MLB 2K12 Demo Available Now, Post Impressions Here

[speedtrucker]

1st off, I haven't played a baseball game since MVP NCAA'06 on xbox but I have played the previous MLB2k demos.

things that stood out to me as odd or lacking.
-the road greys looked cartoonish, especially Holland on the mound and shadowed.
-the CPU fielding-to-throwing animation at times looked herky-jerky, had a runner on 2nd and had a defensive hit between 2nd and 1st, Kinsler was going to get to 3rd with ease but the 2nd baseman came up from his dive pumped to 3rd and then tossed to 1st but Andrus beat it out. also had a RF field the liner, pause and then go into set throw to 2nd but it didn't feel right. didn't happen all the time but sometimes it looked strange.
-shadows were jaggy, most notable on shadows cast by the bill of a players cap or helmet.
-sometimes fielders/pitchers don't cover the right bases. had a wildpitch with a runner on third, the ball actually bounced quickly back so I fielded it with catcher and had a perfectly green throw to home but for some reason my pitcher had started to run to 1st while my 1st baseman was attempting to cover home. so my catcher throws 10 feet up the line to my 1st baseman while the runner slides into home...

things that I think I just need to get used to.
-the user fielding felt very fast and didn't give me much time to react. I had a popfly to left that it felt like David Murphy was getting his first step in molasses. the ball ended up landing 3 feet in front me me.
-the throw meter doesn't feel as fluid as the pitching meter, I expected to have a "ramp up" feel like when pitching but most times it felt like starting and stopping a stopwatch. had 3 throwing errors and only 1 was on a diving play/quick throw. not to compare but MVP'06 had a "ramp up" feel to its throwing meter.

the demo showed me more promise than any of the previous demos I've played, I'm keeping my pre-order alive and hope that the final build is a bit more fluid and with added 2k commentary it keeps me entertained.

also the presentation looked pretty dang good as did the stadium and backdrop, despite it being a place that brings back such heartache from last season...

[DirtyJerz32]

Quote: Originally Posted by bluengold34_OS

Man, the more I play this demo...the more I like it. It just has a "fun" feeling to it. Can't wait to see what the finished product will be like. Sent from my SGH-i917 using Board Express

This is all the matter to me. With baseball games if I'm not having fun, I'm not playing it.

[BoTiger]

I'm glad I played the demo because if this game is an improvement over last year's, I'd hate to see that game. I'll stick to "The Show".

[tvman]

Quote: Originally Posted by BoTiger

I'm glad I played the demo because if this game is an improvement over last year's, I'd hate to see that game. I'll stick to "The Show".

Well bully for you.

[thaSLAB]

My overall impression: a decent, fun, pick-up-and-play game

That said, I still don't find it to be my cup of tea. There are things that this series does well, and others not so well. From the demo, I can see some improvement from last year as it should be, but for the most part a lot of the things that turned me off to the series are still there.

Pluses

+ Commentary, of course. That's speaking from the series aspect, not the demo(s) that they always manage to omit their strongest suit from.

+ Stat tracking. They almost hit you over the head with them at times (which isn't a bad thing.)

+ Stadium accuracy (as it relates to physical details) - graphically, they are hit or miss.

+ I actually like the baserunning controls

Minuses

- The overall hurky-jerky animation transitions, funny looking running/diving animations, and zombie stares. Definitely gives you notice that you are playing a video game. Graphics themselves are not horrible, that is just the art style they went with.

- The game doesn't seem to know what speed to play at... meaning, sometimes animations are way too fast (the return throw from the catcher), other times its like a slosh pit (fielding in the outfield.)

- The fielding camera sometimes causes you to almost field "blindly". As if it can't keep up with the ball when put into play.

- The AI seems to struggle with basic baseball motions. I saw some wonky things like outfielders running towards 3rd base for no apparent reason, after a fly ball. The AI pauses on routine plays in the infield.

- The pitch usage concept is definitely overdone, IMO. Maybe it's just the implementation, but the punishments or bonuses don't seem to have a rhyme or reason, other than to get you to mix it up. Problem is (and I LMAO as I type this) "sometimes mixing it up, means going to the exact same pitch in the exact same location." - if its an effective pitch, you shouldn't be penalized just because you threw it twice in a row.


Anyway, my negatives are getting too long, which is why I say it's not my cup of tea, but by no means is it the worst thing ever.

[jeagles5]

Has anyone played both Demos from PS3 & Xbox360 to compare?

[dolemint]

Quote: Originally Posted by tvman

I like the thought process behind implementing this kind of a system it's just that devs always overdo it. Same as with the pitcher confidence thing and that basically goes for all games.

Agreed about the pitcher confidence being overdone (at least in past years, probably this one too though).

I think the new system of mixing up the pitches is in place partly because of the perfect game challenge. I read that the winner tended to spam a particular pitch in a certain location, so this appears to be their response to that abuse. It didn't feel overdone in the demo, but then again it's only 3 innings. It felt truer to real life which is a good thing.

One thing that might cause concern down the line is the upgrading/downgrading of pitches. Seemed like any kind of hit will lower a pitch's rating but the only way to increase it is to pitch a strikeout with it. By the 7th inning your pitches could be sorta crappy if your guy's not a strikeout pitcher, even if he's having a pretty good game.

[Cavicchi]

I said my piece earlier about that penalty business for using pitches, and I just don't think it belongs in any baseball game.

Overall, I don't see that much difference from 2K11, except the infield plays look more reasonable and not all those soft liners. Now, for me, and this is just me, auto fielding is what kills 2K11. If they improved it, then I could see getting the game, even though I am already committed to buying The Show.

The demo showed reasonable auto fielding in the few games I played, but that could change in the final version or when playing franchise mode.

I was surprised Yu Darvish was not on the Rangers. Maybe he'll be in the final version. Anyway, 3 innings is way too short to really get to know a game. You can't use pitch hitters and can't use your bullpen. I know about the commentary, so that wasn't necessary for me, it's great!

What I would have liked to see is after hitting a HR, the next batter up giving him a high five or something, as opposed to not even seeing the next batter. Hitting a homer seemed kind of cut and dry.

If they are going to penalize us for using a pitch too often or if it gets hit, then I want to see how that affects the CPU pitchers as well.