MLB 2K12 Demo Available Now, Post Impressions Here

[DetroitStyle]

Alright, since they didn't have a PC demo I fired up my PS3 to give it a try. Here are my impressions:

Pros:
- Check swinging is back! This includes classic (one button) and total control. In order to check swing in classic you have to DOUBLE TAP the swing button. On the PS3 this is "X" and I believe "A" on the 360. This worked last year on the PC but it always counted as a strike. This year it works properly.

- Animations definitely look more refined and fluid. The herky-jerkiness from last year is all but gone. You'll see more proper animations as well such a infielder not rifling the ball back to the pitcher when he is two feet away. Also, the animations are sped up in the outfield so it doesn't take a year and a half to get the ball into the infield from a gap shot. It's a quick grab-and-throw.

- The graphics seem largely unchanged but I do notice more update faces and maybe some better lighting and shadows. Models are largely unchanged but I do see different body types which is more or less the same as last year.

- 2K12 requires new strategy with the new pitching additions. It's very much welcomed addition and brings a lot of fun when pitching. I'm also seeing a lot of hit variety and it seems more natural off the bat this year.

- AI seems smarter out of the box. The CPU won't try to stretch as many hits this year, and the fielders seem to make the right decisions.

Cons:
- I had terrible, and I mean TERRIBLE framerate and lag issues on the PS3. It might be my ps3 it might be because it's a demo. But every hit either from me or the cpu resulted in a FPS drop and it's even worse on foul balls. Actually the framerate is terrible in every aspect. I expect none of this will occur though in the final version, especially on the PC.

- Where AI improved it also remained the same. It seems pitchers still intentionally walk batters mid way through a count. They had a 1 ball 2 strike count on me and decided to IW me anyway. Didn't make a whole lot of sense. As well, roughing up a pitcher for a few runs early causes the bullpen to get loose. There was a large problem with manager AI regarding pitching decisions and I'm seeing some of the same things from last year occurring. What's worse is that they claimed to have fixed them. But alas, it is a demo.

- This going to feel extremely familiar. It's said a few times on here that if you hated 2K11 last year, you're not going to enjoy 2K12 and vice versa. Although with the improvements I highly recommend at least a rental to give it a try.
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Remember, it's only a demo. To compact it for everyone to download they needed to strip some features (commentary) and most likely add in lower resolution textures. Also, it's probably a VERY early build thus my framerate issues. But overall, it does seem more refined but it is just an upgrade from last years version. All the changes are in the code and won't be immediately visible until you've played a few games. I would recommend giving it a try but you're not going to be blown away by some new feature or new presentation aspect.

[swaldo]

Quote: Originally Posted by SportsGamingBlake

I was 'overusing' my slider in the first inning, and the blue backdrop of the pitch turned red, which means i should mix up my pitch selection. for the other 2 innings (rest of the game), i didnt throw a single slider...maybe one. but the backdrop remained red for the rest of the game. its it supposed to go back to blue after mixing pitches a bit, correct?

Depends if its one of your primary pitches. My forkball and fastball went red and the fastball came back to green fast but the forkball didn't. The explanation is simple - if the fork is thrown 10% of the time (in real life) according to inside edge and I throw it 10 times in 30 pitches (30%) it will take awhile to get it back.

[sjp2469]

I was playing my first inning and piece of cheese that can whistle ran across the field. Did this happen to anyone else?????

[The Bimmer]

Thought it was great. If you liked last years game you will like this years. First thing I noticed was that the graphics are big time improved on the PS3.

Second thing is the game did play smoother, and the third thing is I can pretty much plug in all of my settings from last year and be ready to play within 5 mins.

The new overlays are nice also. I like seeing those pitching stats popping up letting me know what I am doing out there (on the mound). Once the commentary blends in this game will be getting a serious workout during the MLB Today season mode.

[nemesis04]

I only played a few games but I was expecting more with the new ball physics to be honest. Ground balls start out ok but after a few bounces they basically stop bouncing and just glide along the grass and just keep going.

[Doormat]

Managed to play 2 games in about 30 minutes. First game I got rocked in the 3rd inning after 2 straight shut out innings to give up 5 runs, I left about 2 runners on base and striked out 3 times I believe.. I called it a warm up.
Second game I won 1-0 thanks to a homer by Michael Young.

Pros -
New batting stances, most of them look great as well as the swings and follow through (David F. for example, a fly ball from him looks like the same swing I saw him do in his walk off of game 6)
New animations on field, looks and feels smoother throwing to first
Pitching motions look fantastic, well done 2K
I feel like a DOMINATING pitcher now, last year I barely striked out anyone every 2 innings, now I can mix up my pitches carefully and strike out someone like Beltre

Cons -
Really does feel like the same game from last year besides the roster update and what I listed above
I hit a line drive to right field, the ball did NOT bounce at all after a fly ball hitting the wall, literally just rolled on the ground
A few batting stances don't match... Berkman's for example looks like Matt Holliday's.


All in all I'm kinda impressed, I WILL be picking this up sometime next week if I have the money.

[MLBGeek]

Im honestly not impressed. I have never really played a 2k baseball game that feels authetic after I've played The Show. 2k makes an amazing NBA game which I feel/felt same way about when there was competition. There is something about most plays that take me outside of playing a sports sim and almost feel arcade-ish. That being said: there's nothing wrong with that. However, if you are like me and are going to keep your MLB game in the system for 250-365 days til the next years release you probably are going to want MLB 12 The Show. I will probably pick up both just because I am a baseball addict. I WILL give MLB 2K12 another shot with the full release for sure. I do understand that alot was removed from this game for the sake of the demo.

[pistolpete]

I know in the full copy you can change them, but I hated the camera angles. I've been playing tons of 2k11 lately and I just couldn't get past the default camera angles.