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

[mjb2124]

I only played a little bit of the demo, but a few thoughts on the new analog controls:

* Analog Pitching: I'm not a huge fan of it. In years past I've used the meter or classic pitching and I'll probably do that again this year. It's well implemented, but I'm just not a fan of it.

* Analog Fielding: I think this was done well. I'm still stuck with the old way and missed a few throws, but those are my fault. I did try to make an error and couldn't....which is weird because I've heard many say they threw the ball away at times. Grounder to SS and I jammed the right analog stick to the right and held it there. I thought that would cause a poor throw?

* Analog Hitting: Kind of the same as analog pitching to me. I think it's done well, but I'm not a fan as I prefer zone hitting. I'm going to give it a try again, but I can't see myself using it for my franchise.

[emath]

Well, after 7 hours of downloading (stupid slow DSL), I finally have some game time in:

First impressions... Well, balls down the 3rd base line no longer magically go through the 3rd baseman's glove (or forearm, or even foot/ankle) as I saw countless times on last years game. It's kinda nice that when a ball goes to your glove, it actually goes in it

I saw my first instant replay of a home run call. Last year I never saw one (even though I had a handful that were clearly foul balls get ruled as home runs.... Never for me though, always for the CPU). First home run I see this year was for (once again) the CPU, and it was ruled foul, though clearly fair, and they went to review and changed it.

Game looks amazing. Not sure what some people are looking at when they say it looks like '10. Apparently they are looking for a complete re-build or something.

I do in fact not like the analog controls. I tried, but they just feel horrible to me. It's understandable though since I have never liked analog controls to begin with (you could get rid of the sticks all together, and I would be happy). I am more than happy with timing based hitting, and classic pitching.

I have, as a few others have mentioned, bounced some curve balls in the grass, and had the CPU swing and foul them off. Looks goofy, but hey.... if Vlad can do it, so can others I guess. lol

Another thing that cost me a ground rule double (for the CPU) on what should have been an out... Not really as bad thing, I just wasn't ready for it... I get a routine (but fairly deep) fly ball, and get myself into the catch area. Last year the CPU would take over at that point and catch the ball for you. This year, not so much. lol I know a lot of people didn't like that, so they should be happy.

[Blzer]

Quote: Originally Posted by nemesis04

They were smoothing this out still even at CD. The lighting progresses with every at bat. So if you have an unusually long at bat it can look a little awkward because the lighting could transition too abruptly when the next batter comes up.

Right, I understand. That sounds good though, hopefully because this was a December build it's something that was still being looked at afterward. I just feel the jump, similarly to the past two years, is far too instant when it really wants to get dark at night. Hopefully the retail version won't show the same thing.

[Stroehms]

Quote: Originally Posted by Blzer

Right, I understand. That sounds good though, hopefully because this was a December build it's something that was still being looked at afterward. I just feel the jump, similarly to the past two years, is far too instant when it really wants to get dark at night. Hopefully the retail version won't show the same thing.

I hope more people realize this plus it's a demo and a good chance to try out the Analog controls.

[WAZ]

PROS:

+ I balked because I tried to hurry up my pitch and didn't let the pitcher get set. Cost me a run. Awesome.

+ Warm up pitches. One of those "Why didn't anyone think of that before?" additions. Get 8 pitches to get a feel for your pitches, which I assume also applies to relievers, even if they're "warm" when you bring them in? If so, perfect! It always takes me a few pitches to get used to a new pitcher's timing, release, etc, especially when going from a righty to a lefty.

+ Analog hitting. Will take some getting used to, but I like the feel.

+ Camera angles. Can't wait to put together highlights.

+ Batter timeouts.

+ Independent difficulty levels for hitting and pitching.

+ Some very cool new replay presentations, like a super slow-mo showing Lincecum's release on a strikeout.

+ Eric Karros sounds WAY better than Rex. I may just be turning off Dave Campbell this year.

+ Noticed some nice options for presentation/customization... keeping the effect of the throw meter on while turning it off visually... in-game ticker with several options (I assume it's just disabled in the demo even though the option is there?)... a few other new options I can't think of offhand.

+ Flow of the game seems dead-on. Player models and faces are much improved and everything for the most part looks great.


CONS:

- No "Manual" fielding, at least in the demo. On "Assisted", the fielders are very automated and in some cases require no user input at all in order to move several yards towards the ball and field it. Hopefully the full version has the full-manual fielding we heard about in previews.

- I'm not a big fan of the analog throwing. I'm just not precise and consistent enough on the right stick and the feel of it just isn't clicking with me. Probably be using good old button throwing this year, which is fine.

- Saw a few wonky animations and ball bounces, but nothing outrageous. I noticed with analog hitting, if you step too early you get a weird, fast toe-tap with some hitters (DeRosa was one, I think). I'm sure it's part of their step animation, but the way it animates sometimes when you pull back is off. Not a huge deal, but could be cleaned up.


Overall very good; the pros outweigh the cons and my guess is this demo was made using an older build while the retail version was still being tweaked and improved. My biggest issue is the lack of manual fielding we heard about, but hopefully that's in the full version.

[Lintyfresh85]

Analog pitching is a ton of fun.

Analog hitting is eh, in my mind... definitely going back to zone/timing... but I can't hit in any mode... so my opinion doesn't really matter.

I think for people that are a bit let down by the demo, while I understand where they're coming from... I've realized that there's not a ton left they can really do on this generation of consoles that can really 'shake things up' without tearing the game apart and starting over.

After all, it's the same thing every game. A guy standing 60 feet, 6 inches away throwing a ball to a guy with a bat. There's not a lot you can improve on in a yearly cycle.

Analog pitching is a real treat though, and I can't wait to see how it is with pitchers that have lower control ratings than others. (I hope that's a part of the game btw)

Quote: Originally Posted by WAZ

PROS: - Saw a few wonky animations and ball bounces, but nothing outrageous. I noticed with analog hitting, if you step too early you get a weird, fast toe-tap with some hitters (DeRosa was one, I think). I'm sure it's part of their step animation, but the way it animates sometimes when you pull back is off. Not a huge deal, but could be cleaned up.

I think that's just DeRosa's swing. No matter when I did analog hitting with him, he did the crazy twitch toe tap.

[Smitty730]

I'm not going to whine like so many others who are too lazy to accept change.
Yes, there's a learning curve, but it's appreciated. At its core, though, this is still the same MLB The Show... but better.

I smoke a liner to center field with Posey. CF made a diving catch, but it sure looked like the ball hit the grass.

Out came Bruce Bochy, who promptly argued the call with the second base umpire.

The graphics run a lot smoother on my HD. There's still a bit of a "darkness" to the game, but on the right settings, the game's lighting/graphics stand out.

Neat stuff.

[DJ]

Cons:
-Wife is sick, so I have to wait until she goes to bed or takes a nap to play the Demo.

Pros:
-Analog pitching is fun!

-Analog throwing is fun!

-Analog hitting is HARD ... but I like the challenge.

-Catcher View No. 5 is real nice. I will be using that as a base to create my Custom Batting Camera.

-Player models look good.

-I like the new graphics.

Not sure why people are expecting MLB 11 to be vastly different from MLB 10. Why re-invent what is already a solid base? SCEA has this thing going in a nice direction and the analog controls only make things better.

Now I just have to get the wife better so I can get some more time in with this demo