framerate/player model expert, so from my average next gen gamer opinion I think the graphics look pretty good. I wouldnt say its on the level of where the best of the best games on 360 are at, but i still think it looks next gen and beautiful on my plasma. I'm more of a fan in general of EA graphics than 2k. I don't know why, but I have the impression that 2k graphics arent as smooth.

+ Vartiety of hits are great. Using the left stick to aim your hits seems to be nice as well.

+ Climb this wall is no longer a canned automatic operation like it was in 2k7. I haven't pulled one off but you get the sense it takes a great deal more timing and skill.

+ I've read a number of comments about the stadium feeling small. My impression is just the opposite. I felt as the the stadium was really large on deep hits.

- *I haven't seen this mentioned anywhere yet, I may have missed it. I can pick off anyone on first or second who takes more than a one step lead. In my second game, all three batters hit singles, and I picked off all three batters on my first try. Is anyone else seeing this? Someone mentioned this demo may be on an easy difficulty level. If so, its not a big concern I guess. But even on easy difficulty levels, you'd imagine it wouldnt be this easy.

- It may because I am a loser or I suck haha, but I am definitely not a fan at all of the strike box disapearing during the pitch. In mlb2k7 that was how I was able to really judge where the ball was coming in at. Now I understand that in real life there is no box and judging the pitch is apart of the game, but without that box I have a hard time even telling what it should have been after the call has been made.

- May be a demo thing, but I don't see HR feet displayed and I don't always see mph after a pitch.

- Catcher didnt seem to call a variety of pitches or pitch locations. More playing time, and playing with the real game will be needed to pass absolute judgment, but it was an impression I came away with.

Overall, I like the game, and I'll be interested to see if we get some comments from 2k on any of the generally noticed complaints. As an xbox360 only owner and casual baseball fan, it will take a gamebreaker to keep me from getting this. My itch to play a season with the mets is just something I need to scratch. I came away from the demo with confidence that this game will be fun, and ultimately that will be enough for me.