I have to disagree there. I have struck out several just looking and this is with no slider adjustment. This is something they have fixed and it's obvious when you pitch correctly. After last year, and doing so much to try and fix that issue on my own, this demo shows they fixed the CPU swinging at everything issue.
I'm getting high counts and several batters looking at strikes. And that's just 3 games in.
Love what i'm playing...I love the new steal, how they slow it down when sliding into the base. thought that was pretty cool. Only played 1 game, due to my son waking up and wanting something to eat, then not wanting to go back to sleep. So i'll have to get back on it when he goes to sleep.
On defense, I keep forgetting I can preload my throw, and it makes the animation look so much better. The Yanks turned a nice DP on me. Wish I could replay it myself. I'm officially hype about this game now, and glad I pre-orderded it.
Played a couple of games this morning and can say the game appears to be much better than last years mess. I shelved 2K9 after about a week.
Pros:
Got a couple of called third strikes, one with Halladay with the bases loaded and two outs in the bottom of the third and no score. Nice to see that. I've seen called strikes while pitching as well as batters chasing out of the zone. Not seeing the extreme batter aggressiveness I saw last year that ruined the game for me. I was able to work the count to 3-2 several times with borderline pitches.
Saw a takeout slide into 2nd base which broke up a double play while I was batting. Runner upended the second baseman.
Really like the swing analyzer.
I messed badly on a couple of pitches, actually reversed the motion and saw "wild pitch" flash across the screen and threw the ball to the backstop. Good to see that it didn't result in a meatball right down the middle as in years past.
Cons:
While batting I hit into a couple of double plays where the shortstop fielded the ball while very near 2nd base. Instead of just running to 2nd and stepping on it then throwing to 1st he like hands the ball to the 2nd baseman who then threw to 1st. Not very realistic and I did see it a couple of times.
Not seeing very many foul balls. I am hoping for a slider adjustment as I am concerned about pitch counts.
Infield dirt bugged me a bit with the how the dark and light brown shading was done. Not very graphically appealing but certainly not a game killer.
All in all the game appears better than last years, I just don't know if I want to buy 2 baseball games this year.
How does the new the defensive swing feel? Does it make sense when you are approaching certain counts?
I had a great situation where I was sure I was going to get a crap pitch on 0-2, and it came in just close enough to worry me, so I tapped right on the stick and (I think it was with Werth) he knocked a little looper just over the first baseman's head for a single.
Other times, I was just trying to foul it off on purpose to test the swing and I would knock slow dribblers to first or third.
Seems like a pretty good mechanic, and a faster swing than contact, it seemed.
Besides playing the two teams I hate the most. I think we finally have a Baseball game for the 360.
Loving the shadows. Played three games and the shadows ere differnt in all.
Bat sound. Still not the best but atleast they got rid of that horrid sound they always had.
Faces. Well, still not great.
The animations look great, from swinging to pitching to running. Still some quirks but not a problem.
I actually like the defensive swing.
So far the batting stances seem spot on.
Jersey numbers look awful. Way to big. Even in the video with the Mets & Cubs.
LOVE the batting view. I been using that view since MVP 05.
you mean, dislike.
you cant hate sports teams. they r just people doing their thing, i am sure if ryan howard saved ur moms life, or jeter was dating your sister, you'd love those teams!
i , like you loved the view and used it in MVP 05, good catch.
also, i can sniff a little things thread coming.
hip hip, jorgeeeee!
i LOVE the batter walk up stats
CAREER VS PETTITE!
Most things I've felt have been touched on but here's a couple things I noticed.
I had a 3-0 count with swisher I think it was and in the top right corner it said he was a .445 hitter with 1 hr with a 3-0 count. Took a strike and it adjusted to .370 with 2 hr in a 3-1 count. Thought that was pretty cool. One bad thong I saw: caught in a pickle shoulda been out by a mile at second but jeter slid around the tag and the second baseman just stood there. This happened alot in 2k9 which is kind of a bummer.
All in all though liked what I've seen.
Most things I've felt have been touched on but here's a couple things I noticed.
I had a 3-0 count with swisher I think it was and in the top right corner it said he was a .445 hitter with 1 hr with a 3-0 count. Took a strike and it adjusted to .370 with 2 hr in a 3-1 count. Thought that was pretty cool. One bad thong I saw: caught in a pickle shoulda been out by a mile at second but jeter slid around the tag and the second baseman just stood there. This happened alot in 2k9 which is kind of a bummer.
All in all though liked what I've seen.
Hate bad thongs lol. JK nice impressions I'm about to try it myself.
IMO the pitch/hitter battles are well done and fixed from last year and this is on default. So I'm optimistic that this can be nailed down.
Played 1 game. I was Halladay and the Yanks threw CC. Victorino had the only hit in the game that ended up 0-0 after 3 innings. CC threw 40+ pitches and Halladay threw around 36. Maybe that's a little low but I found the pitching to be a good test using Breakpoint and most importantly throwing to the catcher's suggestions or at least in the same vicinity.
The catcher suggestions are much better this year and more aligned with the hitter's weak spots/pitches.
Other positives:
The colors don't seem washed out.
Hitter's Eye is great
I actually like the batter camera
Outfield play
Presentation
Opportunities for improvement:
-2k needs to redo all of the infielder animations for next year. They're very jerky and twitchy. See FIFA 10, NHL 10, or Backbreaker to understand the importance of physics and weight and how to implement them into a game.
The 1st baseman to pitcher covering first is appalling to watch. Maybe the silver lining is that the INF Speed slider will help smooth this out.
One other thing I did notice was Posada swinging on a 3-0 curveball. This is not good and/or realistic IMO.
Most things I've felt have been touched on but here's a couple things I noticed.
I had a 3-0 count with swisher I think it was and in the top right corner it said he was a .445 hitter with 1 hr with a 3-0 count. Took a strike and it adjusted to .370 with 2 hr in a 3-1 count. Thought that was pretty cool. One bad thong I saw: caught in a pickle shoulda been out by a mile at second but jeter slid around the tag and the second baseman just stood there. This happened alot in 2k9 which is kind of a bummer.
All in all though liked what I've seen.
If they're wearin' "thongs"...ain't NO way in HELL... i'm gettin' this!