MLB 11 The Show News Post

MLB 11 The Show Demo Available Now, Post Your Impressions Here

07:03 PM - February 22, 2011 by Pared

The MLB 11 The Show demo is available now. It weighs in at roughly 3 GB and features the Texas Rangers vs. the San Francisco Giants, in a 4 inning World Series rematch.

Please post your impressions here.

DO NOT post that you are downloading the demo, what % the download is at, the fact that you are starting to install it, etc.

IMPRESSIONS ONLY please.

Game: MLB 11 The ShowReader Score: 8.5/10 - Vote Now
Platform: PS3Votes for game: 57 - View All

MLB 11 The Show Videos

Member Comments

# 281 VanillaGorilla @ 02/23/11 12:45 PM

CPU fielders still always take the absolute perfect angle to any ball hit in the outfield, and play every bounce off the wall perfectly. Looks like another year of tweaking fielder speed sliders so we can get a realistic amount of doubles.

Also, batted balls are still hit way too hard sometimes. Again, this will significantly impact the number of extra base hits in the game.

It's still The Show, so that's not a bad thing. Not Day 1 purchase for me though, since I want to wait until SCEA's official Tsuyoshi Nishioka player is on the Twins. And would it be possible for them to have his headshot? Nothing kills the immersion of a "broadcast" style experience than seeing 8 player faces, and one black dark shadow figure.

# 282 Jgainsey @ 02/23/11 12:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Alistair


	Anyone else find that it's far easier to be selective when batting in analog mode? Perhaps it's because you require two movements to take a cut (rather than hitting one button), but it's meant I've been able to work the count more which is always a positive thing.

Definitely.

I've always been able to work deep counts in this game, but with the analog hitting it feels far more fluid and natural.

# 283 econoodle @ 02/23/11 12:52 PM

more stuff:

+ love the pregame warmups and seeing the bal being tossed around the infield behind the pitcher!

+ why sony decided to leave out the caera editior in the demo is beyond me, but mad thanks to the poster who found the workaround.
Mixing catcher 5 with wide offset has given me new life at the plate.
I CAN READ PITCHES!!

# 284 dynastynation @ 02/23/11 12:52 PM

I've played like 4-5 games and I am really loving the analog pitching... I used to struggle in past games throwing a good curveball (they would either end up in the dirt or hang up in the zone) but so far in the demo I have had no problems with that. Also, the hit variety has also been great so far!

# 285 Qb @ 02/23/11 12:56 PM

Played four games last night, including a back & forth 7 inning nail-biter I won 7-6 in my last game. I finally shut the door after blowing leads in the bottom of the 5th & 6th and I did it after allowing a leadoff triple -- pop-up, hard grounder to SS and play at the plate, K... fist pump.

Where to begin... might as well start with the addition that plays the biggest part in the demo, the analog controls. I went full analog for my first two games. I immediately fell in love with pitching and fielding, but it will take some time & practice to warm up to hitting.

The pitching system is great. I love the accuracy component -- if you miss your release point, the pitch is high or low accordingly; if you miss left/right off your mark, again the pitch reacts likewise. Couple this with the variable effort based on the speed of the upward stroke and maintaining focus on every pitch is vital. Well done.

I think there is so room to play with the user pitching settings to further refine the experience. I certainly wasn't hitting my spots consistently or painting corners, but I threw a lot of strikes as most of my misses were over the plate. Not a knock on the system, but something to explore moving forward with regard to sliders. On the plus side of that, the game I threw the highest percentage of strikes was my last one and I gave up 6 runs and 3 homers. However, mistakes gravitating towards the heart of the plate was based on primarily my input, so I can't argue with the results.

I committed 3 errors in 4 games on the default throwing difficulty (veteran?). Missed the cutoff man the first time I tried that, screwed up my first DP turn by canceling a throw because I tried to pre-load the next throw too soon, and sailed one over 1B on a routine grounder to second. All were user error and I knew exactly what I did and did not repeat it... again, can't argue with that. I also misplayed a fly ball to RF due to wind -- I was using the shadow only -- and couldn't recover to make the play with Cruz (not scored E9). Also, Cruz broke back initially on a sinking liner and the ball fell just in front of him by the time I got moving forward. Nice to see some fielder momentum out there!

As for analog hitting, I didn't give it a fair chance last night. I wasn't very good with it in past games; my main problem is I focus so much on my timing that my pitch recognition and discipline go in the crapper. But I'm not giving up on it and will head to the batting cage with the retail version as I find it difficult to practice it in a game situation.

I went to zone hitting for other two games and once I sucked it up and dropped to veteran, I got back in the swing of things. With only a year of the series under my belt, I'm still weak with PCI placement, in part because I prefer not to see it. I relented, turned it on and immediately improved my pitch tracking/placement. Looking forward to going back up to All-Star eventually so I can experience the improved PCI logic.

Not to short change it by tacking it on at the end, but I'm also excited about the contact swing. Nothing like fighting off a few 0-2 or 1-2 pitches to stay alive and wait for a mistake... should help me cut down on the strikeouts.

Also, I used it a few times with runners in scoring position to make sure I put the ball in play and slapped a few seeing-eye singles and a nice flare over over 2B with Freddy Sanchez -- vintage Freddy. Again, well done.

Gotta run, but so to hastily wrap it up, very impressed with the new controls. Looking forward to more time to see the more subtle improvements play out, especially with the fielding. I think this clip summarizes my current state of mind nicely:

# 286 ttinker @ 02/23/11 12:59 PM

Got one game in last night. Lost 4-0 in 6 innings. I had 7 errors!

I should have one it in the bottom of the 4th, but I couldn't remember how to advance runners, then when I did figure it out, I got thrown out at home by the right fielder after tagging up on a standard fly ball. In the top of the 6th, I committed about 4 or 5 errors to gift the Rangers with 4 runs. Oh well, practice will make perfect. Can't wait for March 8th!

I love the analog pitching and will learn to like the hitting (liked the idea in MLB 2k10). Analog fielding will take some getting used to; I'm not even sure what I'm doing when it comes to fielding--I haven't read any instructions yet.

Everything looks great and I love the fact that throws to first that are in the dirt aren't just automatically scooped up. I also saw my first baseman jump up to catch a high throw and come down on the bag before the runner. I may have seen this a time or two last year, but it looked much more natural this go round.

The field looks great, bigger than prior years. Can't wait to see the whole picture 2 tuesdays from now. Only thing I don't really like is Karros in the booth. Like others have said, he sounds like he's somewhere else and his lines are very similar to Rex's, so it seems like the same commentary from Karros that I heard in '10 with a new voice being the only difference.

# 287 ESPNFANAZ @ 02/23/11 01:00 PM

Played a couple games last night. I left the game on default. One game I did pitching and hitting, the other purely hitting with both teams so I can get practice on analog hitting. First game I got one single and the rest strikeouts with the Giants. Analog pitching was fun and did get the hang of it fairly quickly. The only thing I wish was having another second on the ball indicator, I guess I'll have to act a little faster. Second game I managed to get 4 hits with both teams and one walkoff homerun from Freddy Sanchez. Hitting is not easy and you really have to be patient at the plate and focus on each pitch. Waiting for the right pitch not necessarily hitting anything that looks like could be a strike is key. At first I was a little overwhelmed having to choose contact, regular, or power swing before each pitch, but I can see where certain situations and counts and knowing what kind of batter is at the plate all comes to play when choosing them. Are you hurting yourself if you only use regular swing? I'm guessing so. I do like to play online and usually the pace is much faster than vs AI, the only thing I hope is that online play can be the same pace so you can have time to utilize all the options that is given to you. I tried Camera 5 like you all suggested and did seem like I could read the ball a bit better. Animations and gameplay feels smoother than last year. Overall very happy with the demo and looking forward to March 8th!

# 288 Knight165 @ 02/23/11 01:05 PM

Sorry this is not an impression....
But on the OF'er routes and plays off the wall.
I know Nem is also saying he didn't see them at the event...but I'm fairly certain that I did......an OF'er looking to play a ball off the wall in one spot...and it went somewhere else forcing him to chase it down.(I don't think it was it was me doing it either....I was genuinely surprised.).
I guess I'll know in two weeks...or Russ can tell me I'm not crazy.(I might be though!

)

I hope I'M right.

M.K.
Knight165

# 289 Cannoncourt @ 02/23/11 01:09 PM

overthrew on pick-off to first with tim. out of play. Guy ends up on third?

# 290 nemesis04 @ 02/23/11 01:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cannoncourt


	overthrew on pick-off to first with tim. out of play. Guy ends up on third?

Correct, into the stands the runner gets two bases.

# 291 idrisguitar @ 02/23/11 01:14 PM

My impressions, after really only owning 09 as my last show game, is WOW

firstly it looks amazing, perfection, best graphics i have ever seen to be quite honest.

second the analog pitching is BRILLIANT, sooo much more enthralling and immersive than the metre, i found myself celebrating when i painted a corner. it really puts you in total control, all in your thumb, without making it too easy. the metre was so fast that there was always an element of luck on top of your own skill, but this is perfect and as a result you feel perfect when you do well.

i cant bat to save my life, but then i have never been a good batter even with the simple button swing, but i like the feel of stepping back and swinging.

overall i had no plans to buy this game, it is not a priority i can worry about, but the great feeling of the pitching has alone made me desperately try to justify a purchase. (im in the uk, so its a little more expensive and harder to get)

# 292 nemesis04 @ 02/23/11 01:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Qb


	The pitching system is great. I love the accuracy component -- if you miss your release point, the pitch is high or low accordingly; if you miss left/right off your mark, again the pitch reacts likewise. Couple this with the variable effort based on the speed of the upward stroke and maintaining focus on every pitch is vital. Well done. I think there is so room to play with the user pitching settings to further refine the experience. I certainly wasn't hitting my spots consistently or painting corners, but I threw a lot of strikes as most of my misses were over the plate. Not a knock on the system, but something to explore moving forward with regard to sliders. On the plus side of that, the game I threw the highest percentage of strikes was my last one and I gave up 6 runs and 3 homers. However, mistakes gravitating towards the heart of the plate was based on primarily my input, so I can't argue with the results.

What level were you on with analog pitching?

# 293 Skyboxer @ 02/23/11 01:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cannoncourt


	overthrew on pick-off to first with tim. out of play. Guy ends up on third?

Quote:

Originally Posted by nemesis04


	Correct, into the stands the runner gets two bases.

Yep. happened to the CPU vs me

Just throwing some things together while at work

I think I’ll be using analog batting over zone but it’s still up in the air. I had zero problems check swinging with analog,
which was one of my concerns going in. I know it will take a lot of practice with my team getting each players batting down too,
but I’m looking forward to it.

I have Killzone 3 still shrink wrapped and I probably won’t open it tonight either. I love the demo that much.
Tonight I’ll start messing with some sliders to see how much effect they have.
I loaded my 2010 sliders in and it wasn’t even close to the same. I tested these out using zone hitting for a few “games”.

The lighting and overall “Atmosphere” was great so I can only imagine what the retail will bring.

One thing I noticed was a few players thrown out at 2nd. In real time I swear they look easily safe.
Yet I load up the replay and they are clearly out lol.

I also had a play at the plate where my CF threw home and the throw was at the plate about 3 yards maybe on the 3rd base side.
Catcher stepped up to get it and I dove back to get the runner but missed.

I also loaded up the game and went to 3D…..
Yeah I’ll be playing it in 3D for the most part as it was freaking sweet.
I doubt I can go every game in 3D so I’ll come up with a schedule to use 3D. Maybe the first game of every series or something.
I’ll go as long as I can just to see if I do get “eye tired” with 3D, then I’ll know how long I can go.

There so much I want to do in the demo but can’t as it’s not available so that still leaves a ton of excitement waiting for the retail version.

I played ’10 to death and playing ’11 is night and day for me. Not once did I feel disappointed or had a “this is ’10 with minor upgrade” feeling.

# 294 jpup @ 02/23/11 01:24 PM

I'm enjoying the demo after playing 3 or 4 games.

Quick take on Analog:

Pitching: Pretty Good. Need more game time to get the complete feel.
Batting: I quickly switched to zone after 1 game. I might switch back, but I have always loved zone hitting.

Throwing: Horrendous. I'll probably not touch it again. I just don't like the idea at all.

My favorite thing so far is all the new cameras. Right now I'm using catcher 2 for hitting and broadcast for pitching. It should be much easier to take walks this year based solely on being able to see the ball better.

Certainly looking forward to more time with the demo and March 8 can't come soon enough.

# 295 MinnTwinFan2616 @ 02/23/11 01:29 PM

I really like how when you do a pickoff to first base you get a different camera angle

# 296 CabreraMVP @ 02/23/11 01:36 PM

I Love the Sky in this game. It transition really well from light, to sunset, to dark. And last year it would get dark after 3 innings, this year it's not dark until later which is great.

The pitching is good and very easy to get used to. I like it.

I like the hitting, and how it feels, but haven't got it down yet. I try timing the step like how I do in real life but didn't have much success.

The throwing system is nice too. It seems a little easy. How do you hit the cut off man?

Overall the game is a big improvement. The lighting and the graphics in general look much better than last year. It's not stale anymore. And the menus/on screen graphics look much more sharp.

I am on break which is nice but I have the flu so playing the game is a little hard. I was looking forward to playing the demo all week but my head is killing me. Oh well. Maybe I'll be able to hit when I'm not sick.

# 297 Mike Smoove @ 02/23/11 01:38 PM

I havent owned the show since 09, I have to say this game is light years better than what I remember. What really got me saying OMG was Nelson Cruz hit a ball deep it went foul just outside the foul pole. The umps got together to discuss it, then they went inside to look at the replay then the replay showed. They came back onto the field and signaled it foul. Thats was some of the best presentation in a sports video game I have ever seen. Theres no way im gonna be able to play that other game now.

# 298 PhillsPhan26 @ 02/23/11 01:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Knight165


	Sorry this is not an impression.... But on the OF'er routes and plays off the wall. I know Nem is also saying he didn't see them at the event...but I'm fairly certain that I did......an OF'er looking to play a ball off the wall in one spot...and it went somewhere else forcing him to chase it down.(I don't think it was it was me doing it either....I was genuinely surprised.). I guess I'll know in two weeks...or Russ can tell me I'm not crazy.(I might be though! ) I hope I'M right. M.K. Knight165

I hit a shot off of the right field wall and thought for sure I get 2 out of it. The ball bounced off of the wall and I guess the fielder took the right angle cause the ball went right to him and he gunned me out at 2nd.

# 299 Heroesandvillains @ 02/23/11 01:43 PM

Superb.

This is the word that keeps floating around in my head, and the feeling I went to bed with last night.

First, the animation crew deserves enormous kudos. The new pickoff camera views are remarkably similar to a real life broadcast. This along with catchers now removing their masks and safely throwing them aside on choppers in front of the mound are two small, but wonderful additions, that bring us closer to the real life game we all obsess over.

Pressing up on the analog stick prior to the pitch unlocks a little nugget of baseball gold. Batters now, are far as I have seen, all have new pre-pitch animations. From stepping out and gearing up between pitches (even leaning over to grab some dirt), to readying themselves in the box, the days of Hideki Matsui ridiculously moving his bat at a downward angle like a lumberjack when the X button was pressed is over! Again, to the animation team, thank you!...And I didn't even mention the pink skies or jumbotrons!

Now, comebackers. Last night with the demo, I saw 3 balls hit back to and cleanly fielded by the pitcher. That total would officially equal half of a franchise's worth in 10'. This was one of my biggest pet peeves last year. Now, your pitcher actually has a chance to field his position...with buttery smooth animations to boot.

Analog pitching is remarkably intuitive. It's realistically wild and rewarding when you hit your spots. Keep in mind, for a large portion of last year I was a Classic pitching guy. I can now safely say: I am Classic no longer! This is by far, to me, the single greatest improvement i have ever seen in the series (for what it's worth, 09' was my first).

For a brief moment in time, I thought I had Analog hitting down last night. And I mean DOWN! I was ripping doubles like a pro, and working walks. Check swings are incredibly natural to accomplish, and I never would have guessed how realistic a down and up(ish) stroke on the right stick could resemble an actual baseball bat!...

Then, I hit the wall. Pitches I was fouling off with ease became horrid looking misses, and I found myself dissecting replays to figure out what was happening to my stride. The learning curve here is HUGE, and can humble you in an instant.

For those of you on the fence, I couldn't reccommed a download of the demo enough. It's certainly not without its flaws: The crowd blurs behind homeplate, the sound pops without warning, and in one instance, I needed to restart it all together due to a constant ringing...

But the improvements over it's predecessor are noticable from the get go. I woke up this morning compelled to share my experiences from yesterday...which, for a 4 inning demo, speaks volumes in my opinion. Let's just say, March 8th cannot come fast enough.

# 300 Perfect Zero @ 02/23/11 01:51 PM

A few things:

The analogue controls are a nice thought, but I think they don't work well at all. The pitching mechanic is very unresponsive to me when I'm trying to direct the horizontal placement of the ball. Hitting is either way too early or way too late, and fielding is ok at best. If I get the game, I'm not using the analogue controls at all.

Eric Karros is terrible, so at least that is realistic. I prefer Rex Hudler, and that's saying something. I think that if they go with the same mechanics next year, they need to stay with just Vasgersian and Campbell.

Pac Bell Park looks really good from the scoreboards to the water. They are really well mapped and the colors look really good. The crowd is really well done too; the graphics department deserves a pat on the back for what they've done for this year. Everything looks less pixulated and crisper.

Overall, it looks good, and I'll buy it for some of the other features (plus I like my team being referred to as the American League Champions), but some of the things they added are "meh." I know the full product will blow me away, but until then it's back to MLB 10.

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