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

# 1601 CMH @ 03/08/08 01:47 PM

As you become better with the pitching system you'll see more CPU hit variety.

My last game I pitched with Dan Haren and the CPU grounded into more groundballs than flyballs. Had lots of assists with Hudson and Drew.

Still gave up a few homeruns but I never felt cheated. Fielder did pull a pitch a tad bit outside but looking at the replay he got his bat head out and the pitch was middle-out instead of outside corner. It was realistic.

And Cameron golfed a low pitch but it was a changeup inside that stayed a bit up higher than ht should have been and he only hit it into the fifth or so row.

In another game I finally hit my first two homeruns (switched to Classic hitting for the time being to get hitting down first). Very rewarding homerun I hit with Corey Hart. Inside fastball that I turned on and it felt natural.

If you like pitch counts then jack up the take sliders (I wouldn't recommend anything ever be 0 or 100. I just think that makes things go out of whack). But I jacked take everyting (balls and strikes, ahead, behind) and the CPU will definitely let me get into a nice duel with them. Threw 80+ pitches with Haren in 6 innings.

Honestly, I think if you like pitch counts then you have to keep yourself from wanting to throw strikes all the time. I prefer taking the catcher's advice because it takes me away from the habit of wanting to avoid the walk. If the catcher wants that 3-1 pitch outside corner then I'm going for it. Sometimes the CPU will swing, sometimes they won't. And now I walked them and it's an added challenge for me.

Still trying to get the CPU to throw more balls but I'm convinced after a few games that the more I struggle with the bat the more strikes the CPU will throw. Which in a lot of ways is smart. Also, I'm interested in finding out if the CPU will pitch to the score. Why throw balls if the score is 9-0?

# 1602 The Gamer @ 03/08/08 02:11 PM

didn't someone say the MLB were making these mandatory release dates? If that's the case that's probably why things weren't finished and a patch was probably being worked on prior to release.

# 1603 Pared @ 03/08/08 02:33 PM

Great post, Mizzou. I'm sure if they had extra time the framerate wouldn't even be an issue.

Quote:

Originally Posted by brendanrfoley


	Not only to some games require instant patching. But now, some PS3 games require mandatory 5 gig install processes that take 20 minutes. It's a joke.

Don't agree with you there at all. The installs to the hard drive are to speed up load times (or in some instances, eliminate them completely) as games are using textures now that aren't a few MB's in size. It's either that, stare at a loading screen for 5 mins or get a game with terrible textures.

------

I've spent more and more time with the game and it's not the HUGE disappointment it first was. They really lowered a lot of the graphical effects and that's sad to see. Others may say the downgrade isn't that bad but I don't agree with them. The graphics were really nice last year and they're just ok this year, especially with some strange looking animations at times. At least last year these animations look strange with the graphics at such a high level. It's frustrating because you expect the game to look better every year, not worse.

Gameplay though... very, very nice. I love how loose everything feels. Very MVP-ish on the field. I'm really liking the pitching the more I spend time with it, but as someone else said, it's still a meter. The only difference is the motions you're inputting. Still is a nice diversion from the norm. I still hate the meatball thing. Such a stupid, stupid idea. The way the CPU always hits a no-doubter where they pose and everything is another stupid inclusion. Makes you wonder who was in charge of this aspect of the game. I can understand the CPU making you pay with a nice double down the line but to have it practically a HR most of the time is... ugh. That's a very arcade aspect that I hate and this series always seems to have something like that. WHY???

I'm seeing the CPU throw a decent variety of balls/strikes but the lack of walks is killing me. Once you get the hang of the meter you can still pinpoint your pitches. Again, get rid of the meatball and make the player miss his spot out of the zone sometimes as well.

This series is just beyond frustrating. If it's not one thing it's another. Last year it took heavy slider work to get the game to play a sim-game of baseball, but it looked great and the camera angle they added after the patch was tops. This year, the game looks flat and dull at times as it took a graphical hit with the gameplay being a bit better and more involving. Still needs heavy slider work, again.

It's just frustrating to think this could be the only baseball game out there because of exclusivity. It certainly is nice to have a choice. If only we had the same thing in football.

# 1604 dmfreck @ 03/08/08 03:17 PM

Ok, I've been a fan of 2K baseball ever since 2K3, which was a break-out year for the series - but this game is an unmitigated disaster on just about every level. I highly advise anyone with a choice to steer clear of this and pick up MLB 08 The Show for the PS3.

EDIT: I'll go one step further - this series is in desperate need of a total reimagining, like the MVP series had that produced the excellent MVP05.

# 1605 whosgotcha @ 03/08/08 03:24 PM

Just played a great minor league game. Zephyrs beat the Sounds 7 to 3 in the 13th inning. I scored 5 in the top of the 13th to break the game open.

Funny enough I had three pitchers ejected for hitting batters (I argued each one and received +1 boosts). Game was 2 to 2 up to the 13th inning.Zephyrs had 15 singles and 2 doubles while the sounds had 6 singles and 6 doubles. No homeruns for either team.

While I had no noticeable framerate issues when I first played MLB 2k8 I decided to sign out of my profile to see how it would play. It appears to play a bit smoother. Pitching for me definitely seems easier. I love the pitching and fielding meters. I liked the fielding meters in MVP also so this is a very nice addition. If the fielder throw meters really make a difference in the outfielders then this will be an excellent addition.

As I play the game gets better and better.

# 1606 123456dan @ 03/08/08 05:19 PM

WOW! Just noticed a little thing that blew me away. In my Phillies franchise I traded away Shane Victorino to the D-Backs. I am now playing them and he is their lead off hitter. The thing is, that I can see his inside edge report (hot/cold zones) since he was on my team at the start of the year.

# 1607 belljr @ 03/08/08 05:32 PM

Something cool happened to day. Deep fly to left. I move Burrell back back back, the ball looks like it's going out of the park, he starts to climb the wall, ball comes down hits him in the glove, pops out and into the stand for a HR.

Freaking Pat Burell

# 1608 y2dan @ 03/08/08 06:05 PM

A couple quick questions for some of you:

1) When using swing stick 2.0, when should I be stepping back for my swing? I'm always late or early, I can't seem to get it right.

2) When pitching with runners on base, why does it seem like the effectiveness meter doesn't matter? I always have such a small "green" zone when choosing the accuracy for my pitch when not pitching out of the stretch.

Thanks

# 1609 kingdevin @ 03/08/08 06:42 PM

One of the best things this game has going is the ariel cam and the AI sliders. I don't like the cutscenes of the batters coming to the plate.

# 1610 MizzouRah @ 03/08/08 06:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pared


	Great post, Mizzou. I'm sure if they had extra time the framerate wouldn't even be an issue. Don't agree with you there at all. The installs to the hard drive are to speed up load times (or in some instances, eliminate them completely) as games are using textures now that aren't a few MB's in size. It's either that, stare at a loading screen for 5 mins or get a game with terrible textures. ------ I've spent more and more time with the game and it's not the HUGE disappointment it first was. They really lowered a lot of the graphical effects and that's sad to see. Others may say the downgrade isn't that bad but I don't agree with them. The graphics were really nice last year and they're just ok this year, especially with some strange looking animations at times. At least last year these animations look strange with the graphics at such a high level. It's frustrating because you expect the game to look better every year, not worse. Gameplay though... very, very nice. I love how loose everything feels. Very MVP-ish on the field. I'm really liking the pitching the more I spend time with it, but as someone else said, it's still a meter. The only difference is the motions you're inputting. Still is a nice diversion from the norm. I still hate the meatball thing. Such a stupid, stupid idea. The way the CPU always hits a no-doubter where they pose and everything is another stupid inclusion. Makes you wonder who was in charge of this aspect of the game. I can understand the CPU making you pay with a nice double down the line but to have it practically a HR most of the time is... ugh. That's a very arcade aspect that I hate and this series always seems to have something like that. WHY??? I'm seeing the CPU throw a decent variety of balls/strikes but the lack of walks is killing me. Once you get the hang of the meter you can still pinpoint your pitches. Again, get rid of the meatball and make the player miss his spot out of the zone sometimes as well. This series is just beyond frustrating. If it's not one thing it's another. Last year it took heavy slider work to get the game to play a sim-game of baseball, but it looked great and the camera angle they added after the patch was tops. This year, the game looks flat and dull at times as it took a graphical hit with the gameplay being a bit better and more involving. Still needs heavy slider work, again. It's just frustrating to think this could be the only baseball game out there because of exclusivity. It certainly is nice to have a choice. If only we had the same thing in football.

Thanks Pared!

I haven't seen many HR's from meatballs yet, mostly swings and misses.. but I believe you.

The strikezone is HUGE and I agree, on defaults the CPU throws strike after strike it seems (I will confess though, walks don't bother me one bit, I hate them in console baseball games) or maybe I just like to swing at everything to get the game moving.

# 1611 MizzouRah @ 03/08/08 06:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by y2dan


	A couple quick questions for some of you: 1) When using swing stick 2.0, when should I be stepping back for my swing? I'm always late or early, I can't seem to get it right. 2) When pitching with runners on base, why does it seem like the effectiveness meter doesn't matter? I always have such a small "green" zone when choosing the accuracy for my pitch when not pitching out of the stretch. Thanks

1. Right before the pitcher releases the ball.

2. Haven't noticed that yet, but I've read others have.

# 1612 MizzouRah @ 03/08/08 06:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kingdevin


	One of the best things this game has going is the ariel cam and the AI sliders. I don't like the cutscenes of the batters coming to the plate.

LOVE the aerial cam!!!

# 1613 orion523 @ 03/08/08 10:11 PM

What a disappointment! I was so pumped after last years game because I thought they had a really great game with the exception of a few things(fielding,hit variety,a few other small things) but the bones were there for something great.Then this years version comes and...BOOM....they killed it.....This game is awful.Cmon fellas,just be honest.The graphics stink,the new pitching mechanic is ridiculously stupid and unnescessary and the frame rate is horrible which makes the fielding sketchy at best.Anyone who says they like this game is lying to themselves and I guarantee once "spring fever" wears off you'll be trading this in for GTA IV.

# 1614 metal134 @ 03/08/08 10:23 PM

I'm not lying to myself because:
1) Framerates do not bother me
2) Graphics are not very important to me
3) The pitching mechanic is enjoyable to me

The problem is that you are assuming what's importnat to you is important to everyone else. It never occured to you that some people don;t care about graphics or framerates or presentation. Now, whether will I be able to get the right slider tweaks to get the statiscal realism that I crave remains to be seen (because when it boils down to it, that's whats important to me; not graphics, not framerates, not bat sounds, none of that stuff). And whether I will be able to work around some of these bugs remains to be seen (so far, the only two that bother me are the reseting roations and the lack of pitcher injuries in franchise). I certainley seem to be on the right path to getting what I want so far. I still say the Show is a better game, but this game is shaping up to be satisfactory for me.

# 1615 sportyguyfl31 @ 03/09/08 01:10 AM

Whew!! I just had myself one heck of a tense game. I finally beat the dang yankees. I used the Indians and won by a 4-1 score.

Sizemore had a solo homer, and haffner went 4-5. I actually had myself a dang good pitching performance:

Sabathia 6IP, 7 hits, 1 run, 5 k's

The biggest out of the game came in the 7th inning. I was up 3-1. I retire Melky and Damon..then damn Derek gets on base bringing up Abreu against Kamitah..I strike Abreu out with a beauty of a 2-2 curveball low and away to retire the side..Betancourt pitches the 8th and "hold your breath" Borowski gets the save in the 9th. A very clean, well played game. I almost feel ready to start a franchise.

I still wish to see more balls.and I notice the CPU isnt all that aggresive on the bases. I have yet to see a steal attempt in about 5 games. Anyone notice this?

# 1616 orion523 @ 03/09/08 09:40 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by metal134


	I'm not lying to myself because: 1) Framerates do not bother me 2) Graphics are not very important to me 3) The pitching mechanic is enjoyable to me The problem is that you are assuming what's importnat to you is important to everyone else. It never occured to you that some people don;t care about graphics or framerates or presentation. Now, whether will I be able to get the right slider tweaks to get the statiscal realism that I crave remains to be seen (because when it boils down to it, that's whats important to me; not graphics, not framerates, not bat sounds, none of that stuff). And whether I will be able to work around some of these bugs remains to be seen (so far, the only two that bother me are the reseting roations and the lack of pitcher injuries in franchise). I certainley seem to be on the right path to getting what I want so far. I still say the Show is a better game, but this game is shaping up to be satisfactory for me.

The most important thing to me is also getting sim like stats which the game also fails at miserably but thats not the point.The point is that 2K released a game that was worse than last years game and if they're going to charge premimum money for a game it should at least be as good as the previous years version.Look I'm not one of those trollers who looks to write bad things about a game,(you can check my posts,there's rarely any negativity)but when I pay 65$ for something I do have certain expectations.This game in my opinion is a failure on all fronts and thats a disappointment.

# 1617 metal134 @ 03/09/08 02:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by orion523


	The most important thing to me is also getting sim like stats which the game also fails at miserably but thats not the point.The point is that 2K released a game that was worse than last years game and if they're going to charge premimum money for a game it should at least be as good as the previous years version.Look I'm not one of those trollers who looks to write bad things about a game,(you can check my posts,there's rarely any negativity)but when I pay 65$ for something I do have certain expectations.This game in my opinion is a failure on all fronts and thats a disappointment.

That's not what I was responding to, though. I can see why some people are frustated with this game; things that aren't important to me are important to them and it's bringing the game down. I'm not going to call anyone a troll for not liking this game; preference is preference. What I was repsonding to is the fact that you said that anyone who likes the game is lying to themselves.

# 1618 dodgerblue @ 03/09/08 02:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DarkEagle18


	Is it just me or are people starting to get into this game very heavily now, some even praising it. I think all the naysayers and negative comments were very premature and though I admit some problems, I think this game will prove to be a fine one. Anyone agree? Or Disagree?

Gameplay wise, this game is fun because of the new controls and more realistic hit results. But the game just doesn't stack up visually. How they could take such a big step backwards when last year the game was stunning and the lighting effects were awesome? If only we could have the appearance of 2k7 + gameplay of 2k8. Or maybe that = 2k9? I mean, I bought a next gen system for games that look great and play great. If not I could have stuck with my xbox.

# 1619 orion523 @ 03/09/08 02:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by arichzona


	I am not lying to myself either.....the first two days that allowed me to play the game I thought it stunk. I said that 2k7 was better and that this was at least a step backwards. Now, after spending a Saturday with it and getting time to adjust sliders to how a game should act it plays the best game of baseball I have seen. Do I have the show? Nope. Will I be trading it in - ever - for GTA IV? God no. Pitching: easy once you get used to the meter Fielding: amazing once you get the pace of the game down Is it perfect? nowhere near......but I am happy. honest.

Well,I guess thats why they have vanilla and chocolate.My personal preference is a game that simulates the sport as closely as possible.To me NBA 2K8 is the benchmark for sports games.Madden 08 is actually another great game except for one fatal flaw,the dim witted CPU QB AI.If EA released Madden with a real announcer and better CPU QB logic it would be on par with NBA 2K.I really wanted this game to be great,baseball's my favorite sport and after LY's game I thought they were on the right track,which is why I'm so frustrated.I HATE the new pitching meter and its not because its hard or easy I just hate the concept I have no idea why they changed it last years was great.I'm sorry I'm babbling but whatever,I'm glad you like it.

# 1620 orion523 @ 03/09/08 03:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by baa7


	I thought you could change back to last year's...??

You know I only rented the game and after I played like 5 games and didn't like it I sent it back.I didn't even look at the options(I am a dope).What I'm going to do is wait for the patch to be released and if everyone is satisfied I give it another go.I want nothing more than this game to be good

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