I've been a big fan of this series, so I wasn't hesitant to pick it up now that I have some time to actually play video games. I've been playing for about a week now, and all I can say is I'm very disappointed in the effort here.
Gameplay:
- Base running is like trying to pull off a combo in a fighter game.
- Pitching is completely rigged away from you. I mean, what's the point of the meter if you get hammered half the time you throw it perfectly?
- Fielding is an absolute joke. I've given up four inside-the-park homers because the outfielder just watched a ball bounce a foot next him and then proceeded to take 30 seconds to finally get the ball in. Watching guys try to get to a bunt is just as aggravating. Throwing errors are waaaay too common. I mean, unless you're playing with Pedro Alvarez, overthrows do not happen an daily basis. Over half the CPU's runs are a result of fielding simply being broken.
- Hitting is OK. I've never been particularly good at hitting because I have a hard time picking out the speed and location of an incoming pitch. I still manage to score a few runs, but more than 2 or 3 is rare.
Menus:
Disastrous. I've never seen a sports game this fragmented in the menus. And I hate that I can't sort some of the menus dealing with players, like the waiver menu, for example. Also, having trades completely separate from other player dealings is asinine. They're not even on the same page!
Prompting is also really bad. "Sign your drafts picks!" OK...where?? Took me like 15 minutes to realize that the option doesn't show up until the next day. Why not prompt then?
Scouting, drafting, and training:
This is usually my favorite part of any sports game - I love rebuilding bad teams, and in baseball, my favorite ways to do it are trading for prospects and drafting (not a big FA spender). In this game, I think a lot of prospects are too old or their ratings are too low. I mean, how does a 22 year old who is 48 overall have an A potential? He won't even be a productive big leaguer until he's almost 30. And I think young players progress too slowly. An 18 year old with A potential should be blazing through the ranks in about 3-4 seasons and hitting the big leagues in the upper 70s overall (or higher), not improving a few points overall per season and hitting the big leagues at 23 still stuck in the 60s.
The scouting system just isn't enough. You will hardly ever have anyone scouted past the second round.
It seems like the lack of competition is rearing its ugly head here, like it has with EA. Even if the 2K games weren't good, at least it was something the makers of this game had to be mindful of. Now, they can ship out any half-assed product and people will buy because there's no other option.
Gameplay:
- Base running is like trying to pull off a combo in a fighter game.
- Pitching is completely rigged away from you. I mean, what's the point of the meter if you get hammered half the time you throw it perfectly?
- Fielding is an absolute joke. I've given up four inside-the-park homers because the outfielder just watched a ball bounce a foot next him and then proceeded to take 30 seconds to finally get the ball in. Watching guys try to get to a bunt is just as aggravating. Throwing errors are waaaay too common. I mean, unless you're playing with Pedro Alvarez, overthrows do not happen an daily basis. Over half the CPU's runs are a result of fielding simply being broken.
- Hitting is OK. I've never been particularly good at hitting because I have a hard time picking out the speed and location of an incoming pitch. I still manage to score a few runs, but more than 2 or 3 is rare.
Menus:
Disastrous. I've never seen a sports game this fragmented in the menus. And I hate that I can't sort some of the menus dealing with players, like the waiver menu, for example. Also, having trades completely separate from other player dealings is asinine. They're not even on the same page!
Prompting is also really bad. "Sign your drafts picks!" OK...where?? Took me like 15 minutes to realize that the option doesn't show up until the next day. Why not prompt then?
Scouting, drafting, and training:
This is usually my favorite part of any sports game - I love rebuilding bad teams, and in baseball, my favorite ways to do it are trading for prospects and drafting (not a big FA spender). In this game, I think a lot of prospects are too old or their ratings are too low. I mean, how does a 22 year old who is 48 overall have an A potential? He won't even be a productive big leaguer until he's almost 30. And I think young players progress too slowly. An 18 year old with A potential should be blazing through the ranks in about 3-4 seasons and hitting the big leagues in the upper 70s overall (or higher), not improving a few points overall per season and hitting the big leagues at 23 still stuck in the 60s.
The scouting system just isn't enough. You will hardly ever have anyone scouted past the second round.
It seems like the lack of competition is rearing its ugly head here, like it has with EA. Even if the 2K games weren't good, at least it was something the makers of this game had to be mindful of. Now, they can ship out any half-assed product and people will buy because there's no other option.
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