MLB 2K11 News Post

MLB 2K11 Hands-On Preview with New Screenshots (IGN)

09:51 PM - January 20, 2011 by RedLine

IGN has just posted their MLB 2K11 hands-on preview.

Check out the new screenshots, right here.

Quote:


	"While the fielding has changed a great deal, the core of the pitching (MLB 2K10's strength) remains fairly untouched. If you skipped last year's game, here's the easy gist of it -- every pitch has a unique motion on the right thumbstick and your timing and accuracy with this motion helps determine the success of your pitch. It worked well in 2010 and it works well in 2011. But there is something on the other side of the plate that's been added that affects pitching. There's now a stat for how many pitches a batter averages on a plate appearance. Basically, 2K11 knows if a batter tends to extend an at-bat by taking a lot of pitches (or fouling a lot of them off). If balanced right, this little detail could add an extra layer of realism to the pitcher-batter duels."

Game: Major League Baseball 2K11Reader Score: 5.5/10 - Vote Now
Platform: NDS / PC / PS2 / PS3 / PSP / Wii / Xbox 360Votes for game: 17 - View All

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Member Comments

# 1 RedLine @ 01/20/11 10:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Saberq


	Great read ......The only thing that has me worried a bit is that pitching remains largely unchanged.......I hope we cant pinpoint location as we could in 2K10....

I agree, would like some more challenge with pitching. But it sounds like they are trying to get more realistic pitch counts, which could drain stamina leading to lower accuracy.

"There's now a stat for how many pitches a batter averages on a plate appearance. Basically, 2K11 knows if a batter tends to extend an at-bat by taking a lot of pitches (or fouling a lot of them off)"

This could make it more interesting and give each batter their own personality. We'll see.

# 2 countryboy @ 01/20/11 10:32 PM

Quote:


	Every fielder has a Fielding rating. When a ball is hit into the outfield, a white circle appears under the fielder that gives a general sense of where the ball might land. The better the Fielding rating, the smaller the circle (and therefore the easier it is to tell exactly where the ball is heading). It's a smart change that can really change up play in the outfield. For once, I actually had to wonder if I shouldn't pull a poor defensive outfielder and swap in someone with less pop in their bat, but more range.

That is great news. Baseball has always had the issue of fielders feeling similar. Sure arm/speed/etc ratings have separated them, but this will further separate the differences.

# 3 bigfnjoe96 @ 01/20/11 10:47 PM

Quote:


	The fielders are also a little sharper than in the past. They know when a fly ball is the third out and will toss the ball aside and jog to the dugout. An easy grounder to the shortstop is casually scooped up, rather than having him run two feet in a full sprint animation. Those little details certainly matter.

This gives me hope that they have finally slowed down the fielding animations to make the game look/seem more life like.

Am I the only 1 who is really digging this screen shot:

# 4 DickDalewood @ 01/20/11 10:49 PM

Definitely has me wanting to hear more! Those screens aren't too shabby either.

# 5 countryboy @ 01/20/11 10:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bigfnjoe96


	This gives me hope that they have finally slowed down the fielding animations to make the game look/seem more life like. Am I the only 1 who is really digging this screen shot:

no...that screenshot is SWEET! Funny how a cloudy day can look so beautiful.

# 6 DickDalewood @ 01/20/11 10:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bigfnjoe96


	This gives me hope that they have finally slowed down the fielding animations to make the game look/seem more life like. Am I the only 1 who is really digging this screen shot:

Not at all... I LOVE that shot. There is just something about cloudy, rainy weather I love in baseball games.

# 7 bigfnjoe96 @ 01/20/11 10:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Philly Fanatic


	I'll admit, I do like the looks of that screenshot.

With a user name such as yours I know you likes that screen shot

# 8 Jamin23 @ 01/20/11 11:12 PM

count me in as liking the screenshot.

# 9 TecmoZack @ 01/20/11 11:22 PM

Pumped for this. Great screenshot as well.

# 10 Artman22 @ 01/20/11 11:32 PM

Sounds good so far. That screen of Roy looks good as well. I want to see some gameplay.

# 11 hitstreak13 @ 01/20/11 11:43 PM

Wow! Great news about the defensive circle for the outfielders. This would definitely keep Adam Dunn in the DH spot

What about the infielders? Is their throwing strength and accuracy going to be the only two things taken into account?

Either way, great news.

# 12 CarrotJuice @ 01/21/11 12:23 AM

the fielding sounds awsome! Hope it executes well. If the come through with the fielding and make spoting pitches more challenging, this would perfect the game for me.

# 13 duke776 @ 01/21/11 12:27 AM

Love love love the part about the fielding. Hoping it holds up when we get our hands on the game.

About pitching if true, and if there is no way to alleviate the problem (like a pitch accuracy slider). But like I said with another issue, I'll wait before I get too worried about this because there's still time and I most likely won't be able to know for sure until I play myself.

# 14 PVarck31 @ 01/21/11 03:18 AM

Screenshot is money!

I really hope we get some alternate camera angles for fielding this year. I absolutely loved the high camera in 2k8.

# 15 ryan36 @ 01/21/11 03:47 AM

I like the idea of a "average pitch per AB stat" maybe this will cure aggressive AI...

# 16 Dazraz @ 01/21/11 04:27 AM

Hopefully the little bugs mentioned will be ironed out. Typically in the past these bugs have remained.

# 17 cubsfan203 @ 01/21/11 05:26 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ryan36


	I like the idea of a "average pitch per AB stat" maybe this will cure aggressive AI...

That jumped out at me as well.

# 18 rudyjuly2 @ 01/21/11 06:42 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 31


	Screenshot is money! I really hope we get some alternate camera angles for fielding this year. I absolutely loved the high camera in 2k8.

Totally agree about more fielding camera options. Last year's was too close for me.

I really like the fielding changes as well. As for the pitching being the same I am totally fine with that IF they give us a pitch accuracy slider. That's all that's needed to fine-tune it.

# 19 sbmnky @ 01/21/11 06:51 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ryan36


	I like the idea of a "average pitch per AB stat" maybe this will cure aggressive AI...

I read the writeup and I'm not clear on what this means exactly. How is this going to impact game play other than displaying a stat? Is it going to act as a slider? What does the author mean by "if balanced right"?

# 20 dolemint @ 01/21/11 07:28 AM

A lot of good info in there to make me hopeful.

Regarding FIELDING, last year there was really no penalty to having a good offensive guy playing any position you want. Hopefully the outfielder circle is somehow incorporated into the infielder's range. Of course lack of errors was a huge screw up, so it's nice to see them focusing on new fielding mechanics with their PR.

What the guy says about PITCHING being the same could very well be true, but for now I'm taking it with a grain of salt. After all, did the article writer really play as many games as we did to master it last year? There could be subtle additions and improvements that a casual player wouldn't notice. Even I haven't played the game for a while so I wouldn't be able to tell right away. It could be wishful thinking, but you never know. It'd be hard to make that conclusion with a short play session.

Also, the stat for pitches the hitter takes could really improve pitching, depending if it's actually implemented or if it's just for show. Low pitch counts due to aggressive CPU hitters was certainly an issue in 2K10. It could also increase walks given up (CPU might not swing for balls in good counts as often).

All in all, good stuff.

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