MLB 11 The Show Demo Available Now, Post Your Impressions Here

[padsfan92]

Alright here's the situation. Bases are loaded there are 2 outs in the 8th in a 0-0 game. I'm the Giants. Lincecum throws a changeup in the dirt that strikes Josh Hamilton out. The ball is sitting right in front of Posey while the runners advance. The only problem is Posey stands up and forgets how to move. I tried moving him around and he just wouldn't budge so I had to watch the go ahead run cross the plate. Really hoping this is fixed by the time the retail version comes out

[PLite14]

2 more things:

-The shin guards seem to fit the players' legs now a lot better (last year the straps would 'float in mid-air' if a player wore high socks).

-Adrian Beltre just hit a home run and his trot around the bases looked very unnatural. The running animation just didn't seem smooth. Hopefully it was tweaked in the final build.

[the_riot]

I've been a classic pitching guy, but I am liking the analog pitching so far. About the analog hitting, is there any element of aiming at the ball, or is it purely a timing thing? I'm sticking with zone hitting right now, I might try it later if someone can answer this question.

[Clarke_311]

Until further notice, I've decided to switch back to the regular hitting and keep the analog pitching on.

[Jgainsey]

They really nailed the night game lighting this year. I don't know if it's just me, but this really adds to the realism. Last year was ok, but the 2 previous games looked really dull at night. Not this year!

[DickDalewood]

Analog hitting:

Pull back as the pitcher releases, then use a nice smooth follow through as you push forward. It can't be a herky jerky motion, and you need to time that step back properly. Patience fellas.

[Segagendude]

Played three games, two as SF, one as TX.

My thoughts:

Analog's a refreshing change, but admittedly, I stink at fielding. Gave up not one, but two inside the park HR's, as I didn't have a clue what I was doing.....I'd probably stick with auto fielding.(If I were getting the game....read on: )

Pitching was okay, although I was missing the strikezone alot.But overall, I felt like it didn't take THAT long to master the new controls.

Hitting was a challenge as well. I lost all three games by large margins. I couldn't generate any offense...

My overall impressions: Take away the analog, and it's the same game as 10, I'm afraid. Sure, lighting is incredible this year, but between the same cutscenes and same commentary, (except this time Dave says Eric's name,) it just gave me that "been there, done that" feeling.

If you want to flame me, go right ahead, I can take it. I just don't feel like spending another $65 on essentially the same game with nicer lighting.

JMO........

Peace.

[Grnngld]

As an A's fan, I had major trouble deciding which team to play as. Finally decided to go with the Rangers, the "lesser" of two evils. After 3 4 inning games, here are my impressions:

Positives:

Hitting and Pitching analog system: When I first heard about this new feature, I wasn't excited. I played 2k's analog feature and never found it to be exciting, intuitive, or worth the trouble. The meter system/button presses were fine for me in MLB '10 and I fully expected to not bother with MLB '11's new system. After 3 games, SCEA has convinced me that the analog system is the way to go. The pitching is simply awesome. It's slightly more difficult to hit your spots (more user walks is always good as last year, it was way too easy to have no walks per game even with, say, Gio Gonzalez) while not being frustrating or unnecessarily difficult. And for me, the learning curve was not that steep at all. I definitely don't see it being a chore to throw ~140 pitches per game with this system. Intuitive, simple, yet challenging...that's the way it should be.

As for the hitting, I quite enjoyed it as well. It's not nearly as much of an improvement as the new pitching system is over the old pitching system but it's still worth a shot. But yes, the learning curve is slightly steeper. I find the load then swing aspect of the controls to be very realistic (for those of you having trouble, I recommend you pull back on the stick, the "load" aspect, at the end of the pitcher's windup, right before the pitcher releases the pitch). The size of the PCI changes depending on when you "load" (pull back the RS) so it definitely matters. But once you get your timing down, it becomes much more intuitive and rewarding.

Also, there's 3 swing types this year: regular, power, and the new contact swing. With the new contact swing, it's much much harder for the user to strike out. I've had nearly 3 ~10 pitch at bats with various Rangers batters per game, as they kept fouling pitches off!

I should mention that I'm playing on Veteran for both pitching and hitting. Personally, it seems like it's a lot easier than last year's Veteran (I scored 5+ runs off Lincecum in all three games, even while learning all the new controls) so you may want to adjust as necessary.

Stealing: My biggest pet peeve has finally been fixed. Stealing is a lot easier. CPU Catchers actually throw something other than a bullet on a line to the second baseman, batters take better jumps (still not user controlled), and sliding doesn't mean the runner automatically enters a mud pit. After 3 games, I've realized that the ability to make Crawford or Reyes steal 50 or more bases is actually a possibility this year!

Weather effects: Very effective and noticeable. It takes much longer for it to get to night time and you can see the transition very well. Last year, the day-night transition for night games was completely the same all the time.

Player models: Improved in all regards. No more boxy shoulders, no more T Rex arms (as a matter of fact, the arms might actually be a little too long this time around!), no more tiny head attached to a ridiculously large body (I'm looking at you 2010 Jack Cust). Just look at the new player model for Pablo Sandoval and you'll see the difference.

I'll put the negatives in a separate post. But in any case I'd have to say, as someone who was on the fence about purchasing this game, I can definitely see enough gameplay improvements to warrant a purchase. As for improvements to franchise and general improvements with glitches, bugs, etc, we'll just have to see.

But as of right now, SCEA has done enough to convince me to put in a preorder for MLB '11 The Show.