MLB 15 The Show OS Community Impressions

[Skyboxer]

Quote: Originally Posted by Russell_SCEA

That's on my design list for 16

SWEET!!!!! Thanks man!

I decided tonight to start my franchise. (Timed hitting and classic pitching)
First 2 games were great and held on to win both vs Toronto.
Getting walks and throwing walks, doubles etc.. balls in the gaps, dribblers .. all variations.
After each game I go through all the stats for the league and can't wait to get the next one going.
What....A....Blast!

[CujoMatty]

I've read a few of the early reviews out there. The common negative comments seems to be related to the game feeling stagnant to some. If I'm being truthful I feel that way a little bit too.

Whereas some of the reviewers feel that the show needs some innovation I would have to disagree with that sentiment. I think the actual game plays as near to perfect as possible. The biggest thing the show could do to feel fresh again is new commentary and presentation. we've been listening to the same intro music, commentary, etc for far too long. I get the idea of adding to what's there as opposed to starting from scratch but IMO what's there right now has been played out. The show added some real cool things with player emotions and split screen among others but these new things are still ultimately surrounded by commentary and presentation elements I've been looking at or hearing for too long.

I also would like to see network integration.ESPN seems like it would be a good fit and really tie into the radio show. Speaking of which, the farther I get into my franchise the more I love the radio show. I'll try not to get sidetracked lol

I played the hell out of 14 and I'm really enjoying 15 and I've managed to find some little things like playing with different camera angles that has managed to freshen things up a bit. I'm pretty sure I'll get a ton of enjoyment out of 15 but if 16 is ultimately the same with just more refinements and little touches i might have to give the series a break. If somehow SOTS makes it back in next year that alone would probably justify alot of playing time next year though.

I was feeling very similar about the nhl franchise and if you can get past the debacle of an incomplete game and just take it for the ingame they really did a fabulous job of freshening up a game that was really starting to get stale. They really didn't change the gameplay with innovations and they really didn't need to. Like the show the game play is about as good as it gets but by just adding NBC presentation and new commentary it really feels like a new game.

[jmount78]

At the risk of getting a tidal wave of backlash, I wanted to post my impressions. First, the game is beautiful and there are quality improvements to the crowd, attendance, and lighting. Second, the menus are much easier to navigate and I like the option of choosing month and time of day for exhibition games.

With those being said, I was underwhelmed with the game. Hitting is a lot harder now, and not having the leg kick with analog seems to take away from the fun. Commentary is important to me and it is just too stale. This game has a million dollar face and food stamp commentary. The XP gained seems useless and the opening presentations for games seems blah.

I really thought I would overwhelmed with all the reviews I have been reading, but was mistaken. Now that 2K doesn't make the games anymore, it would be nice if they could adopt the pitching mechanisms and stat presentations that they used to have into the game.

Fun game, but every year it is fun because it is baseball and that is my passion.

[volsfan39]

I have waited for my impressions until I have had significant playing time in different modes. First I would like to say that 15 plays better out of the box than any sports title I have ever seen. The only glaring tweak after several games is the base runner speed needs to be down about a notch or two as triples are a little extreme this year. Graphics like everyone has said are just amazing the lighting is almost perfect and the colors are spot on. SCEA does an outstanding job every year polishing this game. The only complaints I have this year and I have been playing since 06' is they removed some features that everyone is complaining about. It has been their history to only add and never take away. 16 has to give our full broadcast mode back including yes the foul ball camera. I have noticed how many people love this feature because it totally engrosses you in the situation. The little things is what makes this title stand out from all the rest and they have still put in some new ones, but if you start removing these things it will just be like all the other sports titles out there. Most of us true baseball fans don't like all the pace of play talk that is out there so at least give us the choice to watch everything if we want. Also like plenty of others have said the presentation needs a well overdue overhaul. Commentary has added a few new lines but most of it is stale as I turned it off after 3 games like always. I also would like to see better pregame and post game presentation you added the post game interview last year but no audio let's get that in there next year. I have also seen more little glitches and hiccups this year than any other year I won't list them as most have been listed already. Now by far these things are no way game breakers this is still the best version I have seen of the show so far. If you have a ps4 do not pass this title up it is the best sports title by far out there..The licensed equipment is awesome adds more than you think to this game. Diamond Dynasty is also more fun to play this year!! I don't play online anymore so can't comment on this game mode. If you are on the fence about 15 jump off and go get this title you will not be disappointed...

[RoyceDa59]

I must say beards/facial hair look really great in this game. Didn't play on the PS4 last year so they look new to me. It makes me envy all you bearded folks since I cannot grow one for the life of me.

[decga]

I did the Y2Y save in franchise. I am starting off at the beginning of the off season. I am seeing more AI trades than I can remember than in the past.

The most exciting trade I have seen was between the Marlins and A's. A's signed 3B Sandoval to a 3 year deal, but they re-up with 3B Donaldson. Marlins claimed the fake SP Kris Medlen off waivers. They made a deal with each other. The Marlins didn't have a 3B rated over 67. Sandoval is rated OVR 87. The trade satisfied I need for a third baseman and the A's got SP with an OVR 89.

[Sco291]

Quote: Originally Posted by HealyMonster

Anyone who has played this game in the past or present, should relatively have the same impressions of gameplay. The gameplay is great, its been that way for years, and some tweaks here or there every year make the gameplay better year to year. I hate to say it though, I'm a graphics homer, and presentation homer, and this game is several lacking. It is well behind the typical PS4 title graphically, and it is the least attractive looking game of the major sports titles released. Im not saying its an ugly game, or even saying it looks like a ps3 game, it just is nowhere near where it should and could be on the ps4, especially considering it is year 2. There is a definite issue with whoever is in charge of the graphics. They have been using the same graphics for 7 years now. An example is here: Same wall textures, same background textures that were used last gen. They upped the resolution, but these stadiums while some look better than others are all insufficient for the ps4. The environments are not updated for next gen, they are the ps3 environments at a higher resolution, which, in my opinion, only shows their flaws more. In the pic above, you see the wall texture repeating, with the dirt on it. You see the tree branches on the palm not looking...well...right, its all sloppy. on ps2/ early ps3 we wouldn't even see this, but now on ps4, it just looks like garbage. Im not trying to totally destroy them. For instance when I look at Citi Field in the game. From the standpoint of looking at the stadium as a whole, compared to a real life image of the stadium, to sit back and point out flaws (which I just did FWIW), to REALLY have issue with that is nitpicking. The issue is, when you look at the stadium as a whole, with the close ups, the textures all look awful. Another example when I say stuff worked on the ps2 or 3 but cannot work now are images like this: When playing the game, you obviously aren't going to sit and watch each screen and point out flaws like some that are in the above image. Example, the steps behind harvey. They are huge, the are not proportionate to the stadium. It isn't the angle of the pic either, steps in the stadium that fans aren't walking on, all look huge like this. On ps2, we couldn't care less, but when you are looking at Matt Harvey with sweat on his hat (like in the pic), immersion is lost when you see these ugly steps all over the stadium. Whats the point? Also, who cares how much the guy weighs. Certainly this info would be ok if issued behind or in front of other more relative stuff like stats, record vs the team you are playing, etc. Instead we get his height and weight in boring font that looks like they attached a word document to one of their graphics. On the presentation side, we are yet again watching the same stuff. Some stuff is improved for the better: Off the top of my head I like the hubs for RTTS and Franchise, and post game for RTTS, etc. But outside of some various menu type changes, everything else is the same. Finish a RTTS game, you see the same loading screens, same basic font, like Helvetica used showing standing,etc. Same small team logos that are boxed in. On ps2, that stuff worked, but with where we are at in the world today, I mean we are all using iPhones, where they are so graphically driven to captivate people, when I turn on this game, and I see how it delivers information to me while I'm playing, I am completely disappointed. It is 2015, its time to make stuff look new and fresh, and good. Post game baseball card guy, post game people raking the stadium, post game guy with camera comes out, every person that guy interviews is always walking the same way making the same movements, its all the same. Some of this stuff we were seeing as far back as the ps2. Even looking back to the screen I posted of the ugly spring training field, look at the new york and washington scores. I can make that in Microsoft paint. It is unacceptable for this game to be doing such basic things this far into development considering things like the stadiums are ports. Again, gameplay is on point, it always is, but at the same time, I haven't found much in this game that is overwhelming compared to my experience with the show 14. Certainly there is a bunch of stuff improved, but after a week of playing, I'm no longer thinking about those things, I am thinking about how ugly some things in this game are, and how I wish there was better presentation.

Very interesting post. Very interesting. The further I read into what you said, the more I found myself unfortunately having to agree. The thing that stood out to me the most ws the repeating dirt patterns on the wall, the massive pyramid like steps in Citi Field, and the boring typeface that is used to relay information to the player in the presentation menus.

This all makes me think of one of the videos the presentation and stadium streams the devs put out about a week or 2 before release. I forget which stadium it was for, but they had zoomed in waaaay far into one of the backdrop high rise buildings and continued to zoom all the way into one of the windows and showed how they added paintings on the wall. Something that no fan of this game would ever see and something that does not contribute in any way to the visual immersion for the player . I was actually annoyed by this and it's the kind of thing that is unacceptable to me as a buyer.

It's the equivalent of me mowing my front and back lawn, but leaving a very small patch of grass uncut and untouched in the corner of my backyard - no one will ever notice it but me, the person who cut it. Why not just do the whole entire lawn and make it all look good in case someone does notice it? Now granted, it probably barely took any resource for them to do that kind of thing, but when there's obvious visual discrepancies in plain sight that a handful of fans will see after a while of playing the game (probably more people than we realize), it makes you wonder how this kind of thing is acceptable in 2015.

Gameplay is literally perfect. Fielding took a huge leap this year. But presentation needs to change. It just has to. There needs to be some sort of integrated network. I'm not sure what kind of typeface they use, whether it be Helvetica or Baskerville or Caslon or whatever, but it just wears quickly on the eye for the most part. Repeat intro music, repeat post game angles etc. It seems like it's been more of the same for the past 6 years or so. I feel if they address these things, the game will be near flawless. Not bashing SDS, they are by far the best sports devs anywhere on the planet, but for someone who has been making the purchase since 2007 on PS2, it just doesn't work well anymore especially on PS4.

[actionhank]

Quote: Originally Posted by HARLEE23

I was playing a game and my Pappaw walked into the room and asked, "I thought the Reds didn't play until tomorrow?" Graphics and presentation are good enough to confuse a 60 year old man!

Well, we know it's at least as good as Windows 8!