Major League Baseball 2K9 Diary - Part 1 (ESPN)

First thing I notice when I enter franchise mode is how clean it looks. MLB 2K9 is being developed by Visual Concepts this year and they brought over the guy who built NBA 2K9's Association mode to make things right for baseball. And if you've played NBA at all, you'll feel right at home as MLB 2K9's Franchise was built from the ground up, adding and improving on things gamers have already praised from the NBA title. The game now features stats-based player progression where younger players no longer improve by just sitting on the bench. You actually need to work them into the lineup if you want to see them get better over time.



Other improvements of note: The trade logic is brand new as is the game simulator, and you can even play Franchise with 30 user controlled teams if you're such a freak that you need to tinker with every aspect of your league.

Other improvements of note: The trade logic is brand new as is the game simulator...

The Franchise interface is MLB.com and the game reports news from around the league... There are over 200 types of headlines... MLB.com also keeps you up to date on trade rumors, hot and cold hitters, and ever predicts who might win awards like Rookie of the Year.

MLB 2K9 also includes Sabermetrics to track all of your players including runs created, extrapolated runs basic, secondary average, equivalent average, isolated power, linear weights, marginal lineup value, stolen base runs, and range factor for all hitters. For pitchers, the stats are pitching runs, quality starts, game score, VORP, and range factor.

The first thing that strikes me when I start the game is how cleaned up the screen is. Last year, there were so many boxes, so much clutter when you were trying to pitch, it just looked out of place. This year, when the catcher calls your pitch, you're given the right stick movement you need to make in order to throw it, but that's it.

You can still go back to the old way of 2K8 in the options menu, and if you use the third step in the game, you will pitch with a bit more accuracy

Prince Fielder is up to bat next and when he fouls the ball into the crowd, about ten people in the crowd all jump out of their seats and try to catch the ball. Pretty sweet visual and it's little touches like this that really help add to the atmosphere of the game.

If you're looking for more advanced batting, you can also add in zone hitting to the mix. Here, you aim the bat cursor while you swing to the area in the zone where the pitch is headed. If you hit the sweet spot of the cursor, you hit the sweet spot on the bat and your hit gets some bonus power.

Next two batters stroke doubles into the gap, but then Mike Cameron makes an unbelievable diving catch to end the inning.

When the lineup gets back up to the top, Lewis strokes a single and I get to try out the new base stealing mechanic. Press the left trigger to take a lead, hold the trigger down and the controller vibrates letting you know he's about to steal.

With the game on the line, Fielder bounces a dribbler up the first base line. Ishikawa grabs it, throws it home for one out, then as my catcher throws it back to first, he hits Ishikawa while he's running back to the bag and he beats the base runner to the bag for out number three. Crazy. That actually made me jump out of my chair it was so bang-bang close. It's also one of those moments where you realize you're really into the game you're playing.

After the game you can check out highlights of the top three plays, watch the great grabs throughout the game, and even watch signature highlights of anyone who played.