Why the $60 you spend will never please you.

[EUBlink]

The subject stands true for, I'd say, a little less than half of the posters on OperationSports. We expect too much. We expect real-life at the tips of our fingers, on a television screen, in the clack of a bat, the touchdown-scoring dive, and even the least thread of grass. If you demand realism, and will be hell-bent on bashing until you get it, then do this: Take your PS3/360/Wii, carefully place it in a box, along with all of your games, and sell it. Then, go get yourself a nice football or baseball glove and play until your heart's content.

Until then, you will not be happy. You'll just be ruining the games for everyone else... even before they get here. I swear, a lot of you had this game on your hate list before a demo was even seen.

Moving on now, I've thoroughly enjoyed this game. I plan to post later on, upon any discovery of the atrocious bugs that everyone is claiming as game-killer. After three games, I've yet to notice any over-aggressive AI hitting. I've not had any run-through-the-fence-super-hero catches, and I haven't even had a dashboard Jesus ruin my 360. Okay, that was made up.

My most recent game? I chose two of the [in my opinion] worst teams in the game right now, the Atlanta Braves and Pittsburgh Pirates. Aside from a handful of inconvenient errors in a short span of time by the Braves, the game was very enjoyable. Here is the box score...

Quote:

Pirates 0 0 0 2 0 1 0 1 1 5 12 0 Braves 0 0 1 3 0 0 0 0 2 6 14 3

The Pirates took the lead in the top of the ninth, but with two outs in the bottom of the inning, Chipper gave me the win with a walk-off, two-run homer (which also racked in some achievement points).

As I mentioned, I'll add on much more later, once I dig into the dynasty/franchise mode. Score-wise, I'd definitely give this game a 7.5/10 so far. And unless there are some little green men waiting to attack the gameplay in other modes, it'll stand as that. There are still several areas that need touching up, but the game is presented well, and was very smooth on my HD.

[kGinGreen]

I'm not sure if that is it. I enjoy this game somewhat but it is what it is. There are certain games I enjoy completely and are completely worth the price of admission. It just seems to me today developers are far and in between. I should probably not say anyhting and just play something else but i also like baseball and cant get a ps3 yet. The funny thing though is I'm not that picky. I've been gaming a long time and am probably moreso than the average gamer but most games i just enjoy and don't nitpick. Games are meant to be enjoyed..... They arent meant to drive you nuts. But 2k is kind of pissing me off, especially with all this licensing crap, because for a lot of us we don't have a choice. I coudl just do something else entirely and not play a baseball game this year and that would probably be the smartest thing. Or just enjoy this game for what it is.

[therockstar2005]

I totally agree that my $60 will never please me. It's the person that you give the $60 to.

But quite seriously (if possible), I somewhat agree with this. There might be some people who expect "perfection" out of this game or that game. But on the same hand, I think that there are people who can have genuine gripes with the games and what not. There exists that careful balance that people try to walk of expectation and reality when it comes to these things.

I'm actually having fun with the game and enjoying the fact that I know what the reviews are saying and yet I really don't care. I played and loved the demo, I'm playing and loving the game, and I'm making up my own mind. I've seen the other reviews and the low scores; yet I can still enjoy the game. Huzzah for making up our own minds. I don't think 2k9 is the best baseball game or the best sim ever, but I don't really care. I like it.

[Brooklynnets24]

Quote: Originally Posted by therockstar2005

I totally agree that my $60 will never please me. It's the person that you give the $60 to.

if you think about it the person you hand the 60 dollars to could care less if you bought the game becuase there not taking the 60 dollars for themselves unless you bought the game off of someone of course.

[therockstar2005]

Quote: Originally Posted by Brooklynnets24

if you think about it the person you hand the 60 dollars to could care less if you bought the game becuase there not taking the 60 dollars for themselves unless you bought the game off of someone of course.

I'm sorry. I meant for that line to be more highly suggestive then it clearly was and to not necessarily pertain to a video game. I will amend that now.

"I totally agree that my $60 will never please me. The prostitute that I pay $60 to will be the one who pleases me."

If offensive I will remove.

[hyacinth1]

I never buy games at $60 anymore, especially sports games. 90 percent of the time, you're getting a limited upgrade from the previous year's game. I usually wait for games to go on sale or if I happen to have any gift cards available.

I will pick this game up since I have 40 bucks off at TRU

[SevenTwentyNine]

If you have exclusive rights to making a game. You better make one hell of a game. It's not just this year's game, it's 2k8, 2k7, 2k6, and 2k5. It's the lack of choice that has most 360 owners PO'd. I've had it, I'm getting a PS2 and the Show. It'll have to do.

[SoxFan01605]

While I agree that some can be too picky, I disagree with the prevailing notion by supporters of the game that if you don't like the style it offers, you're somehow unreasonable. I could make the same type of argument to counter:

"If you don't expect anything from a game, then stay off of forums discussing them, because your low expectations are exactly why some of these games never move forward."

These are both silly notions IMO, when painting in broad strokes. There's too much in play to make such blanket statements. This isn't GTA vs Saint's Row. Or shooter "A" vs shooter "B."

This is a game that is supposedly designed to be representative of a given sport. There is little wiggle room in terms of authenticity in the matter unlike other games in different genres. You can like the game for what it is...that doesn't mean it gets the job done for what it should be.

The fact that a given game developer bought 3rd party exclusive rights to a license to represent a sport and has done a mediocre job at best in doing so, is open to the criticism it gets, IMO. I'm not talking bashing for the sake of bashing, but honest critique of what it's not doing right as a representation of the sport.

Add in the fact that some of the issues are so glaring (not to mention in some cases, repetative over the years) and people tend to become less forgiving. The reality is, that the focus of the series is all wrong. There seems to be a prevailing notion that a game is either "fun" or "sim." The truth is if you like the sport being represented, they could easily be one and the same.

The general issue is not that some people can't be happy. The issue is some people have come to expect more. These expectations aren't generally coming from nowhere. People usually have examples in mind when they come to the discussion. No game is perfect, and I don't ever expect them to be. I do like to see a developer take a stab at it though, as idealistic as that may be.

The point is, I guess, that I can understand what a game is meant to be...doesn't mean I have to like it.