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

[bowlerguy92]

Quote: Originally Posted by MastorofPuppetz

I have the Show and Mlb 2k, all of them and I know more about baseball then you, 2k9 is good, do't pull that, "You don't understand baseball", condenscending crap, that is a cop out. The show is vastly overrated, very simple. People like you trying to act all high society on the ney make me sick. You think people who understand baseball only play the show? What an idiot. I am 30, been playing games and watching and Playing baseball for a long time, STFU.

Are you kidding me? Your 30 years old and your fighting on a forum and touting that you know more about baseball than me? Dude, get a life honest to god. Where is YOUR infraction?

[bang911]

I have played a total of 3 innings.

The CPU has already made a first out at third with the leadoff batter.

The CPU had 1st and 3rd, and hit a line drive to the right fielder. The guy on 3rd base didn't tag.

I dislike the controlling of the defense so far.

[LVance]

Quote: Originally Posted by Blzer

Unfortunately, you're in the same boat as every other casual gamer who hasn't been following info on this game since day one, and downloaded it for the sake of downloading it. But to answer your question, it is an influence hitting system, though I don't know to what extent. As far as I'm concerned, any pitchable that's within reasonable bat's length is hittable with proper timing. That doesn't mean your ball will be hit well or that it will even be hit in play... but I think it's at least assurance for contact. Now this is done regardless of which way you point the left analog stick, though that is used to help sway the ball a specific way: up for fly balls, down for ground balls, left for left field, right for right field. Timing and pitch location will then determine the quality of contact made and the literal direction that your ball will go. As a test, I recommend that you go up with every batter in an inning holding down while swinging, then the next inning left, next inning right... etc. Find out exactly how influential it is and how much [good] contact is dependent on the hitting system. The retail version is supposed to feature a cursor hitting system as well as one-button swinging, so you won't be so limited if you don't like this current system. EDIT: Oh haha, do you literally mean how to swing? Use the right analog stick, similar to the Tiger Woods video games. Back to load, forward to swing. My bad.

Thanks and thanks.

[MastorofPuppetz]

Quote: Originally Posted by bowlerguy92

Are you kidding me? Your 30 years old and your fighting on a forum and touting that you know more about baseball than me? Dude, get a life honest to god.

Fighting? Not at all, calling out your assinine post. Don't get so upset you were called out, learn from it. Your post was the definition of ignorance. You realsie the average gamer is 30 right?

[dtigers63]

Quote: Originally Posted by 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)

Oustanding overview, very well done. The key to me is the last paragragh statement that says, "there's an improvement over 2K8". That's what I was hoping for, will it be enough, I guess I'll find out next week, but this great review leads me to believe VC is headed in the right direction.

[e0820]

Here is my impression

Graphics are good, loved the crowd and stadium graphics, players were just good.
Animations are good, players seemed robotic at times.
Sound Announcing waaay better then Morgan and Miller.
Ive always liked the hitting controls, I think I will adopt the pitching (2k8 pitching I didnt get) and the throwing controls.
Gameplay seemed ok, I didnt hit many foul balls and to me it seemed like the cpu would swing at alot of pitches in the zone.
Didnt like the blank cut scenes.

Overall I dont think the demo will do the final game justice. When compared to The Show I think 2k is behind (sorry 360 only guys!) Still seems like its going to be a fun game however.

[jeffy777]

I just played it for the first time and have to say I'm quite impressed.

It's a much smoother game than 2K8 by a long shot, and the graphics look much better as well. Lighting was fine and better than 2K8 in my opinion. I played both a day and night game.

Hit variety is good and I got the CPU to strike out looking in my first game, so that was nice to see.

I didn't have a problem with the fielding camera. Seems good to me. I can't wait to change the hitting camera in the full game though. I like it to be much more zoomed in.

New stealing method is nice. I like being able to control the exact instant when the runner takes off.

Commentary is great.

Only negatives I can think of are some animations are a bit jittery, but this is an early build, so we'll probably see some improvement there in the final game. Also some of the player shadows looked a bit jagged.

Two step pitching is OK, but I'm looking forward to having the option to turn on the 3rd step in the full game.

Definitely buying this game. I want MORE!

[johnnyg713]

Quote: Originally Posted by johnnyg713

Just played and i need to stop and write this. I am in the bottom of the second with one out... i have already seen an error, the computer check swing at a called strike, then i stuck him out looking on the next pitch on a fastball, another batter swing at a curveball in the dirt, and the comp stole second. This game is already playing better than what i have seen on the vids online.

I also need to add the cpu just intentionally walked me with a man on 2nd and 3rd with 2 outs because the pitcher is up next. The commentary made note of it as well saying it is a good strategy to vs the pitcher with men on base to get the easy out.

HOWEVR NO COLLISION DETECTION....