Major League Baseball 2K10 Demo Available, Post Impressions Here (360)

[mkharsh33]

Quote: Originally Posted by EnigmaNemesis

It still concerns me that a game out of the box needs to be altered that majorly.

...which is exactly like EVERY sports video game i've ever played.

[HK-47]

Quote: Originally Posted by SeerMagicX

Man I don't know what game people are playing, but this game is still a mess. Sure the pitching and hitting are fun, but both were done better in 2k8. Once the ball is in play the game gets bad. Fielding is pretty much played by the cpu. Even throwing the ball with the meter, often times the computer will choose the release point instead of you when fielding a grounder.... baffling. The ball simply dies when it gets to the outfield. I've played exactly 15 games, not ONE ball that made it down the line or in the gap that went to the wall. In those games I got ONE double, and it was a close play. ZERO hits that went over outfielders or landed at the warning track for a hit... ZERO. Outfielders move left and right to fast, and have super cannons for arms. If the CPU didn't cut the ball off on throws home, a runner would never score from 2nd base on a single. I for one won't be buying, and I won't be buying the show either. The show while it plays a great game of baseball, is stale and boring. Wish I could take the pitching and hitting interface from 2k and realism from the show.

Pretty much all of what you typed can be fixed with slider tweaking. For some reason, 2k loves their default settings to have fast fielders and super slow pitch speeds.

[AustinOrgans]

How do you make diving catches in the outfield? Whenever I hit X to dive for a ball it just preloads a throw to third base.

Some other problems:

1. A.J. Burnett doesn't have a sinker.

2. Fielding animations aren't fluid. Fielders stop on a dime if the throw isn't perfectly preloaded.

3. Baserunner flashing back to the bag on a pickoff attempt.

4. Can't watch batters step out of the box, get back into stance after each pitch. It's as if the computer automatically skips through the animations.

Quote: Originally Posted by SoxFan01605

Ugh...I HATE the view. I can see why some people like it (it is easy to read pitches), but man...it really makes the depth-of-field look distorted for me. No biggie though as that can be changed. The biggest thing I took away from the demo is that it really does appear the pitcher/batter duel did indeed get some love. I had several ABs that made me get that good baseball feeling that's been lacking for so long with 2K.

Yah, I'll definitely be going back to a more standard view.

[gdavis2570]

I think this game will be great, the game play was smooth for me the only thing that bugged me was on a fly ball to right field the fielder stopped and the center fielder came all the over to catch the ball. I am getting both games so i can play an AL franchise and a NL franchise

[Radioactiveman]

Quote: Originally Posted by SeerMagicX

The ball simply dies when it gets to the outfield. I've played exactly 15 games, not ONE ball that made it down the line or in the gap that went to the wall. In those games I got ONE double, and it was a close play. ZERO hits that went over outfielders or landed at the warning track for a hit... ZERO. Outfielders move left and right to fast, and have super cannons for arms. If the CPU didn't cut the ball off on throws home, a runner would never score from 2nd base on a single.

I can see hit variety being a problem. All the hits seem the same and it may be a little too easy hit homers. I quit playing MLB The Show 08 because you could not get a hit down the line to go to the wall. I'm seeing the same thing in this demo. My very first impression of the demo was very positive, probably because my expectations were sooooo low...but I'm about 5 games into this demo and I'm getting less and less thrilled about playing it for these kinds of reasons. Overall, very much improved (so far), but is it "there" yet? Based on the demo I'm thinking no. Probably should reserve judgment until the retail copy comes out and it's patched a couple of times.

Pluses:
Pitching Meter
Throwing Meter
Base Running Mechanic
Adjusting Your Fielders (quick, easy, no fuss)

Minuses:
Hit Variety
CPU Fielding
Home Run Fest?

Just ok:
Hitting Mechanic (it's ok but kind of bland)
Graphics (passable and noticeably getting better)
Sound
May be too easy to throw strikes taking human controlled walks out of the game. But this needs to be tested more.

[Kane182]

Quote: Originally Posted by SoxFan01605

-While certainly very-much toned down, there are still some issues with physics in terms of hits. I swung late on an outside pitch (tailing away, at that) and pulled it. This only happened a couple times though and both while fooling with the classic hitting. The swing stick seemed right on.

You said exactly what I was thinking. I was so excited when I figured out classic hitting was in the demo, you could aim with the LS, and there was a one button swing, none of this contact/power nonsense. It just doesn't feel right.

I can learn to live with the swing stick, but I am a bit disappointed that it does not seem like they put hardly any effort into classic swing.

I'll probably wait for user/critic reviews because I am still suspect after buying into the hype the last 2 years.

[tazbk]

Quote: Originally Posted by AustinOrgans

1. A.J. Burnett doesn't have a sinker.

I don't recall him having a sinker in real life. He throws two fastballs (4-seam and what can be described as a 2-seam. It has a lot of movement. This might be what you are referring to). He also throws two variations of his curveball and sometimes a change-up, but no sinker.

As for the demo, I played about 5 games now. My first game I got blown out 5-0 because I couldn't remember how to play the game. My next 3 games were 0-0 ties. I then beat the Phils 8-1 on the strength of two 3-run A-Bombs. I like the pitching. Baserunning system still sucks. Batting is still a bit quirky but I think it is a significant upgrade from last year.

As a teacher, I can equate the two available baseball games to students. On one hand you have a low A student who when they improve, it doesn't really seem that significant. On the other hand, you have a failing student who just improved about two letter grades. It's more impressive in terms of gaining points but still doesn't match the quality of the other student.

In any event, I will give this game a fair chance during the month of March and we will see how it goes from there.