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

[opd897]

Quote: Originally Posted by rudyjuly2

I had played about 10 or so games and hit at least one HR in every game except for one. So I tried playing three games this morning using only the contact swing. I did hit one ball to the warning track with Beltre but no HRs. There is still a HUGE gap between the contact and power swing - too big imo. It's a big reason why the cpu hasn't hit a HR against me either. Much like last year I think they swing for contact too often. I'm hopeful sliders will fix this for retail but it was an issue last year. One thing I'm seeing too much of is base runners getting doubled up on line drives to the infield. They are too slow to get back to the bag.

That brings up another issue I am seeing that has plagued this game for awhile now. Too many live drive outs to infielders while batting. I had hoped this would be fixed but last night playing the demo I was batting and all three of my batters hit line shots to infielders for outs. Three in a row.

[ericdrum]

Quote: Originally Posted by rudyjuly2

I had played about 10 or so games and hit at least one HR in every game except for one. So I tried playing three games this morning using only the contact swing. I did hit one ball to the warning track with Beltre but no HRs. There is still a HUGE gap between the contact and power swing - too big imo. It's a big reason why the cpu hasn't hit a HR against me either. Much like last year I think they swing for contact too often. I'm hopeful sliders will fix this for retail but it was an issue last year. One thing I'm seeing too much of is base runners getting doubled up on line drives to the infield. They are too slow to get back to the bag.

In the interest of providing more anecdotal data, I played 2 games last night in total (no difficulty switching, just the normal, vanilla difficulty) and hit 3 in two games. I hit using Hamilton, Cruz and Beltre. All with contact swing. I had 1 HR hit off of me in those two games.

[Kane182]

I have played about 10 games or so overall and it is growing on me a little. Once I switched my difficulty to hard (After about 7 games) I got really excited about the fielding controls. Unless the ball is smoked right at one of your fielders there is no automation at all. It is actually too hard to field the ball on most grounders, but I am sure with sliders I will be able to find some balance. Also, I have never been a fan of pitching from behind the pitcher so I think part of the issue is my reaction time is not fast enough when the ball comes off the bat. I would be better with a behind the plate view which I would switch to in the full version.

Hitting is better than 2K10. I still think something is missing though. I have not been able to put my finger on what it is, but it just doesn't feel totally right. Part of it is that I suck with the current camera view and I think the timing window may be even smaller than in years past.

At this point I am pleased by what I am seeing. That being said, I am still going to wait for what others have to say when the full version hits before I take the plunge.

[blkprince04]

the demo is good i like it the only negatives i have are......1 when the players aren't in motion they look kinda stiff like woodmen lol they dont look flexable, but when they are in motion they look good.. 2 the camera angle when you hit the ball is hard to keep up with the ball , the batters prespective is ok ,but i like the follow the ball look... other than that its a go for me fellas...............

[Rocket Sauce]

Like the demo. Am hopeful that the improvements from the demo will make this a very good baseball game.

One bug I noticed was that the infield fly rule wasn't called when it should have been.

Also, the baserunners do not seem to react quick enough. One game Andres Torres hit a triple to lead off the game. Next batter Sanchez hits a slow grounder to 2B (playing at normal depth). Torres for some reason didn't automatically break for home, so I sent him home, the 2B's throw easily beat me, had to retreat back to third and got thrown out there. In that situation Torres should easily score without even a throw home.

All in all though, I'm optimistic that this will be very playable.

[pietasterp]

I would like to sign the homeplate umpire to a multi-year contract to be in my starting pitching rotation. Have you seen the zip he puts on that ball while casually firing it back to the mound? And that's just his OFFSPEED stuff - his fastball has to easily be 125 MPH+....

[timbofry1]

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

I tend to agree on the speed of the game being very important. I do like the little subtleties now and then, pitchers walking around the mound, and so on, but speed of the game is more important to me.

MVP '05 was my favorite baseball video game ever. And I was a High Heat guy before that. Then EA was out of the baseball picture and I thought 2K baseball was pretty bad after MVP '05, which was a bummer, as I'm a big baseball guy. Two years ago, after reading all the praise about the "other game," I got a PS3. Loved that game. Thought it was the best baseball video game I ever played, which it was. After playing both demos again last year, got the "other baseball game" again and had alot of fun with it for a month or two, but suddenly just became bored with it.

I think the realism is very good, graphics and animations very good....very good game, the "other game." But I just got bored with it. With baseball games especially, I want to play a ton of games, because that's what baseball is about...long seasons...use your pitching staff, injuries, everything. Like I said at the beginning, I kinda like all the subtleties and all, but the most important thing is that I want to play alot of games, so I don't want them to take an hour or more to play. And the "other game" just seems stale to me now, not that fun anymore.

I find the MLB 2K11 demo to be very fun so far, after playing a few games. Maybe the graphics and animations in the "other game" are a little tighter, but the analog control seems much more fun in MLB 2K11. I also love the hitting camera in MLB 2K11. In the "other game" I simply have trouble picking up whether a pitch will be off the plate or note, just too much trouble that it can get extremely frustrating. In MLB 2K11, I feel like I see the ball very well, can more easily identify balls versus strikes and lay off bad pitches. Not that I'm hitting the cover off the ball, but I'm making alot more contact, getting hits, just having alot of fun with the game. And I also like the camera angle after you hit the ball, you can immediately see where the ball is going, but don't know if you've hit a HR or if a fly ball will be caught or drop....great stuff.

The analog pitching seems to be alot of fun in MLB 2K11, and I like the fielding so far too. Like I said, I've played a few games of both baseball demos, and I'm having alot more fun with the MLB 2K11 demo.

I've never been a big 2K guy, but NBA 2K11 is probably my favorite video game of all time. Just love it. So maybe I'm a convert....I don't know. But mainly I just want to play good, fun games, no matter who makes it...

So right now I'm very heavily leaning toward being an MLB 2K11 guy this year! I am going to wait and read a few reviews next week before making my final decision, but looking good for MLB 2K11 right now!

[Jordanfan23]

Quote: Originally Posted by timbofry1

I tend to agree on the speed of the game being very important. I do like the little subtleties now and then, pitchers walking around the mound, and so on, but speed of the game is more important to me. MVP '05 was my favorite baseball video game ever. And I was a High Heat guy before that. Then EA was out of the baseball picture and I thought 2K baseball was pretty bad after MVP '05, which was a bummer, as I'm a big baseball guy. Two years ago, after reading all the praise about the "other game," I got a PS3. Loved that game. Thought it was the best baseball video game I ever played, which it was. After playing both demos again last year, got the "other baseball game" again and had alot of fun with it for a month or two, but suddenly just became bored with it. I think the realism is very good, graphics and animations very good....very good game, the "other game." But I just got bored with it. With baseball games especially, I want to play a ton of games, because that's what baseball is about...long seasons...use your pitching staff, injuries, everything. Like I said at the beginning, I kinda like all the subtleties and all, but the most important thing is that I want to play alot of games, so I don't want them to take an hour or more to play. And the "other game" just seems stale to me now, not that fun anymore. I find the MLB 2K11 demo to be very fun so far, after playing a few games. Maybe the graphics and animations in the "other game" are a little tighter, but the analog control seems much more fun in MLB 2K11. I also love the hitting camera in MLB 2K11. In the "other game" I simply have trouble picking up whether a pitch will be off the plate or note, just too much trouble that it can get extremely frustrating. In MLB 2K11, I feel like I see the ball very well, can more easily identify balls versus strikes and lay off bad pitches. Not that I'm hitting the cover off the ball, but I'm making alot more contact, getting hits, just having alot of fun with the game. And I also like the camera angle after you hit the ball, you can immediately see where the ball is going, but don't know if you've hit a HR or if a fly ball will be caught or drop....great stuff. The analog pitching seems to be alot of fun in MLB 2K11, and I like the fielding so far too. Like I said, I've played a few games of both baseball demos, and I'm having alot more fun with the MLB 2K11 demo. I've never been a big 2K guy, but NBA 2K11 is probably my favorite video game of all time. Just love it. So maybe I'm a convert....I don't know. But mainly I just want to play good, fun games, no matter who makes it... So right now I'm very heavily leaning toward being an MLB 2K11 guy this year! I am going to wait and read a few reviews next week before making my final decision, but looking good for MLB 2K11 right now!

Well said! And I am right where you are, big HH guy, loved the MVP series, and have loved that "other game" very much the last few years. That being said, I am kind of wanting a new baseball experience as well. I know the 'other game' will be dead solid, no doubt, but I am hoping after the first few days of impressions and reviews, this game will be solid as well.

I am not going to start tossing around MVP 05 comparisons because after playing the demo (granted it was one game), I didn't come away with that feel. I came away thinking this is a baseball game that does a lot of things well, especially with the analog controls, but is far from being polished or in the realm of the past 10 years of great baseball games.

The animations are a bit jerky, the player control feels a bit heavy, and the camera angles leave me shaking my head sometimes. I haven't played the 2k series in 5 years, so I can't compare it to other years, but it seems to be much improved in the gameplay area at least.

My fear is that the novelty will wear out 50 games in, or there will be some glaring issues that we haven't seen yet.

I will definitely purchase the "other game" day 1, and if the feedback on these forums is positive, I will give this a look as well. Here is to hoping!!!