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

# 1341 Motown @ 03/05/08 03:00 PM

I just wanna say, If The Show can run @ 60fps, and not sacrifice ANYTHING...as matta their graphics didn't take a hit...hell they're actually better than this one

plus their presentation, atmosphere, AND Gameplay is out of this world. so why can't 2K match them?

is it the consoles? i wouldn't think so.
What do we have to turn off next year... what feature takes a hit next year?

SO disabling VIP, and turning off other features is the way to go to get this game to run smoothly, then props to the person that discovered this...i suppose.

# 1342 bowlerguy92 @ 03/05/08 03:00 PM

Great, then don't play it.

# 1343 jimbo22 @ 03/05/08 03:03 PM

Having just played the demo for the first time I'm of the impression that this game has lots of potential, but doesn't quite get there. Taking away the horrible frame rate problem.

I bought The Show yesterday and I'm very impressed with that.

My initial thoughts are that the pitch system is certainly the way to go for baseball games, although I gave up 3 HR's in the 3 innings.

The swing stick is something I love, but there needs to be something else added to it to make it a little more difficult, what that would be I dont know, but I popped 4 HR's in the demo with it.

Visually the whole game looks a little worse than last years version, which looked a lot crisper.

Those two features are the only thing that I will miss by owning The Show, other than those features the Show is miles ahead of 2K8.

# 1344 ehh @ 03/05/08 03:14 PM

Ah yes, Motown's hourly "This game sucks" post. I was starting to feel lonely for a minute.

# 1345 Motown @ 03/05/08 03:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bowlerguy92


	Great, then don't play it.

I'm sorry...and you are...???

# 1346 Sully @ 03/05/08 03:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ehh


	Ah yes, Motown's hourly "This game sucks" post. I was starting to feel lonely for a minute.

I don't remember seeing those exact words in his reply, but I'm sure 2k appreciates you coming to their defense for all things MLB2K8 related.

It's great news that there's a workaround. It's great news that it appears the issue can be fixed with a patch.

It's still terrible that the game shipped in this condition. It's still terrible that the demo didn't hit until after the game released. It's still terrible that you should have to sacrifice features to get the game working "properly", the way it was intended to.

# 1347 jorge380 @ 03/05/08 03:17 PM

I have no frame rate issues at all.The pitching and fielding innovations are awesome no doubt.Yes,the graphics are not as good as last year but the gameplay is top notch.Wow the signature stuff is the real deal,and i love the dynamic camera that actually the cameras used on a real broadcast game.

# 1348 jake44np @ 03/05/08 03:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Motown


	I'm sorry...and you are...???

I think he is someone who is tired of listening to you bash MLB 2K8.

# 1349 Pared @ 03/05/08 03:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jimbo22


	Having just played the demo for the first time I'm of the impression that this game has lots of potential, but doesn't quite get there. Taking away the horrible frame rate problem. I bought The Show yesterday and I'm very impressed with that. My initial thoughts are that the pitch system is certainly the way to go for baseball games, although I gave up 3 HR's in the 3 innings. The swing stick is something I love, but there needs to be something else added to it to make it a little more difficult, what that would be I dont know, but I popped 4 HR's in the demo with it. Visually the whole game looks a little worse than last years version, which looked a lot crisper. Those two features are the only thing that I will miss by owning The Show, other than those features the Show is miles ahead of 2K8.

I certainly like the right analog throwing. Seems much more solid here than in NCAA MVP, where I didn't like it. Takes a little getting used to at first, though. Very responsive, overall.

The game (and I'm going from only the demo) just doesn't seem to have the polish. I've read that the demo isn't much different from the final so take that for what it's worth.

# 1350 Sully @ 03/05/08 03:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pared


	I certainly like the right analog throwing. Seems much more solid here than in NCAA MVP, where I didn't like it. Takes a little getting used to at first, though. Very responsive, overall. The game (and I'm going from only the demo) just doesn't seem to have the polish. I've read that the demo isn't much different from the final so take that for what it's worth.

Thanks, Pared. I was wondering if the analog throwing was a straight rip from the NCAA series. I had the game at the top of my Gamefly queue, but swapped it with Army of Two once I heard the demo dropped. I plan on checking it out tonight.

# 1351 Heelfan71 @ 03/05/08 03:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sully


	Thanks, Pared. I was wondering if the analog throwing was a straight rip from the NCAA series. I had the game at the top of my Gamefly queue, but swapped it with Army of Two once I heard the demo dropped. I plan on checking it out tonight.

analog throwing is my fav part of the game. I wish the other game would do something similar. You have so much more control over how hard / soft you throw the ball.

# 1352 Pared @ 03/05/08 03:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sully


	Thanks, Pared. I was wondering if the analog throwing was a straight rip from the NCAA series. I had the game at the top of my Gamefly queue, but swapped it with Army of Two once I heard the demo dropped. I plan on checking it out tonight.

The analog throwing is really nice once you get used to it. Pitching is... I'm still up in the air about it. It's nice but I hate the fact they even have something called a "meatball."

Most of the times it's an automatic homerun. Reminds me of that stupid SlamZone in the 2k baseball series (which many defended with their life back then as well).

There's too much stuttering/pausing and that is agitating as well. I don't recall 2k7 being that bad in this regard through camera transitioning.

What really annoys me about this game is they can make it out to be a good one... but there's just too much junk leftover from 2k6. You can see they're really trying to reproduce MVP with this game but they just... can't.

Maybe that's part of the problem... It just comes off as a 2nd rate MVP engine.

# 1353 Motown @ 03/05/08 03:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jake44np


	I think he is someone who is tired of listening to you bash MLB 2K8.

bashing???

nah man i ain't bashin' nuthin...' I believe I in fact mentioned that "this game will be IN my library...'cause i dig the HR Derby." i swear i'm wading knee deep
around defensive 2k fanboys.

# 1354 ehh @ 03/05/08 03:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sully


	I don't remember seeing those exact words in his reply, but I'm sure 2k appreciates you coming to their defense for all things MLB2K8 related. It's great news that there's a workaround. It's great news that it appears the issue can be fixed with a patch. It's still terrible that the game shipped in this condition. It's still terrible that the demo didn't hit until after the game released. It's still terrible that you should have to sacrifice features to get the game working "properly", the way it was intended to.

I agree but tons and tons of negativity isn't going to accomplish a damn thing. I'm not going to sit around and cry for days about the demo release, that A doesn't work the way I want and B should have been improved. What is that going to help?

The game has been out about 36 hours and there's already a temporary fix for the frame rate and we haven't even gotten into the sliders yet. This game out-of-the-box is much better than 2K7 and all the work that went into 2K7 making it better made a big difference. 2K8 is starting ahead of 2K7 out of the box and I expect the same amount of improvements to be made from OS'ers and a patch as last year.

# 1355 sportyguyfl31 @ 03/05/08 03:31 PM

I'm going to pick this up on my way home..hope Im not disappointed.

# 1356 bowlerguy92 @ 03/05/08 03:46 PM

Wow, I just saw the DUMBEST homer I think I have ever seen before. Soriano basically leans over the plate and one hand swings at one almost in the dirt that he flicks 435 feet to center field...........The last game I played was a joke, their frigan batboy probably could have hit a homer blindfolded.

# 1357 ehh @ 03/05/08 03:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bowlerguy92


	Wow, I just saw the DUMBEST homer I think I have ever seen before. Soriano basically leans over the plate and one hand swings at one almost in the dirt that he flicks 435 feet to center field...........The last game I played was a joke, their frigan batboy probably could have hit a homer blindfolded.

Are you still on Pro or tweaking the sliders?

# 1358 bowlerguy92 @ 03/05/08 03:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ehh


	Are you still on Pro or tweaking the sliders?

That last game was on Pro which is why it shocks me so much......I lost 10-5 against the Cubs using the Redsox. Just saw something cool though that I figured I would share. I got youk on first, Ortiz smokes a grounder to 2nd, the second baseman trys to tag Youk out but Youk evades it and winds up on second, everyone safe.

# 1359 ehh @ 03/05/08 03:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bowlerguy92


	Just saw something cool though that I figured I would share. I got youk on first, Ortiz smokes a grounder to 2nd, the second baseman trys to tag Youk out but Youk evades it and winds up on second, everyone safe.

Damn, that's definitely new!

Pro and Rookier are def a bit arcadish. I had a similar HR with A-Rod last night, a low-and-away pitch (off the plate) and I pulled it over the Green Monster. The swing looked awkward like it should have been a pop-out to third. Haven't seen it yet on All-Star but I've only played about 10 innings.

# 1360 bowlerguy92 @ 03/05/08 03:58 PM

I'm still working on doing something about sliders for myself on All-Star. The players have too much power out of the gate on All-Star for my taste. Mainly the CPU players hitting an obsene amount of bombs. Hell, Ehh we should correspond and make our own sliderset!

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