MLB 2K12 Demo Available Now, Post Impressions Here

[Cavicchi]

Quote: Originally Posted by MrChainsaw

Auto fielding! Nice.

2K11 also had auto fielding. Are you saying it's been improved in 2K12?

[Cavicchi]

Seemed to me the players were running slower to first on a bunt and grounder than in 2K11.

[vwnut13]

My impressions:

(I have been playin the show since 2006. 2K5 was the last 2K game I played. more + signs, more serious, IMO)

+ Hit two homeruns in the first two innings.
+ Batting camera angle is weird.
+ Outfield angle is weird.
++ Matt Holliday dropped first ball hit to him.
++ Matt Holliday ran to third base (From LF) on a no doubt HR
+++ No advance on ball thrown in stands
+++ Bunting stance is weird!
++ Massive delay on dives
+ Infield dirt dark splotches

Played a game as the Cardinals, and couldn't do anything. I wonder if the team ratings affect teams too much.

[misterkrabz]

Annimations are much improved. The pitch is easier to read (location and speed) than in the other baseball game making drawing walks easier. Saw a killer double play started by a glove flip to the second baseman. Overall Im impressed with the fielding (throwing meter is cool and and I made a few great diving plays that aren't so frequent in the other game)...pitching seems pretty much the same. Hitting can feel a little generic (down and up on the R stick to hit). The baserunner timing is better making triples more difficult. Graphics are ok but the colors do pop. I downloaded both PS3 and 360 demo's and I must say the 360 version looks and feels better. The colors are crisper and the face textures seem a little better (and this is coming form a PS3 fanboy).

This is the first year where I think I might buy the 2k game. I would like to see more options out of their demos though. I want to see other camera angles...make bench moves...and gimme some sliders or difficulty settings please. The demo overall is really watered down and that's disappointing. If you're on the fence then the demo probably isn't enough to convince you to buy...there's just so much that's left out that could be the difference between buying and waiting yet another year. I'm probably a "buy" because I love video game baseball and this game plays pretty well for what it is. And that is a more "arcadey" version of baseball compared to The Show but it looks like it will net some realistic statistical results...so you get a little of both worlds.

If it plays well online (not holding my breath) and you can have an online franchise I could be spending some serious time with game...if not it will be an occasional play and "trade-in" game in 6 months.

[BA2929]

Played a few "games" after work, here are my impressions:

Loved:

--The 'Pitch Track' when you hit left on the directional pad. They had this in MVP 05 and I've missed it ever since, but 2k has made it even better. Now I can see where I've thrown pitches in the at-bat and when I'm hitting I can see tons of stuff, incliding where a pitcher has thrown first pitches to lefties or what he threw me in my previous AB. Great addition. BEST addition, imo.

--Actually hit two HRs with Beltre on contact swings. That didn't happen much last year unless you were using a guy with 90+ power. (If he has 90+ power against righties, forgive me. Still nice to hit HRs with contact swings)

--The new throwing meter is cool. Still trying to figure out how to cancel a throw though. No button is listed for it in the menu. LOVED that I could actually change which base I could throw to after I had already selected one.

--The outfield seems bigger this year. That's a plus.

--The scoreboard actually had a sweet looking graphic on it! Not a generic thing that didnt even fill up the jumbotron.

--Had a nice looking double play where Kinsler flipped it with his glove to the SS who made a nice turn. REALLY liked that. Felt smooth and not forced.

--Seemed like it was easier to see what pitch was coming in.

--Gloves actually look like real baseball gloves. Not something someone bought at Toys-R-Us that came with a plastic bat and a wiffle ball.

--Mike Napoli pimped the grand slam I hit with him at the plate. "Pimped" means he stood there watching it sail over the wall for those of you that aren't into baseball slang. It was oppo, but it was a high and away fastball. Not like last year where you would hit a HR on a low and away curve. Also had Beltre do the same thing on a no-doubter. Different looking though, that was a plus.

--Seemed like more of the crowd was in 3D.

--I was late on an inside fastball and grounded out weakly to the 2nd baseman. Awesome. Exactly right.

Hated:

--The new running animation for baserunners. They all look like Forest Gump to me. Running stiff, up and down and almost looks like they're jogging. Elvis Andrus looked like he was jogging to 2nd on a steal attempt. It looks fine on a HR trot, but not when guys are sprinting. However, I did like how guys rounded the bags.

--The way the CPU fielders will stop their fielding animation and pause.... then start their throwing animation. This was in 2k11 and I hated it then as well.

--The celebration animation runners have when they score runs. MLB guys dont jump up and down and pump their fists after they take a 1-0 lead in the 1st. Didn't happen every time, but it happened. This was in 2k11 as well.


Not sure what to think:

--The new fielding animations are just ok to me. The guys actually look like they're trying to throw hard, but its a little excessive sometimes.

--I can't decide if I like the new "you've thrown a pitch too much" stuff. When I used Ogando I threw the change-up probably 5 times and it was in the red the rest of the game. I understand what they're going for, but with a guy who only has 3 pitches, it really limits you.

--Slight freezing on foul balls. Hopefully this is a demo issue, but it was in there last year so who knows.

--99mph doesn't look or sound like 99mph to me still. Looks like 88-90mph. 99mph is FAST 2k. I understand you made 100+ look and sound like this, but seriously, 96-99mph should feel the same way. Problem was in last years game as well. This could have been because it was on PRO and a demo also. I'll let it slide for now.

----

The CPU actually made a pitching change against me after I scored 8 runs off of Kyle Lohse. They brought in Kyle McClellan in the top of the 3rd after I put up 5 against Lohse without recording an out.


Overall:

This demo feels like a tighter version of 2011. Slightly better graphics, slightly better player models, same music and the same crowd noise. As many others have said: If you liked 2k11, you'll like this, as this seems like a more polished version of that game. I'll be getting it, but it might not be on release day. I want to hear if they've done something to My Player, as that's the mode I usually spend the most time in.

That's it for now. I don't want this to be 10 pages long.

[RobSkillzz]

At most it was OKAY for me. Very decent game, with a few graphical upgrades from 2K11.

I will definitely not buy this right away, but later on down the road after a price drop.

[Scribe1980]

Almost the exact same game as 2k11 (PS3). Graphically, a slight bump. Faces and unis look clearer, no ballpark jaggies. That's it. Same undecipherable throwing meter; speed of runner v. fielder's throwing still feels off (any big league player who stops running out a grounder 20 feet from the bag doesn't play for long).

One new concept: The change in the quality of pitches, if it has been 'overused'. A nice idea, theoritically, but after a couple of games I fear the logic behind it has been implemented incorrectly. Let me explain:

If no one can touch your out pitch, you continue to throw it until they can.

In both games I played, I was seemingly penalized out of the blue for simply using a pitch too much (circle turned red), rather than for what the CPU did against it (in this case, Wainwright's 12-6 curve). In other words, the sheer quantity of 12-6 curves thrown by me, rather than CPU success against it, determined whether the circle graphic for the 12-6 curve turned red.

Once that happened, THEN the CPU had success against that pitch. I either couldn't throw it for a strike, or the CPU whacked the cheese out of it.

So a pitch the CPU couldn't lay a bat on for 3 innings suddenly failed me, solely due to the circle going red on me for "overuse" rather then for any CPU success against it.

That's not the way it works. My .02, anyway.

Demo Verdict: I pop in 2K11 when I want a break from the 'other game'. Got it post-patch for 13 bucks in December, downloaded the final rosters for that season and just made moves I was aware of. Will continue to play it as my "break" game, rather than drop $60 on 2K12.

[natey2k4]

I hate how the batters head is cut off by the bars across the top (score bar, etc).

The pitching is a lot better than the Show. If I could put the gesture pitching into the Show, I'd be a happy camper.