Major League Baseball 2K9 Demo Available, Post Your Impressions Here

[Gennataos]

Quote: Originally Posted by mrnoobie

wheres the demo? i woke up and i see this thread and immediately went to go d/l the demo only to have it unavailable...

Same here...kind of funky. The icon for the MLB2K9 demo is some generic Xbox 360 picture and it says "This service is unavailable, please try later" (or something to that affect) when I click on it. Is this normal or out of the ordinary?

[dlasp66]

Quote: Originally Posted by mrnoobie

wheres the demo? i woke up and i see this thread and immediately went to go d/l the demo only to have it unavailable...

It's there, its just not listed on new arrivals, you have to go search for it under the M category

[raptor25]

Good lighting, good controls, good hitting engine.
It played fine.

Player likenesses are bad and the feature set pales in comparison to the other game, but it seemed solid enough.

[dlasp66]

Quote: Originally Posted by Gennataos

Same here...kind of funky. The icon for the MLB2K9 demo is some generic Xbox 360 picture and it says "This service is unavailable, please try later" (or something to that affect) when I click on it. Is this normal or out of the ordinary?

That is pretty weird, they are probably adding the cover box and taking all those screenshots moved over to the 2k9 section, but im not too sure

[Pyroboy829]

how do you steal properly... i always get caught in a pickle because the pitcher always knows im stealing

[HK-47]

Game Market Place>All Games(or is it downloads?)>M.

[SoxFan01605]

Okay, played a couple games. Here are some quick pros and cons:

+Commentary is very good. I think if they can keep repetition from being an issue, it could be the best "booth" in baseball videogames in terms of game quality. No, that's not hyperbole either. I'm talking general flow and work between the two guys. It's impossible to tell if it will have the staying power or neat touches through a season that The Show's crew has (that's doubtful anyway) but I like what I hear.

+Camera work (presentational). This will be a boon for this game. They get the camera angles pretty well and make nice cuts at good times. The hitting/pitching camera is locked in the demo, so nothing to comment on there.

+Real time. The "life" it adds to the park, mainly at field level, is very good and can help immerse you in the game. I had a neat play where I broke my bat on a hit and the bat boy went after both main pieces. Subtle touch that I liked.

+Control responsiveness. Both pitching and hitting feel more fluid in responsiveness. The hitting "feels" much better and the pitching is more polished. Good stuff.

+Fielding. I liked the fielding overall in 2K anyway, and it feels as fluid as ever. BIG fan of the throwing meter too. Not really new in that regard, but still a plus IMO.

+Lighting. While I won't begin to debate relative sun positioning...lol (just playing Blzer) the lighting was a pleasent surprise. The colors had that "pop" I was looking for and the stadium looks good panned out.

Now for the negatives:

-Lets get all this out of the way...Organ, bat sounds, Organ, bat sounds, Organ , bat sounds...BIG FAT BOOOOOO...lol. There, that's done.

-Animations. when they're on, they're beautiful. When they're not, it's painful. More off than on, unfortunately. the transitional and "reactive" animations are actually quite good overall. What brings it down is the herky-jerky running/walking, the weird no-look throws and horrible swings. I'm sure some will be ironed out a bit in the final, but some of those are trademark 2K baseball, so don't expect much there.

-Real time. No, you're not hallucinating. I put it in as a + and a -. The thing is, for everything it adds, a lingering look at a player wondering around in a circle lost is shown (Picture a senile old man in a mega-mall....okay, now he's a robot...lol, got it?). It's part of the growing pains I'm personally able to live with, but it can be downright scary at times.

-Collision Detection. Zero. Saw players go through players, walls, benches in the dugout, themselves, their gear...just not there. Hopefully they'll have at least reduced the opportunities for it to be so galring come final.

-Ads. The game is brought to you by Pepsi, with a SP brought to you by Statefarm, whose stats are sponsored by Pepsi, in a park sponsored by Statefarm and Pepsi, in a game at the conclusion of which, your Pepsi player of the game is presented by Statefarm. The sad thing? Minus the very last State Farm, I didn't make any of that up. Yuck.

-Control ease. Pitching might be okay with the ability to go back to the 3 step system. Hitting is a joke. I could close my eyes and hit the ball. That is not a joke...I actually did it to check. No step influence might have killed the hitting...dead serious. Hopefully in the final build, with slider adjustment and difficulty levels and all that, it will be better. I'm a bit worried here though.


Now some other notes that aren't strictly a plus or minus.

*Graphics are better than I though. Base player models are good and the stadium looks pretty good overall. The uniforms and equipment is disappointing at best. There is a general cartoonish look to the and they either look rubbery or inflatable (gloves are BAD for this). Still, much better than 2K8 overall and certainly a step back in the right direction.

*gameplay felt relatively untouched other than it being easier. Again, hopefully this will be something that is flexable in the final build. Nothing to me jumped out as "new" here, though to be fair the fluidity of the controls being improved might carry over to gameplay with the right slider set.

*hit variety is definitely improved over 2K8, but I personally don't agree with the rave reviews it's getting. That's subjective though, so I'l leave it at that. I guess the important thing is it has indeed improved.

*Sig style are much more hit and miss than I thought they would be to be honest (always considered it a plus for the series). Odd the WS teams were like that. not making it a negative yet though. This is one area I'm willing to give 2K some benefit of the doubt.

That's it for now (isn't it enough...lol). Sorry for the long post, just wanted to get across what I noticed.

Bottom line is I do see an improvement over 2K8. Nothing to "wow" you particularly IMO, but certainly a good rebuilding effort and looks to be potentially enjoyable. I think if a couple of my gameplay concerns are ironed out (or can be adjusted for with sliders) it should be a fun game overall. Looking forward to renting it and seeing how much polish was added.

The end (I know, I know...looong...lol...can't help it)

[stlcardsfan44]

When I got up this morning, there was a 2k9 cover label under MLB2k7. So I am not sure if they made a mistake or what.