Possible first review!! XBM - 6.5

[NEWYORICAN]

Re: Possible first review!! XBM - 6.5

Not sure if my post got lost due to being last on page 9, or for being too long, or people are just ignoring me...

Excellent post bigfnjoe96, I agree with everything you said as well as others that see this game for what it is. No need for me to say a thing!


peace
Ernesto

[SoxFan01605]

Re: Possible first review!! XBM - 6.5

Not sure if my post got lost due to being last on page 9, or for being too long, or people are just ignoring me...

didn't ignore it either Joe

I was just caught up in another spiraling debate...lol.

You make good points which is part of my concern for this title. I know you wanted this game to be great and were as excited as anyone to play. If you're being that critical, it's hard not to notice.

I agree with the other point to though. If you take it for what it is, you're less likely to be disappointed. Not sure if that's worth it to me, but everyone's different.

[sirwoodz]

Re: Possible first review!! XBM - 6.5

This over ambitious project just falls flat on it's face. Plain & Simple. There's no if's, and or buts about it. This game is more unpolished than it is polished.

I have played the crap-out of this game since Friday Night & the reality is this game feels broken. Players morphing thru each other. Players sliding instead of walking.

During 1 cut scene of a pitching change, half the manager's body is basically in sucked into the ground as he Moon Walks across the screen.. WTF.

Same Moon Walk scene happen while a player was going back into the dugout after making an out..

I started a thread when VC confirmed IE was tied directly into Player Ratings basically saying this feature would make or break the game. Well right now OTB it seems that the IE feature is still broken. Especially when it comes to determining the outcome for the AI Offense.

Not being able to removed on-screen stuff screams Pick-up & Play. This really annoys me because the fan base of this game are not just Pick-Up & Play people but hardcore baseball fans who love the Simulation Aspect of baseball game.

The removing of how much control we have of the game in reference to Editing, Adjusting & Tweaking is UNACCEPTABLE.

Yes there will be work-arounds found (using 2 controllers during Play Now Mode allows for adjusting the AI Line-up & Pitching) but why should we experiment just to find these work-around when a lot of these features were already in the game..

Listen people the game is what it is...

An Unfinished, Unpolished 1st year game that unfortunately is not worth the price of admission. So I would warn everyone to go into your purchase with that mind-set, so you won't be so disappointed.

Also expect scores ranging 5-7 from various outlets. Not even a great new commentary & a refreshing new presentation can hide the problems the game has..

Carry-On

- brutally honest.

and like i pointed out before, the moderator over at 2ksports forum is even tearing the game up in his review. this is sad.

[jeffy777]

Re: Possible first review!! XBM - 6.5

So are you going to keep playing it Joe? Or are you going to go back to a different game or move on to something else?

[SoxFan01605]

Re: Possible first review!! XBM - 6.5

Go to Pasta Padre's blog once. You'll see plenty of 2K bashers there

no, no...lol. I agree. As I said, I should have known better than to edit out the "generally speaking" portion. See what my typing too much gets...lol.

People focus on definites unfortunately (Not saying you). The point was, that 2K isn't being "hated on" here.

[NC State-31 UNC-27]

Re: Possible first review!! XBM - 6.5

Not sure if my post got lost due to being last on page 9, or for being too long, or people are just ignoring me...

Tell us what is wrong with the on-field gameplay please. CPU can't get any offense going bc they swing at everything? How is their pitching and the user hitting? Fielding alright? Is there some slowdown with the outfield fielding and does it bother you?

[jeffy777]

Re: Possible first review!! XBM - 6.5

The point was, that 2K isn't being "hated on" here.

One of the reasons is because we have great moderators here. There is bashing, but the mods are quick to give out infractions and to keep the peace. If this place went unmoderated like some certain individuals let their blog comments go unmoderated, there would be a lot more bashing here, and of course not just 2K bashing.

[bigfnjoe96]

Re: Possible first review!! XBM - 6.5

Tell us what is wrong with the on-field gameplay please. CPU can't get any offense going bc they swing at everything? How is their pitching and the user hitting? Fielding alright? Is there some slowdown with the outfield fielding and does it bother you?

The Game between the lines is good. The biggest problem with the AI Hitting from what I've seen is their in-ability to the hit the breaking stuff on a regular basis. The biggest problem is the AI not taking enough strikes.

The Hitting Engine IMO is really good. The variety is there. You can go yard without having to push-up on the L-Stick. Using the L-Stick does in deed increase your chances of jacking-1.


The Fielding seems a little unpolished. Specifically in the outfield & yes there is slow-down once in a while when an outfielder is making a play on the ball. Does it bother me, sometimes..

[porkchop]

Re: Possible first review!! XBM - 6.5

*sighs heavily before posting*

So even while reading this thread I was still sold on 2k9, ready to plod over to a GS on Tuesday and plunk down my $60. I was convinced that the game had known issues but 2k seemed pretty proactive in providing fixes.

Then I read bigfnjoe's remarks. I like Joe and respect him and have done so since I started coming here some years ago. I'm sad because I really wanted a good sim baseball experience this year. With his feelings on the issues of the game, though, I feel like I might be out of luck because of my choice of an xbox over a PS3.

I'm furious about this. Read my sig. Exclusivity is KILLING this industry for the gamer. It's all about the bucks now. MLB and the MLBPA are just as guilty for this turd as 2k is. I'm livid. I'm fed up with it. I'm through.

I'm buying a freaking PS3. Screw this.

[NC State-31 UNC-27]

Re: Possible first review!! XBM - 6.5

The Game between the lines is good. The biggest problem with the AI Hitting from what I've seen is their in-ability to the hit the breaking stuff on a regular basis. The biggest problem is the AI not taking enough strikes.

The Hitting Engine IMO is really good. The variety is there. You can go yard without having to push-up on the L-Stick. Using the L-Stick does in deed increase your chances of jacking-1.


The Fielding seems a little unpolished. Specifically in the outfield & yes there is slow-down once in a while when an outfielder is making a play on the ball. Does it bother me, sometimes..

Thanks joe. That CPU not being able to hit the breaking ball goes back to at least 2k7. I liked that game though and didn't play 2k8. Soooo, IDK. I don't want to pay $60 that is missing some options and not completely finished, but I do want a baseball game that plays a good game. Don't really want to shell out $400 either for the other one.

[sirwoodz]

Re: Possible first review!! XBM - 6.5

I'm furious about this. Read my sig. Exclusivity is KILLING this industry for the gamer. It's all about the bucks now. MLB and the MLBPA are just as guilty for this turd as 2k is. I'm livid. I'm fed up with it. I'm through.

I'm buying a freaking PS3. Screw this.

- I'm right there with you man...remember when there use to be 5 and 6 baseball games coming out a year?

baseball is a game that I have always loved and played, and I love the video games. xbox 360 owners LITERALLY have no options, and then they drop THIS on us? I can't believe it.

if you are a serious baseball fan and gamer, you HAVE to have a ps3, this is just the way things are now and its beyond our control...

[Eddie1967]

Re: Possible first review!! XBM - 6.5

Actually it proves my point about 2k getting a free pass. Certain people here have some sort of lame agenda and complete dedication and blind devotion to a corporation that could care less whether they lived or died. I don't get it.

There is no excuse for 2k's baseball efforts in the next gen genre. Yet they get free pass after free pass and excuse after excuse from people like you. If this game was made by EA, with the problems it has, and has had since it's inception, it would be getting BLASTED by many of these same people making excuses for it.

as far as a 2k game never being unplayable. That's no where near being accurate, if you are even remotely unbiased. 2k developers themselves were embarrassed by the college football series.

To be honest I have never been into the college football series enough to judge it correctly I guess. I admit I give 2k a pass, I'm just not that critical when it comes to these games because I'm a pick up and play kind of person. But if you take a look through these threads 2k gets held to a standard far beyond that of other companies. I have never heard about a game being blasted because of ads in the stadium but that is what happened.
As far as EA is concerned they deserve it for buying the license and going down hill with football ever since. It is unforgivable what they have done to that series. I can only imagine what 2k football would be like right now. But the company that owns the rights to football still hasn't made a game better than last gens 2k5.

[spankdatazz22]

Re: Possible first review!! XBM - 6.5

lol...that's partially true. Madden earned it's hate. That was kind of the point. 2K baseball has done no better at representing it's sport than Madden has representing football.

I'd disagree (w/o trying to sidetrack the thread too much). Outside of player and stadium graphics, there really hasn't been much that Madden has brought to the table next gen that can be looked at as pushing the sport forward. Tackling? Passing? Blocking? AI? Features? Running? Pretty much all things that were done better by older games. And in some cases, older games done on older systems.

From what it seems there are at least a few things people would like to see available in other baseball games - customizable camera angles, real-time presentation, right-stick pitch/throw options, etc. Not saying these things are perfect; just saying they at least would seem to push the genre forward. I can't think of anything in Madden that I'd like to see in other sports games, or that it does to push the genre forward.

I'm not going into detail but just saying it's not as cut and dry (imo) as saying MLB2K9 has done no better representing baseball than Madden has football. Just opinion. Without looking though, I'm willing to bet XBM hasn't been nearly as critical of Madden in it's reviews as it has of MLB2K - just a guess.

** In looking they rated Madden '09 a 9 - no surprise there. Not saying the 6.5 for MLB2K9 isn't justified, but shows how out of whack these various outlets are. They don't come close to using similar criteria when judging these games.

[bkrich83]

Re: Possible first review!! XBM - 6.5

As far as EA is concerned they deserve it for buying the license and going down hill with football ever since. It is unforgivable what they have done to that series. I can only imagine what 2k football would be like right now. But the company that owns the rights to football still hasn't made a game better than last gens 2k5.

Exact same thing could be said about 2k and baseball. I don't get the hypocrisy.

As far as 2k being held to a different standard, I have no idea how you could possibly come to that conclusion. If MLB2k9 was an EA game, what do you think the reaction wouild be around here? You wouldn't be defending as you are now.

[Eddie1967]

Re: Possible first review!! XBM - 6.5

And thank you for proving my point...lol That's what I meant exactly (reread what I typed and you'll understand).

The game is a very good representation of the sport. I said THE ONLY THING it gets hit on in reviews with regularity is it's lack of "growth." I agree, why mess with perfection, but that's not the point. It disproves the notion that the game is "bashed." It's a compliment to say a great game isn't changing enough, IMO.




That's not true at all. Unplayable is a subjective term in the manner in which you use it. Go read the pre-release threads for Madden, or Live, or NCAA. THAT's a bloodbath. Fan's of both sides of any argument have their kooks. The ones who go on crusades against "the enemy" and all that nonsense. That is what you keep going to. I'm talking generalized viewpoints.

2K is ALWAYS better than EA in the eyes of the general public. EA is viewed as the evil corporation that destroys competition. 2K is viewed as the underdog who is valiently fighting the big machine. the reality is they are two big machines. One was just better at doling out BS

I do agree that EA earned it by pumping out bug riddled arcadish games. My point is, 2K baseball has been a bug riddled arcadish series...time to call a spade a spade here. You're defense of what the game has become is no different than Maddenites holding down that fort. You're even using the same arguments...lol.

I also disagree on APF, but there's no point in going back and forth point by point. The notion that 2K is "hated on" is purely false in a general sense. The end

Also, none of this speaks to 2K9. I know you will like it...as will most fans of 2K. There will be many others who like it as well. That does not mean it deserves a free pass on all the stuff it isn't doing. Discussing it openly (and preferaly without too much emotion...lol) shouldn't be an issue. No offense meant, but njecting the "poor 2K" line of arguments into it isn't really relevant to the issues at hand.

Criticism is fine, hopefully the developers are listening so that they get ideas for what the fans want for next year, but IMHO it gets way to crazy on every 2k release. Just take a look at the forum, it's a jumbled, panicking, the sky is falling mess. It's this way every time a 2k game is coming out..............