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

[opd897]

I've played 5 games of the demo and have seen some positives as well as negatives.

+ Errors and injuries are in (game killer last year for me).

+ Pitching is better and to my understanding there will be a slider to tweak the control.

+ Uniforms look better.

+ Some animations are better.

+ AT&T Park looks great.

Negatives

- I experienced the home run / out glitch. My left fielder goes back on a fly ball, runs into the wall as the ball is coming down and the play is ruled a home run and an out. Run counts. I really hope this is just a demo issue.

- My catcher fielded a bunt out in front of the plate. When he throws to first there is no arm animation of him throwing the ball. The ball just morphed from his body to the first baseman. Not good.

- Players still seem to be too robotic to me. Especially during the real time presentations and between pitches. Not a game killer but it has been like this for years and just does not look natural.

I am still on the fence with this game. While I think it has improved from the last two years I also understand that it had a long way to go. I'm just not sure it is where it needs to be for me to warrant a purchase.

[RoyalBoyle78]

WOW, never saw so many people look for negatives in the demo. I mean we can really do this to very demo that comes out not just 2k11, it just seems people want this game to fail for some odd reason.

I think 2k does some many things right, even better the the competition.

[Flaxseed Oil]

I've owned every MLB 2K game that has come out...here is how they have progressed in my mind, and I will just start from the current gen.

MLB 2K6 - Unplayable. Player models were garbage, gameplay was buggy, just...garbo.

MLB 2K7 - HUGE leap over 2k6. At the time, it may have been the best looking next-gen sports game, graphically. Maybe even the best next gen graphics of ANY game. It was a HR fest though, and it was easy to throw perfect games... I threw 6 in a row with Roger Clemens. Regardless of that, the game was so much fun, and I played the heck out of it.

MLB 2K8 - Tried to do too much. Graphics took a hit from 2k7, had some strange bugs and framerate issues...and the meatballs were a game killer. BUT, the physics, the signature styles, the custom batter walk-ups and stadium music all were great, and I did play this game quite a bit.

MLB 2K9 - Totally changed directions from 2k8. Introduced real time presentation. They changed the player models and the camera angles, and I thought both were downgrades. I didn't play this game as much, as it felt like I was constantly fighting with the sliders to get a decent game in.

MLB 2K10 - Loved the MLB Today feature...I used to try and sneak in a game after work before the real games would come on tv. However, franchise mode never had any good free agents, and there were still some annoying bugs, such as no errors or injuries. I also didn't like the player models, as guys like CC Sabathia and Prince Fielder looked like they had a tape worm. I really enjoyed My Player but it got stale after a while. Momentum seemed to be a problem as teams would rack up 8-9 hits in a row on a regular basis. Game was fun, but not addicting.

MLB 2K11 - Players and graphics have taken a step up. The new camera angles give the game a new feel, but most of all the game feels FUN again. The only things I will change with sliders are the pitch speed and I will flip off the ball trail. That's it! I can tell this game is getting back to the fun-factor I had with 2k7, which was my favorite baseball game ever (even more than The Show '10, which I played a lot).

My favorite part is that you can really feel it when you get jammed or make weak contact, because the ball reacts appropriately. I got REALLY fisted with Adrian Beltre, but the ball had so much English on it that it kind of trickled up the middle. Coupled with a broken-bat sound (but no shattered bat), it felt realistic. I love that you have to wait back on balls outside and try to drive them to right field. In past renditions of the game, you could hit those balls 470 feet to right field with a pull-swing.

In summation, this game is awesome, and if they have fixed franchise, this might be the go-to game for me this year, though I will still pick up both.

[b22gamer]

Quote: Originally Posted by DJ

After spending a bit of time with the Demo, here's my impressions: Positives -Pitching. I just love the gesture controls. It was still fairly easy to throw the pitch where I wanted to, but that's b/c the Demo is on default PRO. If you give up a couple of hits, you do lose accuracy and once we have the retail version and can tune the Pitch Accuracy slider, I can see that making a big difference. -A.I. I don't know if anyone else has noticed this, but the CPU will pitch guys in your lineup differently, depending on the situation. I had runners on 2nd and 3rd with 2 outs and Lewis (I was the Giants) pitched around my No. 8 hitter to get to Cain. Smart move by the CPU, as I grounded out to 2B. I also noticed that my own catcher will call for more pitches out of the zone with the No. 8 hitter up, knowing that the pitcher is on-deck. I like the implementation of sound baseball strategy. -Batting camera. Man, I love this view! Couple that with an appropriate pitch speed (you'll still get fastballs blown by you if you are looking off-speed but you have time to react if you do guess fastball) and you can realistically work the count. I drew 2 walks in my first game and got Lewis to throw over 40 pitches in 3 innings. -Fielding. Definitely less robotic than last year. I need to go back and look at the controls to figure out how to dive, though. I really like the new mechanic of catching flyballs in the outfield. It's not gimmicky, at least to me, and I think it will again make you bring more strategy into the game, which is a great thing. I like the throw meter as well. Very clean and easy to see where you need to let go of the R-stick to have a good throw. Rocket arms are definitely gone. Yay! -Hit variety. This looks to be improved from last year. I've seen a couple of hot shots down the 1B line and a nice bloop single so far. -New defensive strategy window. This will pop up at various times during the game, telling you how the defense is playing you, or how you are aligned to play a CPU batter. Nice addition. -Variable strike zone. Very, very happy this is in. I saw close to 10 pitches that in 2K10 would've been a strike 100% of the time that were called either a ball or strike in the Demo. -Graphics. I thought this last year, too, but I really like the look of day games in 2K. The player models are good (I'm not a huge graphics guy) and the faces are hit and miss. Some look spot-on, others not so much. Again, not a huge deal for me. -CPU batters swinging at pitches out of the strike zone. Nice to see they will chase. They also don't swing at every pitch, which was an issue back in 2K9, so again, nice to see them mix in patience and aggressiveness. Negatives -Real-time presentation is cut way short. I would guess that is due to 2K cutting stuff out for the Demo. -No audio. Again, this was for Demo purposes but I think it's a mistake not to put the commentary in there because that is a strong suit for 2K. -No extra innings if the game ends tied. Not a huge deal since it's only a Demo, but still, it would be nice to play things out until there is a winner. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- I have to say I came away with a better feeling about 2K11 after playing the Demo and I will definitely be picking the game up Day 1. Good job, 2K, I think you've got a winner on your hands this year.

Your negatives are tied directly to the fact that this is a game DEMO. So, what you are saying is that the full game will have no flaws and be close to perfect???

[tmac55]

I wanted to change the topic from all this negativity to some praise for 2K from a gamer who gave up on 2k10 and had little expectations coming into this one.

Pitching
- I really like the new camera angle to me and I think the speed of the pitch is fine and this can be adjusted to our liking as well in the full version.
- Variable strike zone is amazing and though it's a small addition, it's a game changer for both the AI and Human.
- The HUD for pitching is fantastic and allows your to track your progress or lack there of nicely with pitch count, tendencies etc.

Hitting
- Just the fact that we don't need a release day patch is cause for a congrats right there. The different swings are amazing and interact nicely with the contact and power ratings, without fully relying on them as well.
- The ball leaves the bat nicely this year. The animation is much more fluid and the new camera angle helps this as well, especially in the infield.
- I really like the bad matchup vs pitcher popup.
- Let the animations run between pitches and it's pretty cool both pitcher and hitter reactions to situations on the mound and in the box

Fielding
- Wow.. what a difference a year makes. Simply awesome. Sure you may see see the odd play here or there, but this is a video game people and that happens in NHL, Madden, NCAA, Fifa etc too.
- The animations are so fluent and they are never the same either in the same sequence
- The throw meter is awesome. I feel as though 2K compensated for rocket arms and really added some fluidity to the throws from both infield and outfield. Sliders for this as well in case you don't like that.
- The ratings do affect the fielders and that is some sim right there

Cons
- Jagged shadows.. hope that gets toned down
- Human hitting angle is hard to follow the ball in the air in the outfield, especially when it's hit deep
- no commentary but we knew this going into it. We all know how good it is in the full versions

Overall, I have to give some praise where it's due. They could be changing the xbox baseball scene for the better and for this I am happy and thankful. Graphics are actually really good if you consider the source and the company.

[brrmikey]

played the demo yesterday and today (PS3).

good:
- the game is fun
- the camera angle after contact is made while batting
- the presentation (load screen and after)
- stadium size is big
- the fielding meter (look and feel)
- improved animations when fielding

bad:
- the graphics are terrible imo. even if a face is accurate it doesn't look like a real person; there are jaggies everywhere (stadiums, player shadows, etc.)
- the framerate sporadically drops when i'm batting after contact is made (not only fouls)
- the quick bat retraction effect on follow throughs when batting
- sporadic sped up animations when watching RTP
- players morphing through each other. i hit a two run shot with j.hamilton. i LOVED how it showed both runners rounding the bases all the way home, but j.hamilton morphed right through the other players after touching home.
- when players aren't moving during any given moment of RTP, they just look like zombies
- no commentary. i haven't purchased an mlb2k game since 2k7 (i still play 2k7 by the way ). i was really looking forward to the commentary since it is known to be stellar. oh well, i'll have to wait until user videos, and video reviews.

I'm still on the fence about the game. I know I seem negative about it, but it does have a fun factor. IMO, fun matters alot and coupled with stellar presentation and commentary it's amazing how many problems don't seem "that bad" when you're so engrossed in the "atmosphere". So, I'm thankful for OS and it's contributors because I rely on you guys so much because I don't have the funds to just go out and buy every game released and hope for the best. Can't wait to read/see/hear you guys' input on the retail version when released.

[b22gamer]

OK, coolest thing I've seen so far: Tim Lincecum was called out on a verrry close call.. The crowd boo'ed and awww'd, but the best part was Lincecum staring down the first base ump as he jogged off the field. 2k captures player emotion like no other.

[Giants4Natic]

Quote: Originally Posted by b22gamer

OK, coolest thing I've seen so far: Tim Lincecum was called out on a verrry close call.. The crowd boo'ed and awww'd, but the best part was Lincecum staring down the first base ump as he jogged off the field. 2k captures player emotion like no other.

Yea, now only if they can get understand that a robbed hr does not mean you get a hit and run for it.