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

[sroz39]

This game takes ALOT of heat for not being The Show...and I just don't get it. What's the point of having two of the same game?

I appreciate what 2K tried to do with this game. Even last year's game made me lose interest within a few games, but just this demo alone I've played for hours. Reason? It's FUN. I think alot of people lose sight of what's fun in video games these days. To me, the pitching mechanic is lots of fun, the hitting mechanic is straightforward and alot of fun and brings back fond memories of the MVP series' simple but versatile hitting system.

I'll be the first to admit that there's things that need improvement in this game and things that no amount of slider tweaking will improve enough to put it on par with The Show. The fielding is erratic, the animations aren't quite there yet and the stadiums don't come close to matching The Show's level of detail. But you know what? Aside from the fielding, which still needs work, the rest of the stuff isn't bad..it's just not The Show.

Things like pitch speed, computer always swinging at strikes, home run frequency and a host of other things that I've heard people complain about in almost 400 pages of posts can ALL be fixed with sliders.

I'm tired of listening to constant whining about The Show this and The Show that. The Show is probably the greatest sports game ever made. But there is no reason why we can't have two baseball games that can be enjoyed and I think for maybe the first time ever, this is the year where that happens. Take your Show-coloured glasses off and appreciate the things this game does well. There's lots to enjoy for the first time in a long time with a 2K baseball game. Don't miss out because you're brand loyal.

[kGinGreen]

I've been playing the demo here like a madman for the past couple days and i agree with you guys. This game grows on you. I've pretty much mastered the controls at this point from baserunning to pitching to hitting and fielding. There's a lot more to it then people realize and people knocking the game are going to be sorry. Yeah there are some horky things and glitches here and there but those things are really magnified by people who didnt even take the time to learn the game. First impressions are one thing, but this game plays a very good game of baseball.

[jeffy777]

Quote: Originally Posted by jeffy777

It's the same as last year's pitching except you don't need to release the 2nd motion at any specific time. For instance, if you want to pitch a fastball, you pull down on the right stick until the circle fills up, the you push up. The difference this year is that it doesn't matter when you let go of the up motion. However, you can turn the release step on in the options in the full game, so it can essentially be the same as last year's pitching if you want it to be.

Quote: Originally Posted by MastorofPuppetz

Sigh, why post something when yuo have the wrong info, it DOES matter when you release, the smaller the circle gets, the less power and accuracy the pitch gets, and moe likely to get hit, this has been confirmed on the 2k boards. I swear half the complainst with the game are simply user know how. They got rid of the third motion, there are still 2.

Maybe you didn't read my post carefully, but what I said is correct....

I said it doesn't matter when you release the 2ND MOTION. The 2nd motion has nothing to do with how big the circle gets. The first motion determines how big the circle gets and you aren't even supposed to start the 2nd motion until the circle is filled, after you release the first motion.

So my post was correct........the timing of the first motion release is all that matters.

[MillerTyme]

i DLed the demo last night and played about 4 3-inning games
to preface, i enjoyed 2k8 (and 2k7), and i probably played a few hundred games among different franchises, however that game had some very big flaws IMO.
(Note i am only doing so i can address how/if 2k9 demo fixes any of these flaws)
Probably the 4 main problems i would say were
1. Homeruns - there was way too many of them, and to use an example lets say in all my 2k8 games combined i scored 1000 runs, probably > 850 of them (not exaggerating) came from homeruns.
2. Hit variety - after tweaking nonstop, i still ended up with more HRs hit than singles, doubles, and triples combined. Furthermore i think i saw one chopper up the middle and zero bloop hits in all the games i have played. Everything was either a weak ground ball, a hard ground ball (that never got past the IF), or a homerun or caught flyball.
3. the framerate/choppiness - obvious/well documented
4. pitch recognition - in fairness i am a very aggresive hitter and tend to swing more often than not, but no matter what i did w/the camera or pitch speed i could not take a walk to save my life.

So now how did 2k9 (demo at least) address these?
1. well i have not hit HR yet in 4 games, so i consider that a good sign
2. this is probably the biggest area of improvement, i have had 3-4 hits per "game" (no HRs) and have gotten a few fly balls to drop in the OF (felt like AI caught every fly ball in 2k8), i got a bloop single, i had a broken bat single, i had a hard line drive that went through the hole....etc...etc..
3. game plays very smooth
4. idk if its the change in camera or the new default pitch speed setting, but even without trying i found myself laying off pitches, b/c they looked like they would be outside.
The rest of the positives
+ the much-discussed commentary
+ the fielding (people hate it, and its by no means great), IMO the biggest beneficial change in the fielding the AI infield defense. I hit a hot shot back to 3b that pedro feliz jumped to sno cone and it ricotched off his glove into foul territory for a hit. I also pulled a few hard line drives through the hole. In 2k8 it was nearly impossible to get a hit through the hole, the CPU infielders regardless of skill all played out of this world, with insane stops on everything.

And the negatives
- the cpu AI swings at (mostly) everything, they just need to take more pitches overall, and especially need to stop chasing the offspeed stuff outside the zone
- the graphics are probably = 2k8, no real change/improvement
- i dont like the new baserunning controls (i loved 2k8s)
- the sig stances are ugly and it seems to be way too many generic ones
- im not sure if this is in my head or not, but it seems as if the swing stick is now just straight back down and straight up. In 2k8 you pulled back then either pushed up, or rolled it (like a fireball motion) left or right to try to pull or go opposite field. I liked the way this felt, it felt natural, from what i read apparently this will now be done with the left stick, i will have to spend some time w/it to see if i learn to like it.

Overall i am excited b/c IMO the majority of my main "core" gameplay complaints appear to be fixed, couple this with what looks to be a great franchise mode and i should be very satisfied. But what do i know, i liked 2k8 :P

[Phobia]

Quote: Originally Posted by sroz39

This game takes ALOT of heat for not being The Show...and I just don't get it. What's the point of having two of the same game? I appreciate what 2K tried to do with this game. Even last year's game made me lose interest within a few games, but just this demo alone I've played for hours. Reason? It's FUN. I think alot of people lose sight of what's fun in video games these days. To me, the pitching mechanic is lots of fun, the hitting mechanic is straightforward and alot of fun and brings back fond memories of the MVP series' simple but versatile hitting system. I'll be the first to admit that there's things that need improvement in this game and things that no amount of slider tweaking will improve enough to put it on par with The Show. The fielding is erratic, the animations aren't quite there yet and the stadiums don't come close to matching The Show's level of detail. But you know what? Aside from the fielding, which still needs work, the rest of the stuff isn't bad..it's just not The Show. Things like pitch speed, computer always swinging at strikes, home run frequency and a host of other things that I've heard people complain about in almost 400 pages of posts can ALL be fixed with sliders. I'm tired of listening to constant whining about The Show this and The Show that. The Show is probably the greatest sports game ever made. But there is no reason why we can't have two baseball games that can be enjoyed and I think for maybe the first time ever, this is the year where that happens. Take your Show-coloured glasses off and appreciate the things this game does well. There's lots to enjoy for the first time in a long time with a 2K baseball game. Don't miss out because you're brand loyal.

Great post bro!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[ronnyballgame]

Any idea if they are going to have an update for when the game releases?

Btw, this demo is definitely sweet, it is so much better than I hoped and expected!

[RunN1st]

I enjoyed this demo! I liked the controls but not too impressed with the graphics. (If you sit about 20 ft away, this game looks awesome, on a 42 inch Plasma! Kinda like a Monet!)

[Lepermessiah]

Quote: Originally Posted by sroz39

This game takes ALOT of heat for not being The Show...and I just don't get it. What's the point of having two of the same game? I appreciate what 2K tried to do with this game. Even last year's game made me lose interest within a few games, but just this demo alone I've played for hours. Reason? It's FUN. I think alot of people lose sight of what's fun in video games these days. To me, the pitching mechanic is lots of fun, the hitting mechanic is straightforward and alot of fun and brings back fond memories of the MVP series' simple but versatile hitting system. I'll be the first to admit that there's things that need improvement in this game and things that no amount of slider tweaking will improve enough to put it on par with The Show. The fielding is erratic, the animations aren't quite there yet and the stadiums don't come close to matching The Show's level of detail. But you know what? Aside from the fielding, which still needs work, the rest of the stuff isn't bad..it's just not The Show. Things like pitch speed, computer always swinging at strikes, home run frequency and a host of other things that I've heard people complain about in almost 400 pages of posts can ALL be fixed with sliders. I'm tired of listening to constant whining about The Show this and The Show that. The Show is probably the greatest sports game ever made. But there is no reason why we can't have two baseball games that can be enjoyed and I think for maybe the first time ever, this is the year where that happens. Take your Show-coloured glasses off and appreciate the things this game does well. There's lots to enjoy for the first time in a long time with a 2K baseball game. Don't miss out because you're brand loyal.

Outstandng post, hit the nail on the head. There is a large group of people that seem like they want to game to be bad, so they try and find fault when it isn't even there. Game is going in a good direction.