MLB 2K9 First Hands-On (Gamespot)

[RedLine]

Re: MLB 2K9 First Hands-On (Gamespot)

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.

[SoxFan01605]

Re: gamespot mlb 2k9 hands on

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.

Guys, I honestly wouldn't spend too much time worrying about the pictures. They said it "still looked and felt early" and that it was just a preview build. I wouldn't worry about the stuff like the corwd and details like that just yet.

It would be nice if some developers could find some time to interact and address these kind of concerns. I guess I'm getting spoiled over in the other game's forum...lol.

Anyway, I wouldn't worry about visuals just yet

[jim416]

Re: MLB 2K9 First Hands-On (Gamespot)

What the development team has done, instead, is pay attention to the complaints about MLB 2K8 and directly address them.

Well, this is definitely good news. If they had to take a step back with some features to correct some flaws, that's okay with me, as long as the gameplay has been improved. The graphics will do just fine, the animations are yet to be seen, but it was noted they need more work. Time is getting short on that one though.

Ability to control all 30 teams is a plus. I think the preview was okay really. More to come will tell the tale, but encouraging so far.

[EnigmaNemesis]

Re: MLB 2K9 First Hands-On (Gamespot)

Well, this is definitely good news. If they had to take a step back with some features to correct some flaws, that's okay with me, as long as the gameplay has been improved. The graphics will do just fine, the animations are yet to be seen, but it was noted they need more work. Time is getting short on that one though.

Ability to control all 30 teams is a plus. I think the preview was okay really. More to come will tell the tale, but encouraging so far.

My feelings exactly.

[Blzer]

Re: gamespot mlb 2k9 hands on

Why did they say there was zone hitting before?

I don't want to influence my damn swing!

[slickzeus]

Re: MLB 2K9 First Hands-On (Gamespot)

well it was good to hear that visually the game will be superior to 2k8...as long as the 60 fps works out. I am a little wary about the "zone" hitting...doesnt really sound too much like a zone hitting system. But like someone else said, ill wait until someone that we can trust will give us a detailed analysis of the hitting and pitching for that matter. Screens looked good though!

[JohnDoe8865]

Re: MLB 2K9 First Hands-On (Gamespot)

Well, it's good to atleast finally get a little info on the game, no matter how vague.

I too, wish that a VC rep would be more involved with the community here similar to how the MLB: The Show team and EA's various teams have been. It'd be a very nice step in getting some more direct input.

[johnnyg713]

Re: MLB 2K9 First Hands-On (Gamespot)

"Move it up for a fly ball, down for a grounder, left to send the ball toward the third baseman, and so on. Naturally, the timing of your swing and when you make contact with the ball will still come into play here; the left stick will be just for influencing the path of the ball."

to me the explanation of the hitting seemed just that of mvp 05. you used the left stick to aim where you want the ball to go. in mvp 05 if you want to hit the ball down the line you aim all the way to the left or right just like they explained in the preview. if you want a ground ball you obv aim the left stick low.

also keep in mind that the swing effects the direction as well... if you are aiming the left stick up but you make contact too late, the ball will most likely be a pop up, but if you make a direct contact IM ASSUMING it will go straight to center field.

That's how i took the explanation anyways

[Padgoi]

Re: MLB 2K9 First Hands-On (Gamespot)

to me the explanation of the hitting seemed just that of mvp 05. you used the left stick to aim where you want the ball to go. in mvp 05 if you want to hit the ball down the line you aim all the way to the left or right just like they explained in the preview. if you want a ground ball you obv aim the left stick low.

EXACTLY what I was thinking. I'm not sure why everyone is complaining about the "zone" hitting, this explanation sounded EXACTLY like MVP '05, where you could influence where the hit went, but ultimately, you still had to "go with the pitch" in order to hit the ball solidly. In other words, if the pitch is thrown outside and you swing inside (or vice versa), you're going to hit a little dinker, whereas if you go with the pitch, you're going to make solid contact. If anything, this is more realistic than strictly zone hitting. So not sure what everyone is wary about.

[Blzer]

Re: MLB 2K9 First Hands-On (Gamespot)

Here's the problem with the hitting system (and I've said it before recently, so I apologize if I sound like a broken record):

To hit a home run, the ball must go into the air, correct? So it can't drive into the ground. What better way to get it in the air than to influence it into the air, yes? Now, there are some players that have a much greater probability of getting that ball over the fence once it's in the air, and others have less of a chance.

So what do we do when the better home run hitters come up to the plate? Obviously we won't deprive them of their power, so we'll aim for the fences. Even if it doesn't go out, at least we had that chance. What about the players that have a lesser chance? We won't necessarily influence ground balls, but we won't influence fly balls. Why? Because if it doesn't go out, it's probably just a fly out.

So what does this cause? An abnormal number of home runs for your really good home run hitters and zero home runs for your non home run hitters.

Now this brings us to... why don't I just not use the left stick? Two reasons: 1) it's no fun, 2) it removes hit variety.

I also hope this game doesn't give you better contact influencing fly balls on high pitches as opposed to low pitches. I made a post about this a while back that I'm going to bring back up if people think otherwise.

EXACTLY what I was thinking. I'm not sure why everyone is complaining about the "zone" hitting, this explanation sounded EXACTLY like MVP '05, where you could influence where the hit went, but ultimately, you still had to "go with the pitch" in order to hit the ball solidly. In other words, if the pitch is thrown outside and you swing inside (or vice versa), you're going to hit a little dinker, whereas if you go with the pitch, you're going to make solid contact. If anything, this is more realistic than strictly zone hitting. So not sure what everyone is wary about.

Some people, aka Blzer, didn't like this hitting system and considered it a game breaker. My post is an indication as to why. The final reason is it takes contact out of the equation (at least by our skill).

By the way, 2K7 had the same hitting system as MVP, it just wasn't as advanced.

[tyler289]

Re: MLB 2K9 First Hands-On (Gamespot)

EXACTLY what I was thinking. I'm not sure why everyone is complaining about the "zone" hitting, this explanation sounded EXACTLY like MVP '05, where you could influence where the hit went, but ultimately, you still had to "go with the pitch" in order to hit the ball solidly. In other words, if the pitch is thrown outside and you swing inside (or vice versa), you're going to hit a little dinker, whereas if you go with the pitch, you're going to make solid contact. If anything, this is more realistic than strictly zone hitting. So not sure what everyone is wary about.

I hope it's like that. I need to hear more about it, but I really hope it's like MVP.

[Knight165]

Re: MLB 2K9 First Hands-On (Gamespot)

I don't know...it doesn't sound exactly like that to me.(MVP)...sounds way to easy to get a groundball/flyball....according to what you want.
We'll see.
What does sound good is the specifically are addressing the problems people had in '08.
Graphics look good....except that one Reyes one looks like he dipped his hands in blue rubber cement and the strapped on two wrist watches!
The player personality aspect is intriguing...that should be fun if done well.
Good stuff.

M.K.
Knight165

[bodhiball]

Re: MLB 2K9 First Hands-On (Gamespot)

am I just WAY too picky about my visuals? Its quite possible since I dont see anyone else seemingly frightened by the look of the screens.

What is up with the large logos on the hats? That B on becketts hat is almost the size of the entire front. And everything looks like rubber, not a whole lot of shadow/highlight/detail

and yes, it could just be a very early build. Just seems like non-nextgen graphics so far.

[King Gro23]

Re: gamespot mlb 2k9 hands on

It sounds nice - especially the player personalities - but that first beckett picture looks awful. Who holds their glove hand facing up when pitching?

[Blzer]

Re: MLB 2K9 First Hands-On (Gamespot)

am I just WAY too picky about my visuals? Its quite possible since I dont see anyone else seemingly frightened by the look of the screens.

What is up with the large logos on the hats? That B on becketts hat is almost the size of the entire front. And everything looks like rubber, not a whole lot of shadow/highlight/detail

and yes, it could just be a very early build. Just seems like non-nextgen graphics so far.

I'm very pissed about the visuals, but I think right now it actually will be the last thing that I'm worried about (which is weird for a graphics whore).