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

[tgalv]

the more i play this demo the more i hate it. this game is such a technical disaster i can't stand it. every time the camera cuts (which is often) you're forced to wait an unbearable amount of time.

i dont' give a crap that carl crawford is doing his digging into the box and is 0-1 today. i was playing the friggin game, i know what happened. it's fine they include this information but if i have to wait 2 seconds and 9 A button presses before i can get on to the actual game, then i just want to start punching my TV. it just wears on you repeatedly.

i love looking at my catcher trying to throw a pitch, oh but wait the game was not "ready" so instead the motion gets screwed up and i throw some stupid meatball right down the middle. awesome!

love the 2 seconds fade to black with the audio completely cutoff between every half inning. as if the slow motion matrix style animations didn't clue me in enough that i'm playing some halfass created game.

this was the exact same thing that was wrong with the last 2 versions of the game, but once again they completely ignore it because the people making the game are either 1) total idiots 2) don't really care because they're getting paid whether the game is any good or not.

[Rebel10]

I agree with you tgalv on waiting for the "extra" animations to end... I usually keep those turned on for about 3 games in baseball games and then turn them off. I like to get through games quickly in a baseball game because there's so many games in a season, and if I have all of the extras -- cut scenes, batter warmups, guys walking aroind, etc -- turned on, then it delays the game and interupts the flow. I appreciate them being in there, but keep them turned off after the fourth or fifth game.

[Yankees_CT]

LOL.....honestly, and I don't mean to come off as a Show mark here...I actually only played The Show last year for the first time, but give me a break. I can not believe people can even compare these two games. I downloaded it last night on PSN and I deleted it after my first game. I was up 12-0 in the first inning and probably could have kept going. This game caters to the casual/arcade gamer and that fact can not be argued. The hitting system is the most simplistic, ultra unrealistic system I have ever seen. Hopefully for the sim lovers out there are some serious sliders that can give this game more of a sim feeling to it.

Oh lord the animations! I have heard from people on this website about the robotic movements of the players.....sorry robots move more realistically then this, it's like there are a few frames missing with every step they take. I have heard 2k fans mention that it looks relatively the same graphically, ummmm....NO! Those god awful faces have last gen written all over them. Sorry, hopefully this game is heading in the right direction and compared to 2k8 it most likely is but let's stop the stupidity and call a spade a spade. This game does not touch the show on any level....period.

Well I think I have to come up with something poitive so the SCEA guys don't get complacent and think they do not have to improve upon their perfection...ummmm....The commentary was very fluid! There's one! I just feel sorry for the 360 owners....maybe next year guys.

Rick

[bakesalee]

I am so tired of the "this is something to build on/wait til next year" approach that has plagued my beloved sports titles. This sucks!

[DrUrsus]

I want to preface this by saying that I have only played 3 games of the 360 demo, and 2 games of the PS3 demo, so my opinions are based on little playing time, and on the demo of course.

I played the MLB 2K9 demo for both systems (PS3 and 360). It requires that you use the R stick to pitch and bat in the demo. You will have the option to use buttons in the retail version. I don't normally use the R stick hitting, and I am not very good at it, so it makes it hard for me to judge the gameplay.

Graphics and Sound:
The graphics on the 360 version is slightly better due to less "jaggies". The framerate on both are very good this year in the demo. So really its a wash if you have both systems, it would depend on which controller you want to use and which system you prefer to buy for. If I buy the game it will be for the 360, since I am buying MLB 09 The Show for the PS3.
Player modeling is not as good as MLB the Show, but they look pretty good. The stadiums look great. There is a dynamic camera in the demo version that changes depending on where the ball is hit. I do like the camera overall, but players look pretty small when balls are hit to the outfield. This may be a good thing. Definitely for robbing HRs it is.
One thing that bothers me is the size of the ball target this year. It is much bigger, so it makes it hard to pinpoint exactly where you want to throw it. It has a bit of an arcadish look to it.
The commentary in the demo is excellent. I think the commentary in this game is better than MLB The Show. It flows real well, and Steve Phillips interacts well with Gary Thorne. He does babble on like he does in real life, lol. Its hard to judge how much commentary there is from a demo, but this was very good. The background sounds are pretty solid. Someone complained about the organ music, but it didn't seem to be noticable to me. I have only played a few games so far though.

Gameplay on demo:
This is really really hard for me to judge since I am not a swing stick R stick guy. But, I had a lot of fun with the demo. I was able to read the pitches well, and even took a walk once. Camera angles were set in the demo, but you should be able to change them to your preference on the retail version from what I have read.
One thing that really concerns me for the retail version is that the CPU batter swings at about everything in the strike zone it seems, even if it is on the "black". The CPU batter doesn't seem to work the count much. I have only played a few games, but the CPU only took one of my pitches in the strike zone. It did swing and miss alot, but did not take any except 1. This is a real concern if this is the only baseball game you will have this year (360 only owners).
Fielding: The fielding is pretty good overall, but sometimes the fielders are a little sluggish from the get go. You have to manually switch to the correct fielder at times. You get used to it, but after playing the ultra smooth fielding in the Show demo, you will notice a difference. It is not that bad though in my opinion (from the 3 games I played).
One Big Big change, is that if you don't get your pitch just right, you won't throw a meat ball pitch like last year all the time, but instead you will just miss out of the zone. There may be meat ball times if it is extreme, but I did not encounter this. This made pitching much much better. I find the pitching to be fun, but I am not sure if I would stick with the R stick since I am no longer the joystick jockey I used to be. I really could stick to it this year though since there is a reduction in meat balls thrown.
I have read that the run down "pickle" problem has not been corrected. That sucks. I did not encounter this, so I can't comment. It is not a game killer for me though. The CPU will steal on you if you don't pay attention. They were pretty agressive against me my first game before I started checking them at 1st.
I have also read there is a Franchise problem with the retail version, but that a patch (using Xport / Xplorer 360) will be out on day one. I will post the patch using Xport/Xplorer 360 if I get a copy of it (whether I buy it, rent it, or get it from the library. So if you are one of those people out in the boonies or don't have Live, check my blog after the game releases. You will have to have a way to put it on your HDD like Xport.
Overall, I think if you only have a 360, and want to play baseball on it, this game seems pretty fun and looks very good. It is better than MLB 2K7 or 2K8 from what I have seen from the demo. Next year will be very very solid, if they fix some issues. If the CPU not working the count is a game killer for you, you may want to rent it to see how that is, or wait for a possible patch for this. This one potential problem may keep me from buying this title this year. I will have to check the forums and see what people are saying about this on the retail version.
I am really on the fence about this one. I have a $10 coupon from Newegg.com if I spend at least $50 so I am considering using this for this title. I bought 2K8, but only played it a few times last year. This was because if you missed your pitch using the R stick, it would throw a meatball. That doesn't happen this year.
Looks like we have 2 very solid baseball titles this year, but I prefer the gameplay of The Show. If you are one of those people that find the Show boring (and I can understand this gripe at times (it is very sim)), or you don't like batting/fielding/pitching in the Show, don't have a PS3 (what other reason is there to have one, lol )you have a much better alternative this year. I think 2K9 with VC in control will really be a strong contender next year.

[smearz]

I don't know if anyone else noticed this, but 2K9 claims realism and signature styles, right? Then why don't they at least make the uniforms correct?
The Cardinals don't where red helmets on the road, and what's up with the "P" on the Phils hat?? That thing is huge. Stuff like this really puts me off to the game, not to mention those ugly aliens in uniforms running around on the field.

[Ruffy]

Quote: Originally Posted by pjv31

There are no replays in the demo. They are in the final version though.

I would hope so!

If you got an XBox you have no choice and must pick this up. I think the game will be pretty good if you have no choice. if you have a PS3 I really can't see you picking this up unless you really love the swing stick hitting (I don't but I could see a lot of people who would).

I really liked the commentary and the different angles they used in the presentations. But they really needed to have some replays in the demo. I saw no real emotion on players after hitting a bomb off me or crossing the plate.

I plunked 5 batters in a row and Iwamura kinda tossed his bat and threatened me a little. The batters coming to the plate seemed to ignore their teammate scoring....no hand slap or fist bump on the scoring play?

Again if they follow the latest EA trend of building upon what they have in games (ie NHL series) this 2k baseball series will get itself back to being competitive with the Show again.

Strong Start compared to last years POS.

[The Management]

I Always played 2k and loved it. I anticipated 2k8 for months, expecting an upgrade from 2k7.... People were talking about The Show so I gave the Demo a shot and was blown away. The Show was just as fun as 2K, but more realistic. I was still set on getting 2k8 though until I got the 2k8 demo and it was, well awful. Looked awful, played awful, sounded awful.

Now to this demo, WAY better than 2k8, leaps and bounds. Player models, lighting, commentary- all good (faces are horrible). The thing that really blew me away was the cameras and real time cut scenes. Gameplay was much better too. Anyone who says this isn't a huge upgrade is in denial. I love the effectiveness of the throwing meter. The catching interface is much better than the Show's. In the Show, the catcher's depth is off, and the receiving and return animation isn't as good as 2k. Pitching arm movement is also better than the show. Love the pitching controls but not the on screen display.

The negatives.. Player movements in fielding aren't fluid, unacceptable. Players move like robots in general, a lot of stuttering. The swing animation is bad, the whole pitcher-batter duel sucks. The CPU could NOT hit a good curveball, no matter how many times you throw it consecutively, they might lay off some of them but a decently placed curveball = swing and a miss. A lot of little things but I won't nit pick, I'm not sure if I'll pick up this game. Things are looking up for 2K10 though. The Show is just better right now.

My lineage will probably look like this

2K4, 2K5, 2K6, 2K7, The Show08, The Show 09, The Show 2010/2K10