[jeffy777]

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MLB 2k7 was a very good game, but the tone of this article suggest that Brinkman led a development team that gave it its all and maybe shot too high, while recent installments have been no effort affairs that 2k has given up on. I'm sorry, but thats ridiculous to me. MLB 2k8 and even moreso 2k9 were disasters. Just terrible and completely unplayable games (especially 2k9, 2k8 wasn't actually that bad, but it was a definite step in the wrong direction after 2k7). The author acts like the development team has just given up, which is total bs imo. Sure, maybe the higher ups at Take Two have thrown them under the bus, but thats hardly equal to 2k sports throwing in the towel. 2k11 was BY FAR the best in the series, and if not for some frustrating issues (that lets face it, pretty much every 2k game has had them... thats the one part of the article I'll agree on... QUALITY CONTROL 2K, for the love of god, QUALITY CONTROL!), 2k11 would be considered a damn fine game. The pitching is still way better than The Show (although some would disagree, its at least a point of contention), the hitter is solid (much improved ball physics after the patch, a very good camera angle that makes reading pitches as good in a video game as ever, etc), and frankly, I find the entire pitcher/batter battle fantastic in 2k11 (my biggest gripe is that there are too few foul balls out of the box). Then you factor in the fact that fielding was hugely improved (it still suffers from clunky animations too often and personally I wish they'd return throwing to the 2k8 days, but overall, it was actually enjoyable most of the time in 2k11, which could not be said for previous iterations), and the end result is that the on the field experience is actually pretty damn good (and from where it was left in 2k9, it is so much better it isn't even funny). Heck, many critics said if it weren't for a lack of polish and the superior game modes in The Show, 2k11 could have actually been the better game, since many thought on the field that 2k was just as, if not better than, The Show. Thats saying a lot imo. So why now is this author coming out and saying garbage like, "Yet instead of taking a cue from Verlander and toeing the rubber for one final effort, 2K Sports seems more inspired by the indifference of Roger Dorn in Major League." Really? Come on man, yeah 2k11 may have made you scratch your head at times because of some of the decisions and lack of polish, but I don't see how thats evidence that they aren't willing to "toe the rubber for one final effort". I just don't see how a game that was well improved over its predecessor (2k11 vs 2k10) would then make you come to the conclusion that this team has given up. Lets wait and at least hear some info on 2k12 before jumping ship and declaring this game a failure... Of course, I also disagree that the cover looks good, I think it looks like crap! I don't need/want puffs of smoke and all that garbage, it makes the game look silly and arcadey. So I guess I'm just coming from a completely different mindset than this author.

I agree with you about 2K11. I think it is a much better game than a lot of people give it credit for (sure, it's not perfect, but it's still good), and the series has gotten progressively better since VC took over. If only 2K would tighten up their quality control, it would be a much better game.

The author seems to think 2K will stop making MLB games as soon as the license runs out. No one really knows.....but what we do know is that there are only 2 companies that make baseball games for us here in the U.S., so we should be cheering for both because we all know competition is good for any game genre, but especially sports games.