MLB 2K11 News Post

MLB 2K11 Preview (Destructoid)

01:31 PM - January 21, 2011 by Flaxseed Oil

Destructoid has just posted their Major League Baseball 2K11 preview.

Quote:


	"Another change that looks to help fielding is the introduction of new animations. The increased variety, especially for bobbled balls, makes the game more fluid and realistic. It�s not 100% there yet -- I saw inconsistencies like a big step and a laser-like throw from a fielder who was maybe ten feet from his first baseman, which really pulled me out of the action -- but I�m hoping that such nagging issues can be ironed out between now and the release date. I found the game�s visuals to be alternately impressive and off-putting. Many of the player faces are accurate, while others are off -- this remains an issue across most sports games -- and all of them suffer from dead eyes and stiff mouths, irregularities that scream �uncanny valley.� Numbers on the backs of jerseys are textured to stand out from the shirts themselves, but there�s a strange upward distortion of text on players� chests. Team-specific camera angles for the behind-the-pitcher view are a nice touch, and the revamped player models look great. C.C. Sabathia is a hulking brute on the mound, just as he should be."

Game: Major League Baseball 2K11Reader Score: 5.5/10 - Vote Now
Platform: NDS / PC / PS2 / PS3 / PSP / Wii / Xbox 360Votes for game: 17 - View All

Major League Baseball 2K11 Videos

Member Comments

# 21 Solid-Hock @ 01/21/11 04:54 PM

Well it looks like both my Xbox and PS3 will have a good baseball game this year.

# 22 SamitSarkar @ 01/21/11 05:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bigfnjoe96


	I'm pretty sure the writer meant to say Stadium Specific

Yep, sorry about that -- I wrote this at 4 AM last night, haha. Fixed!

Quote:

Originally Posted by Blzer


	I hope I'm reading it right and they are erring toward the side of "variable strike zones" over "variable umpires." They might mean the same thing, but what I would like is that gray area on the edges of the zone which aren't always a ball or strike. I'm just hoping they didn't mean different umpire strike zones that are still black and white, despite the fact the zones themselves are actually set differently.

The first is correct -- sorry if I was unclear. Pitches on the edge of the strike zone might be called either way in MLB 2K11.

Quote:

Originally Posted by ElGuapo


	Idea: the meter should very depending on how though the play was to make for the infielder, so if the infielder is throwing on the move the green bar should become smaller, therefore making it harder to get the out. just an idea.

That's definitely a factor. If your 2B snags a grounder while running toward second base and you try to throw across his body to first without setting your feet, it's going to be a more difficult throw because the green zone will be small.

# 23 Ollienyy @ 01/21/11 05:02 PM

Samit, did the Demo have any of the broadcast presentation elements? (score box, lineups etc) and if so did they look the same as 2k10s or had they improved them? Many thanks for the great preview!

# 24 SamitSarkar @ 01/21/11 05:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ollienyy


	Samit, did the Demo have any of the broadcast presentation elements? (score box, lineups etc) and if so did they look the same as 2k10s or had they improved them? Many thanks for the great preview!

First off, mad props on your avatar, haha.

Yeah, I saw/played more than six innings, with everything in place (visual overlays, commentary, etc.). I haven't played 2K10 in a while, though, so I can't really compare, unfortunately. Nothing stuck out to me as being wildly different from 2K10.

# 25 econoodle @ 01/21/11 05:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SamitSarkar


	First off, mad props on your avatar, haha. Yeah, I saw/played more than six innings, with everything in place (visual overlays, commentary, etc.). I haven't played 2K10 in a while, though, so I can't really compare, unfortunately. Nothing stuck out to me as being wildly different from 2K10.

i loved the overlays in 10, so less change the better!

# 26 SamitSarkar @ 01/21/11 05:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Saberq


	So in your objective opinion was the game enjoyable and good?

[Let me emphasize at the outset that the following two paragraphs do not constitute anything close to my final opinion on MLB 2K11. They're just initial thoughts based on a relatively short gameplay demo.]

First off, any opinion is inherently subjective; I can only tell you what I believe, and I'm not trying to present my thoughts as facts. There's simply no such thing as an "objective opinion." Okay, now that I'm done being pedantic...

From what I saw/played (spent about 45 minutes with it), 2K11 is definitely better than 2K10 -- and 2K10 was a good game, IMO. Not great, but good (I never actually was able to review 2K10 for Destructoid, but I played a bunch of it, and I would probably have given it a 7/10). I haven't yet been able to check out MLB 11 in person, so I can't compare it to 2K11 directly, but it still doesn't seem like I would want to play 2K11 over MLB 10, for example.

I mean, 2K says they're focusing on polish this year. That's great, because 2K10 was a solid foundation. I think 2K11 could be very good (again, all I saw was gameplay; they weren't yet talking about stuff like online play, Franchise, or My Player). But the way I see it, making incremental improvements to 2K10 simply isn't going to produce a game that's as good as The Show. Let me be clear: I don't want to dismiss 2K11 altogether after only a 45-minute demo. But I didn't see anything that blew my mind, and The Show pretty much manages to do that every year. I don't expect I'll be able to recommend 2K11 over MLB 11 to PS3 owners, but who knows? Maybe MLB 11 isn't all that much better than MLB 10. We'll see. (I'm supposed to be checking out The Show next week, so I'll post a preview on Destructoid when I do.) If you only have a 360, though, I think you'll be happy with 2K11.

# 27 jeffy777 @ 01/21/11 05:42 PM

Thanks for the article and extra info Samit!

How was the base running? Did you try any steals?

# 28 SamitSarkar @ 01/21/11 05:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jeffy777


	How was the base running? Did you try any steals?

Nope -- I was playing with the Yankees ('natch), and I only got Brett Gardner on base once before the inning ended quickly.

# 29 SamitSarkar @ 01/21/11 06:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Saberq


	Also dude forgot to ask were players faces normal on the field not generic like last year and if you played a night game was the lightning ok not bleak like last year and do animations play them selfs out(no blue flash between pitches)?Sorry If it is to much

1) To be honest, I couldn't really tell, but I wasn't looking that closely. I'll keep an eye out the next time I see the game.
2) I only played a sunny Yankees-Rangers day game in Arlington.
3) I like a quick game, so I just kept pressing A after each pitch -- I never wait for animations. So I'm not sure.

# 30 jeffy777 @ 01/21/11 06:38 PM

Samit: So the pitching is definitely improved, eh? My main complaint with 2k10 was that it was too easy to paint the corners on every pitch, but it sounds like they adressed that, which is great news.

# 31 HITTERSAURUS REX @ 01/21/11 09:58 PM

This question is to SamitSarker:
In your 45min of playing MLB2K11. Did you realize auto-fielding, fielding vaccum assist been removed? Do you now feel you are in complete control of positioning your fielder to make the defensive play?

# 32 jr86 @ 01/22/11 04:33 AM

From what i have been reading around here there seems to have been a big focus on the pitching and fielding but absolutely nothing has been mentioned about any batting improvements.
For me, the batting needs a vast improvement i.e the sound of the ball off the bat and also the speed with which it makes it to the outfield, and also for the love of god get rid of that goddam ARROW that appears every time you hit a HR. It totally kills any suspense.

# 33 dolemint @ 01/22/11 05:14 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by nemesis04


	This article was someone's observations playing the game. It did not sound like a marketing piece to me.

Previews aren't entirely objective. They are very heavily influenced by the publisher. After all, the preview writer only gets a short period of time to play. They obviously have to rely on publisher feedback to get the information on what's new out.

Look at the following two quotes. Nearly identical. Just sayin'.

Quote:

Originally Posted by IGN


	Say you have Vlad Guerrero, who has a solid arm. Red might just mean he pulls the third basemen off the bag, where Pablo Sandoval would probably launch the ball into the cheap seats.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Destructoid


	And even if you overshoot all the way into the small red zone, his throw might only pull Mark Teixeira off the first-base bag. But someone like Luis Castillo will not only have a sizable red zone -- if you end up in it, his throw is likely to sail into the stands.

The writer does add their own personal two cents to it, but every preview just about makes every game sound awesome. It's PR. It's only come review time when real flaws are uncovered. Not to say that'll happen with 2K11, I hope not. It certainly sounds like it's on the right track, at least.

# 34 rudyjuly2 @ 01/22/11 05:57 AM

Did they let you play with any options like fielding camera angles or sliders? I'd love to get more info in those areas.

# 35 stlstudios189 @ 01/22/11 07:09 AM

man I really enjoyed 2k10 but 2k11 sounds amazing.

# 36 rudyjuly2 @ 01/22/11 11:50 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jayhawker


	I thought hitting was nearly perfect last year. but it took some slider work, and a willingness to use the tools 2K provided in a way that made some sense. I jacked up up the power slider, but used the contact swing 90% of the time. 90% of the times, hitters use a standard swing, and the jacked up power turned the contact swing into a swing that could generate HR's, extra base hits, and singles in surprisingly relaistic fashion. I did use the power swing if the count went to 2-0 or 3-1. These are counts where the hitter is free to take a chance if he gets the right pitch, because he is taking anything that is not perfect.So this resulted in more power in those hitter's counts, as it should.

I'll disagree with this. I think hitting overall needed quite a bit of work. There was way too much of a difference between the contact and power swing. Unless you had the power cranked up like you did you would never hit a HR with the contact swing. With power that high you should have never permitted yourself to even use the power swing as balls would be leaving the yard all the time. I went the other way and reduced power a lot and forced myself to use the power swing almost exclusively. Either way is flawed and they need to fix it. Futhermore, the cpu used the contact swing too much and even with power at 100 they had too many singles and not enough extra base hits. They need to reduce the difference between the two swings imo. The contact swing was more like a defensive swing last year.

One other big flaw in the hitting was the opposite field power. A guy like Johnny Damon could pull a ball 400 feet but there is no way he should generate that same power going the opposite way. The game did not differentiate between this at all. The only guys that should be hitting an even amount of bombs to all fields are the 35-50 HR guys. The 15-20 HR guy hits most of his when he pulls the ball.

Look at Damon last year - all 6 of his HRs at Comerica were pulled. I should not be able to go the opposite way with him to hit a HR and yet it was routine in MLB 2K10.
http://mlb.mlb.com/stats/individual_...028&statType=1

Same goes for a guy like Granderson with medium power. Every single HR at Yankees stadium was to RF. Same goes for every HR at Comerica in 2009.
http://mlb.mlb.com/stats/individual_...158&statType=1

Only big power guys like Votto who hit 37 HRs, should be hitting HRs anywhere they want.
http://mlb.mlb.com/stats/individual_...015&statType=1

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jayhawker


	I found that this not only resulted in very relaistic results throughout my line-up, but more importantly, it really encouraged me to work the count. So I also generated more walks than I have ever taken in any other baseball game. It cured that tendency to hack away so much.

I did find this game to be the easiest baseball game in terms of earning walks. I think the pitch speed combined with the batting camera really helped and I was happy with this. I had no problems with the sound of the bat either.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jayhawker


	I didn't care about the arrow, because it was there to put you in position to make a jump if it was close enough. What do you want them to do? Fake a circle in the OF so you don't know? Becasue arrow or not, if there is no circle, you know where it is headed.

I understand it's not a big deal on the no doubters but I hated this myself on the close ones which were a dead give away. I'd like to see the conventional fielding circle on balls close to the wall and not know until the last moment. If you hit a ball off the top of the wall in MLB 2K10 there would be an arrow there and I knew it wouldn't be a HR. In real life nobody would no either way until the last moment. The game ruined the suspense on the close plays.

# 37 DaveDQ @ 01/22/11 12:46 PM

It's nice to see features and specifics being added that really make a difference. TO me this is what 2K does. They really nail the organics of things.

My only concern is what the writer wrote about fielding and how there were some hiccups in it. With almost every pre-release write-up, no matter what game we are talking about, when a writer says, "Let's hope they iron that out.." it usually doesn't get ironed out.

# 38 Knight165 @ 01/22/11 02:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jayhawker


	Yeah, that is always worrisome. But yeah, I think the organics are there. It's what made 2K10 a good game despite the issues. And it's why I was hopeful about 2K11 even if 2K cut back on their budget. It's becoming the game for those that want to play rather than look at their game. That's why improving the feel of the fielding was so important. No one wants to play a game with auto-fielding on, right? And I'm a big fan of coach mode if the sim results are worthy. But no one has claimed the mantle that BBPro gave up a decade ago, unless you want to play a text sim.

Thanks...
I was having a bad day.
I needed a good chuckle.

M.K.
Knight165

# 39 SamitSarkar @ 01/22/11 05:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HITTERSAURUS REX


	This question is to SamitSarker: In your 45min of playing MLB2K11. Did you realize auto-fielding, fielding vaccum assist been removed? Do you now feel you are in complete control of positioning your fielder to make the defensive play?

(A) My name doesn't have an E in it.

(B) The new fielding camera angle does a better job of allowing you to follow the ball off the bat -- a lot of times in 2K10, I felt like the camera would switch to the fielder at the crack of the bat, and the ball would already be on you, which didn't leave much of an opportunity to make a play. In terms of "vacuum" fielding, I definitely didn't notice that with fly balls: in fact, the new two-circle system really puts the onus on you to position your fielder properly -- I almost dropped a routine fly ball with Granderson.

Quote:

Originally Posted by dolemint


	Previews aren't entirely objective. They are very heavily influenced by the publisher. After all, the preview writer only gets a short period of time to play. They obviously have to rely on publisher feedback to get the information on what's new out. [...] The writer does add their own personal two cents to it, but every preview just about makes every game sound awesome. It's PR. It's only come review time when real flaws are uncovered. Not to say that'll happen with 2K11, I hope not. It certainly sounds like it's on the right track, at least.

That's certainly true -- when demoing a game, it's the PR person's job to point out to the press what's new/improved/significant. The PR rep is working on behalf of the publisher and has a script, so he/she shows the same new features to every journalist who sees the demo.

For the record, I actually did see what I wrote about: I made a red-zone throw with Jeter, and it was high but catchable at 1B, and when I did the same thing with Swisher (throw to 2B), it wasn't anywhere near the second-base bag. (Also, the PR person specifically mentioned Pablo Sandoval as an example of someone with an iron glove, so at least I didn't just parrot him like the IGN writer did.

)

Quote:

Originally Posted by rudyjuly2


	Did they let you play with any options like fielding camera angles or sliders? I'd love to get more info in those areas.

Unfortunately, no -- when I asked to change the setting so the swing analyzer would show up after every pitch instead of just sometimes, the PR rep asked for the controller so he could go into the options and do it himself.

# 40 Eddie1967 @ 01/22/11 06:19 PM

A nice read, last years game was very much playable and it sounds like they have made major improvements to this years versions. I'm looking forward to getting this game.

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