MLB 2K8 News Post

Major League Baseball 2K8 360 Impressions

01:24 AM - February 26, 2008 by Steve_OS

Matt Blumenthal had an opportunity to demo Major League Baseball 2K8 this afternoon. His official writeup of the event will be up later this week, but we wanted to get some quick thoughts up here for you guys.

This game looks beautiful, the player models have improved but the real leap is in the animations. The animations move silky smooth and there is no need to worry about herky jerky animations of the past anymore.
I'm impressed with how intuitive and fresh the analog controls are. The pitching takes a little time to get the hang of but the new mechanics add a whole new dimension to the pitching model.
The baseball cards feature is surprisingly cool, expect me to have more on that later on this week.
In-game saves are officially in the game this year.
Check swings don't seem to be a chore anymore. They are now accomplished by pulling back on the right analog stick - no more right trigger necessary.
Stadium-specific animations are in. The Yankee Roll Call was mentioned specifically.
There should be plenty of foul balls this year. I saw several in the few at-bats I played.
No spring training games this year.
I counted eight unlockable classic stadiums. I think more might be available by default as well.
No co-op play
You will have the option to make trades for CPU-controlled teams in franchise mode, but you won't be able to edit their rotations and lineups.
It was suggested to me that the demo is done and has been submitted. If that's the case, it's in Microsoft's hands now.
I will hit on a few of the big questions from the forum here.

Game: Major League Baseball 2K8Reader Score: 6/10 - Vote Now
Platform: PS2 / PS3 / PSP / Wii / Xbox 360Votes for game: 74 - View All

Member Comments

# 1281 thornie @ 03/05/08 11:22 AM

Alright, Alright... Seems like we all have the game... Some love it some HATE it, some are in between or on the fence. After playing 9 full games last night, learning the pitching scheme, and messing around... I feel comfortable giving my impressions... here goes.

XBOX360 - SD TV

GRAPHICS/PRESENTATION: I am on a SD TV and I'm sorry but the menu's are god awful. I have to stand literally 3 inches from my screen to make out the menu text. I love the design of menu's but I can't read anything. This would make Franchise and absolute chore.

As far as the player models go... I think they look better than last year, yes, better. The players IMO look more like people and less like plastic dolls. The one thing that most certainly took a hit in this game are the uniform and stadium textures. Uniform patches/logos no longer have that 'stitched on' look to them, it looks to me as if they lowered the texture detail about 30% on the uniforms and about 20% in the stadiums. To be honest, this doesn't really bother me much. IMO the animations in pitching/batting look soooo much better than last year that I'll accept the downgrade.

Commentary: I stopped paying attention or even noticing it after the second game I played. This really is non-issue for me, sorry I can't elaborate more.

Cutscenes/batter walk-ups: I admit the cutscenes are a little weak, and they kill the framerate, so I just shut them off. I WOULD leave them in, but then the framerate goes to poop. Though I do like the end of inning scenes, as well as SOME of the batter walk-ups. Others just look strange or incomplete at times, can't really put my finger on it.

I LOVE how you can customize music, there has been a lot written
about this, so I'll just leave it at that. Great feature!

GAMEPLAY: This where this game absolutely shines. The pitching interface is just genius. There I said it, it's genius. It's literally one of the only things keeping me from playing The Show (Yes I bought both). I mean this feature single handedly sold me on this game. I understand some love it and some hate it, but IMO it's just ace...

It almost feels (for me at least) that you can never really MASTER it, you can just get good at it. I mean the feeling you get after perfectly executing a slider on a 2-2 count and striking a guy out is just amazing. It really puts you in the game where every pitch counts and you cant just time your way out of tough situations. I think with some small refinements, this could really be the future of pitching in baseball games. I was playing as the Angels vs. the D'backs and I had Jared Weaver up to 110 pitches in the 7th inning. I think I had a 5 or 6 pitch at-bat with every batter. It just felt so satisfying. Oh and the box score of that game...

ARI 5 8 1
ANA 2 7 0

Even though I lost... A thing of beauty.

Swingstick 2.0: I have always been a classic button hitting kinda guy. Last year I never really got into the swing stick, although I tried, it never felt natural to me. 2.0 is just heaps better and has sold me. I really like it. I admit it does feel a little arcadey as once you get the timing down you can just mash everything, but I AM playing on 'Pro' or 'easy'.

The hit variety is unreal. In 9 games I have it 4 home-runs. I have it TONS of singles, doubles down the line, line shots off the wall, dribblers up the middle. It really is incredible. I think the way the hit mechanic uses a players rating is really smart and to my surprise works really really well. IMO this is the second area where the game truly shines. You can add total control fielding to that as well.

On 'pro' difficulty I'm getting all sorts of games. High scoring, low scoring, nail biters. I'm really impressed. Sliders will only make this more awesome...

FINALLY... *clears throat* AHEM... THE FRAMERATE ISSUE:

I left this for last because I think it's the one thing holding this game back from being one of the best and most fun baseball game I have ever played. Is it noticeable? Yes. Is it a game killer? Hmm, thats a harder question to answer. It's not THAT bad, but anyone with eyes can see it. I mean to be honest, the gameplay and fun factor of the game is SO engrossing, that I stop noticing it. It's not OMGOMG they move a frame ever second, and no, it will not interfere with plays or overall outcome of the game...

I will say this though... If you don't give two sh*ts about the new pitching interface, if the swing stick 2.0 still feels lame to you, if you hate total control fielding, and you absolutely CANNOT deal with a slight graphical downgrade in the uniforms and stadium textures, then YES. Yes, the framerate issue will be a game killer. If you are like me and just love the new gameplay features, sig styles (which are really unreal) and feel of the game... Then you can turn you head the other way and overlook the framerate issue and enjoy a really really good baseball game.

Last year, post patch, new sliders, I gave 2k7 (out of 100) a score of 74.

This year, out of the box I give 2k8 a score of 86. If the framerate was not an issue. I would probably rate this game somewhere in the 90's.

P.S. I see this question asked a lot, and I don't know if anyone answered it, but yes, home runs travel at realistic distances. Oh, and the collision detection is also really good. Troy Glaus hit a 456 ft blast down the left field line off me in Bush Stadium... The ball hit the brick stadium column a bunch of rows back and nearly came back on the field. Really cool.

# 1282 ehh @ 03/05/08 11:30 AM

Nice review thornie, I think it was spot on.

# 1283 jrod1981 @ 03/05/08 11:38 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by thornie


	GAMEPLAY: This where this game absolutely shines. The pitching interface is just genius. There I said it, it's genius. It's literally one of the only things keeping me from playing The Show (Yes I bought both). I mean this feature single handedly sold me on this game. I understand some love it and some hate it, but IMO it's just ace... AMEN BRO! It almost feels (for me at least) that you can never really MASTER it, you can just get good at it. I mean the feeling you get after perfectly executing a slider on a 2-2 count and striking a guy out is just amazing. It really puts you in the game where every pitch counts and you cant just time your way out of tough situations. I think with some small refinements, this could really be the future of pitching in baseball games. I was playing as the Angels vs. the D'backs and I had Jared Weaver up to 110 pitches in the 7th inning. I think I had a 5 or 6 pitch at-bat with every batter. It just felt so satisfying. Oh and the box score of that game... ARI 5 8 1 ANA 2 7 0 Even though I lost... A thing of beauty. Swingstick 2.0: I have always been a classic button hitting kinda guy. Last year I never really got into the swing stick, although I tried, it never felt natural to me. 2.0 is just heaps better and has sold me. I really like it. I admit it does feel a little arcadey as once you get the timing down you can just mash everything, but I AM playing on 'Pro' or 'easy'. The hit variety is unreal. In 9 games I have it 4 home-runs. I have it TONS of singles, doubles down the line, line shots off the wall, dribblers up the middle. It really is incredible. I think the way the hit mechanic uses a players rating is really smart and to my surprise works really really well. IMO this is the second area where the game truly shines. You can add total control fielding to that as well. On 'pro' difficulty I'm getting all sorts of games. High scoring, low scoring, nail biters. I'm really impressed. Sliders will only make this more awesome... FINALLY... clears throat AHEM... THE FRAMERATE ISSUE: I left this for last because I think it's the one thing holding this game back from being one of the best and most fun baseball game I have ever played. Is it noticeable? Yes. Is it a game killer? Hmm, thats a harder question to answer. It's not THAT bad, but anyone with eyes can see it. I mean to be honest, the gameplay and fun factor of the game is SO engrossing, that I stop noticing it. It's not OMGOMG they move a frame ever second, and no, it will not interfere with plays or overall outcome of the game... I will say this though... If you don't give two sh*ts about the new pitching interface, if the swing stick 2.0 still feels lame to you, if you hate total control fielding, and you absolutely CANNOT deal with a slight graphical downgrade in the uniforms and stadium textures, then YES. Yes, the framerate issue will be a game killer. If you are like me and just love the new gameplay features, sig styles (which are really unreal) and feel of the game... Then you can turn you head the other way and overlook the framerate issue and enjoy a really really good baseball game. Last year, post patch, new sliders, I gave 2k7 (out of 100) a score of 74. This year, out of the box I give 2k8 a score of 86. If the framerate was not an issue. I would probably rate this game somewhere in the 90's. P.S. I see this question asked a lot, and I don't know if anyone answered it, but yes, home runs travel at realistic distances. Oh, and the collision detection is also really good. Troy Glaus hit a 456 ft blast down the left field line off me in Bush Stadium... The ball hit the brick stadium column a bunch of rows back and nearly came back on the field. Really cool.

I couldn't agree more!

# 1284 Cubbies2166 @ 03/05/08 11:39 AM

Can anybody say if there are any downloadable stadiums yet?

And could anybody tell me what Kosuke Fukudome is rated in the game, or at least what the RF for the Cubs with the initials KFs ratings are?

# 1285 Motown @ 03/05/08 11:40 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by thornie


	Alright, Alright... Seems like we all have the game... Some love it some HATE it, some are in between or on the fence. After playing 9 full games last night, learning the pitching scheme, and messing around... I feel comfortable giving my impressions... here goes. XBOX360 - SD TV GRAPHICS/PRESENTATION: I am on a SD TV and I'm sorry but the menu's are god awful. I have to stand literally 3 inches from my screen to make out the menu text. I love the design of menu's but I can't read anything. This would make Franchise and absolute chore. As far as the player models go... I think they look better than last year, yes, better. The players IMO look more like people and less like plastic dolls. The one thing that most certainly took a hit in this game are the uniform and stadium textures. Uniform patches/logos no longer have that 'stitched on' look to them, it looks to me as if they lowered the texture detail about 30% on the uniforms and about 20% in the stadiums. To be honest, this doesn't really bother me much. IMO the animations in pitching/batting look soooo much better than last year that I'll accept the downgrade. Commentary: I stopped paying attention or even noticing it after the second game I played. This really is non-issue for me, sorry I can't elaborate more. Cutscenes/batter walk-ups: I admit the cutscenes are a little weak, and they kill the framerate, so I just shut them off. I WOULD leave them in, but then the framerate goes to poop. Though I do like the end of inning scenes, as well as SOME of the batter walk-ups. Others just look strange or incomplete at times, can't really put my finger on it. I LOVE how you can customize music, there has been a lot written about this, so I'll just leave it at that. Great feature! GAMEPLAY: This where this game absolutely shines. The pitching interface is just genius. There I said it, it's genius. It's literally one of the only things keeping me from playing The Show (Yes I bought both). I mean this feature single handedly sold me on this game. I understand some love it and some hate it, but IMO it's just ace... It almost feels (for me at least) that you can never really MASTER it, you can just get good at it. I mean the feeling you get after perfectly executing a slider on a 2-2 count and striking a guy out is just amazing. It really puts you in the game where every pitch counts and you cant just time your way out of tough situations. I think with some small refinements, this could really be the future of pitching in baseball games. I was playing as the Angels vs. the D'backs and I had Jared Weaver up to 110 pitches in the 7th inning. I think I had a 5 or 6 pitch at-bat with every batter. It just felt so satisfying. Oh and the box score of that game... ARI 5 8 1 ANA 2 7 0 Even though I lost... A thing of beauty. Swingstick 2.0: I have always been a classic button hitting kinda guy. Last year I never really got into the swing stick, although I tried, it never felt natural to me. 2.0 is just heaps better and has sold me. I really like it. I admit it does feel a little arcadey as once you get the timing down you can just mash everything, but I AM playing on 'Pro' or 'easy'. The hit variety is unreal. In 9 games I have it 4 home-runs. I have it TONS of singles, doubles down the line, line shots off the wall, dribblers up the middle. It really is incredible. I think the way the hit mechanic uses a players rating is really smart and to my surprise works really really well. IMO this is the second area where the game truly shines. You can add total control fielding to that as well. On 'pro' difficulty I'm getting all sorts of games. High scoring, low scoring, nail biters. I'm really impressed. Sliders will only make this more awesome... FINALLY... clears throat AHEM... THE FRAMERATE ISSUE: I left this for last because I think it's the one thing holding this game back from being one of the best and most fun baseball game I have ever played. Is it noticeable? Yes. Is it a game killer? Hmm, thats a harder question to answer. It's not THAT bad, but anyone with eyes can see it. I mean to be honest, the gameplay and fun factor of the game is SO engrossing, that I stop noticing it. It's not OMGOMG they move a frame ever second, and no, it will not interfere with plays or overall outcome of the game... I will say this though... If you don't give two sh*ts about the new pitching interface, if the swing stick 2.0 still feels lame to you, if you hate total control fielding, and you absolutely CANNOT deal with a slight graphical downgrade in the uniforms and stadium textures, then YES. Yes, the framerate issue will be a game killer. If you are like me and just love the new gameplay features, sig styles (which are really unreal) and feel of the game... Then you can turn you head the other way and overlook the framerate issue and enjoy a really really good baseball game. Last year, post patch, new sliders, I gave 2k7 (out of 100) a score of 74. This year, out of the box I give 2k8 a score of 86. If the framerate was not an issue. I would probably rate this game somewhere in the 90's. P.S. I see this question asked a lot, and I don't know if anyone answered it, but yes, home runs travel at realistic distances. Oh, and the collision detection is also really good. Troy Glaus hit a 456 ft blast down the left field line off me in Bush Stadium... The ball hit the brick stadium column a bunch of rows back and nearly came back on the field. Really cool.

Well, that settles it then anyone w/ Our Lord Jesus Christ & Savior on The Show 08 cover...their credentials speak volumes...good enough.

Great read thornie

# 1286 Wolfpack44 @ 03/05/08 11:44 AM

Great post Thornie, I agree with everything you said!

# 1287 thornie @ 03/05/08 11:47 AM

Thanks guys, glad it could help in any way.

Now I'm just gonna need some time to play both these games, ha.

# 1288 coachpars @ 03/05/08 11:52 AM

I played the game for a long time yesterday,and I can honestly say the learning curve is kinda steep. You actually have to throw to the lead bag on balls in the gap, Pitching and adjusting defenses on every new batter is a blast, throwing from the hole at short is soo much fun. there are so many intangables to doing anything baseball related it really brings a smile to my face. I have seen batters fighting off tough pitches, bunting for hits, and the list goes on and on. Once we start tweaking sliders and what not, I think this game is going to sit in my tray all summer! (btw,turning off inning highlights and player highlights along with using vga cables for my lcd tv I have NO framerate issues.( not even on throws from infielders over to first.

# 1289 r0b3rT0 @ 03/05/08 11:54 AM

i got to say at first i was a little dissappointed mostly because of the graphics. i had no idea they were going to get that bad. anyways, i got the pitching down and my fielding is good. my first game i was killed like 30 to 16(agaisnt my bro) but after that game we had a 7 to 4 final score and realized that although the graphics arent as good, once you get the pitching down everything else falls into place. and franchise mode, which i only took a glimse, noticed there was a lot of depht and realized that, although this game should have not been sold for 65 dollars, is still good enough to play and a lot of fun. me and my bro had more fun during one game of 2k8 than THE SHOW (i own a ps3 and bought both games) btw i liked the percentage the gave me of winning in the first game. it was the end of the seventh (i think) and they gave me a graph and my chances of winning were 0% lol. i guess if ur down by 16 runs in the top of the eight your out of it lol

# 1290 ehh @ 03/05/08 11:56 AM

I forgot to say how thrilled I am that they took out that stupid "follow the batter" camera when you hit the ball. That thing was so damn annoying last year!

# 1291 Cardot @ 03/05/08 12:03 PM

Can you set the season length to something shorter than 162 games?

# 1292 bobbysco13 @ 03/05/08 12:04 PM

I have a 360 with 2K8 and a PS3 with The Show 08, and if you can honestly say that 2K8 is a good representation of the game of baseball, I respect your opinion, I just disagree. I played both games for hours on end last night and this morning, and my opinion, even though I wanted 2K to come back strong, is that after the few initial games, 2K8 is darn near unplayable and an embarrassment. If I only owned a 360, I would try as hard as I could to love this game as well, and would continue to play it, but when there is another option out there that plays a smooth game of baseball and is realistic as well, it's just tough. The thing that really hurt me is that now The Show is graphically better than my 2K8 copy on the 360. I always had that as something I could hang my hat on, but no more. I am simply disappointed. I expected more out of 2K and Mr. Brinkman......In all honesty, online for both games was a joke last night and most people were begging people to play the "simple" classic style. So there I was stoked for 2K8 online play, and people were wanting to play 2K7 style because they were stating the new pitching mechanic is stupid. Again, their opinion, just stating what was being typed. Here's to another year of subpar 2K baseball.....And finally guys.......no patch for a game can or will fix framerate issues.....it can deal with bugs and glitches, but not the framerate it was built with.......

# 1293 ehh @ 03/05/08 12:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cardot


	Can you set the season length to something shorter than 162 games?

Yup, I forget the exact numbers though, there are 4 our 5 options.

# 1294 Jukeman @ 03/05/08 12:12 PM

MAAAN Can someone talk about the franchise pleaseeee!!! its 144 pages and its the same comments about the ****** framerate....we get it already....I really need to know how good is the franchise mode. Can we edit cpu teams line ups, do the cpu set lineups realisticly, how are the sim stat? Im on a budget so I cant just gamble and buy this game....renting is not an option

# 1295 jake44np @ 03/05/08 12:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by juk34man


	MAAAN Can someone talk about the franchise pleaseeee!!! its 144 pages and its the same comments about the ****** framerate....we get it already....I really need to know how good is the franchise mode. Can we edit cpu teams line ups, do the cpu set lineups realisticly, how are the sim stat? Im on a budget so I cant just gamble and buy this game....renting is not an option

I am guessing since the game has only been out for one day that most people have not had time to get too far along in a franchise.

# 1296 Village Idiot @ 03/05/08 12:18 PM

What planet are you from where renting is not an option?

# 1297 spankdatazz22 @ 03/05/08 12:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Renegade44


	i dont get what the controversy on this board is. One group says game has framerate issues and is unplayable, other group says it has framerate issues but its playable. why are the people who can play this game with the framerate issues so defensive against the people who say they cant play the game? just cause it doesnt bother you doesnt mean you need to sell your feelings to set people straight. i have the game, i confirm there is a framerate issue but ill continue playing and get over it.

I'd say because people are going way overboard in trying to critique the game as "unplayable", "atrocious", "an abomination", etc. Those are ridiculous over the top statements that some feel they have to make because they can't properly articulate a view - they only know to choose between one extreme or the other. That's why you see the blowback, because some are trying to characterize the game in such a negative light it sounds ridiculous. And it's almost like the feelings border on hatred, like the game can only be considered a complete failure if it isn't as good as The Show.

Personally, I don't know if people are "returning the game in droves" or not - but I'd think consumers would have at least a *little* more sense when buying a product. There's plenty of information and videos out there, and it's not like the game completely misrepresents what we've seen or heard. But that's what some would lead you to believe and it's sickening. The game is so horrid that some would return a game hours after it released to get less than half it's value? That it's "completely unplayable"? And trying to characterize it as "most" people feeling that way? Just way too over the top imo

# 1298 Jukeman @ 03/05/08 12:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Undefeated


	What planet are you from where renting is not an option?

that wasnt called for homie.....

# 1299 Bwnarrow3 @ 03/05/08 12:27 PM

Is anyone else having a problem with the batter's eye? Everytime I guess a pitch correctly, it doesn't show up on the screen. Anyone else having this problem?

Help?

# 1300 Jukeman @ 03/05/08 12:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jake44np


	I am guessing since the game has only been out for one day that most people have not had time to get too far along in a franchise.

I get your point, but I dont think you have to be that far into a franchise to answer those questions.....As for the sim stats I would think someone would sim a season to confirm if those stats we saw from that beta franchise pics, which had a low amount of K's for a pitcher and a LF having 200+ asst...Maybe im asking for too much.......

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