MLB 2K11 Preview (Kotaku)

[bryan_05]

Kotaku's, Owen Good has posted a very detailed MLB 2K11 preview. Here is just some of what he had to say.

Quote:

"When your fielder gets to the ball, you're now dealing with a throwing meter shaded in three colors from right to left - green, yellow and red, green obviously being the most accurate throw. Poor fielders will have a smaller green zone (for a guy like the Giants' Pablo Sandoval, it'll be only a sliver of green, Bailey said.) A throw in the red isn't automatic failure - if he's a good fielder, the inaccuracy will be less pronounced. But the point is to make players concentrate on the act rather than flicking the right analog and grabbing a sip of beer. You'll also see more bobbled grounders, depending on a fielder's attributes and the type of drive hit his way, whether it plows through the infield grass or skips off the dirt. But on the back end, position-specific fielding animations, like a third baseman coming full over the top down to first, or a second baseman's scoop-gather-and-pow, have been added to impart more realism. No longer will every fielder do the "Jeter Throw," that undeserved highlight-reel catch and jump for grounders away from the direction of the throw, regardless of context. Finally, Visual Concepts has added in a pre-play mechanism that approximates a fielder's savvy, or lack thereof. At the crack of the bat, you'll be presented with a white circle that approximates the area to which your player would know he should run. After a pause that's tied to his fielding rating, it will shrink to the precise spot where the ball lands. For some players, the initial circle is small and the landing spot shows almost instantly. For others, it will be an adventure. 2K Sports wants gamers to be thinking about defense a lot more, especially contemplating defensive switches in late innings, a technical move that casual fans don't consider often. The result of all this is that routine plays still were makeable, but as I got used to the shortened break, throwing meter and on-field guides, I had to hurry to the ball, so they featured things like backhanding routine grounders, harder throws and stretching first basemen, even on outs where the runner was gunned by three steps. Until you get the hang of it, many plays won't look like what you see on TV. Fielding is not harder, per se, but it will look that way through the first few games."

Source - A Comeback Player Takes To The Field In MLB 2K11 (Kotaku)

[loganmorrison1]

Another positive preview. Looking forward to this game

[Blzer]

The only thing that angers me is my $120 spent on baseball video games should have been put toward this year, not last year.

It looks like we have two solid baseball gems, as 2K's game has always been more "fun" to me in a way. I just hope the PS3 version can stand tall this year.

EDIT: One thing I'm disappointed with though is their omission to real-time elements, as they haven't yet noted it in any of the previews. I have a feeling it's still not really inclusive in 2K11 as it was in 2K9.

[bigfnjoe96]

Quote:

When your fielder gets to the ball, you're now dealing with a throwing meter shaded in three colors from right to left - green, yellow and red, green obviously being the most accurate throw. Poor fielders will have a smaller green zone (for a guy like the Giants' Pablo Sandoval, it'll be only a sliver of green, Bailey said.) A throw in the red isn't automatic failure - if he's a good fielder, the inaccuracy will be less pronounced. But the point is to make players concentrate on the act rather than flicking the right analog and grabbing a sip of beer. You'll also see more bobbled grounders, depending on a fielder's attributes and the type of drive hit his way, whether it plows through the infield grass or skips off the dirt. But on the back end, position-specific fielding animations, like a third baseman coming full over the top down to first, or a second baseman's scoop-gather-and-pow, have been added to impart more realism. No longer will every fielder do the "Jeter Throw," that undeserved highlight-reel catch and jump for grounders away from the direction of the throw, regardless of context. Finally, Visual Concepts has added in a pre-play mechanism that approximates a fielder's savvy, or lack thereof. At the crack of the bat, you'll be presented with a white circle that approximates the area to which your player would know he should run. After a pause that's tied to his fielding rating, it will shrink to the precise spot where the ball lands. For some players, the initial circle is small and the landing spot shows almost instantly. For others, it will be an adventure. 2K Sports wants gamers to be thinking about defense a lot more, especially contemplating defensive switches in late innings, a technical move that casual fans don't consider often. The result of all this is that routine plays still were makeable, but as I got used to the shortened break, throwing meter and on-field guides, I had to hurry to the ball, so they featured things like backhanding routine grounders, harder throws and stretching first basemen, even on outs where the runner was gunned by three steps. Until you get the hang of it, many plays won't look like what you see on TV. Fielding is not harder, per se, but it will look that way through the first few games.

Boy 2k has really put some effort into Fielding this year.

[AtlBraves09]

Quote: Originally Posted by Blzer

The only thing that angers me is my $120 spent on baseball video games should have been put toward this year, not last year. It looks like we have two solid baseball gems, as 2K's game has always been more "fun" to me in a way. I just hope the PS3 version can stand tall this year. EDIT: One thing I'm disappointed with though is their omission to real-time elements, as they haven't yet noted it in any of the previews. I have a feeling it's still not really inclusive in 2K11 as it was in 2K9.

- Im with you on that... not to mention Tiger Woods Masters Edition at the end of the month... The wife is not going to be happy with me I'm afraid.

[econoodle]

Quote: Originally Posted by bigfnjoe96

Boy 2k has really put some effort into Fielding this year.

thankfully.
fielding is huge for me, looks like i'll be proud to grab 2k11 this year

[jeffy777]

Good read. I value Owen's opinion and I like how he summed it up:

"At some point, you have to judge a game on its merits and not the intrigue surrounding it. I think MLB 2K11 has earned that benefit of the doubt. In two key areas - pitching and multiplayer - MLB 2K10 was my preferred option. The refinements I was shown by MLB 2K11 speak of a studio that designed improvements to a good game, instead of a team saddled with overhauling a bad one."

Well said!

[DickDalewood]

Nice writeup. I'm excited to see some gameplay vids on this.