MLB 2K11 Demo Available Now, Post Your Impressions Here (PS3/360)

[jeffy777]

Yay! Balls lined or grounded up the middle are no longer automatically gobbled up by the pitcher and there are some nice animations of him covering his head and crouching out of the way, or lifting his foot to dodge a grounder. So far, many of my complaints from 2K10 have been taken care of.

[Pared]

Quote: Originally Posted by goosedennis

Can we compare it to last year's model?

2k11 to 2k10, yes.

[RGmoney]

Quote: Originally Posted by jeffy777

After attempting more steals, it's definitely improved. There's no hitching to cue up canned results like last year, which was one of my main complaints with 2K10. Stealing 3rd was almost impossible last year because your runner would slow down as he closed in and went into his slide. Doesn't happen this year, so I'm happy about that. Tags seem much more urgent in general as well, so that's another plus. Just worked two back to back walks with Andrus and Kinsler. Cain doesn't look too comfortable today

Glad to hear the stealing has been worked on this year. That was one of the areas that killed me last year.

[JayhawkerStL]

Quote: Originally Posted by FedEx227

Well, I mean, I guess you can understand why we'd be gun shy, right? We've been burned for, what, 5-6 years with this series.

No, we haven't. 2K8 had serious frame rate issues. 2K9 and 2K10 did not.

[Spongedaddy]

My biggest complaint about the demo so far is that there are no extra innings. 3 and done.

That's a pretty good sign. Unless I read about a major flaw I am getting this game next week.

[JayhawkerStL]

Very pleased with the demo.

Love the new hitting cam after you put the ball in play.

The hitting cam for reading pitches is pretty much what I used for 2K10, and it really helps read balls and strikes. Plus, the movement on pitches looks perfect.

The fielding is everything they made it out to be. You will once again have to work to make a good throw, yet it easily reads what base you are throwing to. They did not go overboard on making you control the fielder. It feels just just right.

Pitching is harder, but still too easy. I pitched six innings, and never felt like I was about to walk anyone. I threw plenty of balls, but many were becasue I was throwing to the catcher's suggestion outside the zone. But location was not spot on, and I assume sliders are going to help nail this aspect.

I hit an opposite field HR with Beltre. I was using a power swing. Again, I think some slider work will improve this. I also hit a few pop-ups when using the power swing. I will say that I used the contact swing 90% of the time, and was able to hit gappers for extra bases, and solid line-drives. I still believe that contact should be the primary method for hitting.

One thing people jumped on in the gameplay video was a ground ball on pitch way up in the zone. It didn't bother me, becasue I know exactly how that works. But I will say that I hit several flyballs on pitches up in the zone. So that's a non-issue as far as I'm concerned.

I would call this a significant upgrade over 2K10. It feels very much the same, as far as the gameplay. But the fielding and pitching are both significantly more fun. Hitting is pretty much identical from last year. But I did get the pop-ups and some pretty cool chopped up the line. Both of those were noticeably absent in last year's game.

Also, they have tweaked the camera's to really enhance both the look, and more importantly the gameplay. When you put a ball in play, the camera stays put and you see the play begin unfold from the homeplate view. It just works for some reason. Whether you are watching to see if a flyball gets out, or how a fielder is playing a groundball, it just feels like this is how you should be watching the game.

Overall, I think that if the full version holds up, they have an 8 or 9 out of 10 game on their hands. But we will have to see if some bugs rear their heads first.

[steelereign]

Here's my initial review after about 6 games:

- HATED that: Pitchers stand on mound like zombies during some cut-scenes…almost makes me wonder if their eyes will turn red before throwing a flaming fastball at my head
- LOVED that: Infield play is much more responsive and user-friendly
- LOVED that: throwing the ball while the meter is in the red has a noticeable affect
- LOVED that: I hit a chopper to first and the play seemed realistic
- LOVED that: AI pitchers don’t paint the corners and do throw obvious balls allowing you to work the count into hitter-friendly counts
- LOVED that: I Experienced small strike-zone, was forced to throw more to the middle of the plate to avoid BBs
- HATED that: I Still noticed the annoying habit where infielders, after receiving the thrown from the outfield, will stand frozen in place with the ball before finally throwing it in to the pitcher
- LOVED that: Hit a handful of rockets to the outfield, only one was a HR…there was no immediate HR animation so I had to wait and watch to see what happened – love that!
- HATED that: the crowd seems completely uninterested in the game & there is no audible difference between a dribbler to the mound or a lightning shot over the centerfield wall…even when the home team was hitting & scoring, the crowd was completely indifferent as though they were watching Tim Lincecum brush his hair
- LOVED that: the outfield play is more iffy due to the large “potential landing zone” circle…it really had an affect on the game…there were a couple liners that I wasn’t sure if I should run and dive for or just pull up and play off the bounce – real stuff!
- HATED that: the demo is still only 3 innings! Give me more time to let the game develop – at least 6 innings
- CONFUSED that: Barry Zito appears to be Carrot Top’s brother! WTF is with the hi-lighter orange helmet-hair BZ was rockin’? He looks like Annie Lennox circa 1983. Scary stuff. Especially when he goes into the aforementioned Zombie Mode!

[tvman]

Quote: Originally Posted by serialmke

Iyo. Imo and many others after the first few games all the walk ups and "pagentry" as you refer to it becomes boring and useless. I want a game that plays baseball and is fun that keeps me coming back for more. The"oither" game is slow and plodding and does not keep me personally coming back for more. The being able to skip the pagentry quickly and complete a game in 30 to 40 min is a big part of what makes 2k the better game to me rather than 60 to near 90 min in the "other" game. That along with a much better pitcher batter interface. Again Imo

This is my exact feeling as well. I like to watch a few walkups and such but there is only so much time in the day to play video games.