MLB 2K9 First Hands-On (Gamespot)

[Artman22]

The Longoria pic looks good. They said they built the graphics from the ground up for this game. Man i want to see this game in motion.

[tyler289]

Quote: Originally Posted by SoxFan01605

Ugh. Somebody please tell me that I'm reading too far (or not far enough?) into their review of the batting mechanic. It sounds like it's just a more detailed influence system (meaning NOT zone) and they've taken away the step timing (one of the redeeming qualities of the swing stick. I've gone from extremely hopeful to disappointed in a short time...lol. I loved the step timing and thought the only thing missing was the "aiming." Now it will have neither?

I actually thought the same thing. Definitely want to see what they mean by this...I actually liked the step hitting and stuff. I don't want to have to click the right stick or anything.

[NumberOneRB]

Quote: Originally Posted by SoxFan01605

Ugh. Somebody please tell me that I'm reading too far (or not far enough?) into their review of the batting mechanic. It sounds like it's just a more detailed influence system (meaning NOT zone) and they've taken away the step timing (one of the redeeming qualities of the swing stick. I've gone from extremely hopeful to disappointed in a short time...lol. I loved the step timing and thought the only thing missing was the "aiming." Now it will have neither? On a more positive note, I like the sound of what they've done with franchise (especially 30 team control) and that they've apparently focused on addressing consumer issues with 2K8. I'll wait for a more detailed (and, to be honest, trustworthy...when it comes to sports) review before I jump of that ledge...lol...but I didn't like what I heard about the hitting. It worries me that Gamespot equates simplification to fun. We'll see, I guess.

I'll have to agree with you that I was initially elated to know they were incorporating zone hitting similar to MVP baseball. Unfortunately, it appears the hitting mechanic isn't true zone hitting and is more of a "ball influence modifier." I was really intrigued about the notion of combining the swing stick with step influence with the left stick zone aiming, now it appears that interest was all for not. I'll wait for another preview as well to learn about the true batting method.

[StevenSeagalsLipitor]

Is it me or does the crowd look the same?

[NeoExelor]

That doesn't even look like Jose Reyes :-/

[johnnyg713]

Quote: Originally Posted by StevenSeagalsLipitor

Is it me or does the crowd look the same?

to me they look the same as well from those screen shots. kind of disappointing after reading other previews saying that there will be vendors walking up and down the isles to make the crowd look more realistic. i was really hoping to see something very similar to nba 2k9.

[Stroehms]

Looks good. Hopefully it's amazing

[RedLine]

Good first look at the game I thought.

Well the screen shots look like an upgrade over 2K8 I think, so that's good. And they did seem to fill in the crowd as can be seen on all the pictures. The grass is still kind of meh.

As far as the changes to pitching, I don't know if I like removing the "timing" part of the pitch. I guess it makes it simpler and we now just have power and accuracy depending on the gesture only? We'll see. Could be too simple.

The batting changes are good but again, removing the "timing" portion of the Step seems like an oversimplification we didn't really need. I like the influence hit option but I too was hoping to have the zone hitting that was hinted.

Perhaps we will still have options for last year's version of pitching and hitting but I doubt it.

There was no mention of minor leagues either, I hope they didn't remove the ability to play A - AAA teams.

So although there are some nice improvements coming (60 FPS, better graphics, etc), there is some "dumbing down" of the mechanics that don't sound great, but might actually play better, we'll see.

Can't wait to hear more from more hands-on previewers to fill in some of the missing pieces.