Okay, so I've completed 96 games of an MVP franchise on the XBOX (all played ... none simmed), reaching the all-star break in my quest to win my beloved Chicago Cubs that "elusive" World Series ring. All-in-all the game is still quite fun, but as for realism, the results are a mixed-bag.
First, let me give a quick run-down of my stats, and then I'll give my impressions of the gameplay as my season has progressed.
Game Settings: All-Star, Manual fielding, 2 - Center batting view, Strike Zone - On, Pitching Cursor - Fade
Chicago Cubs 72 W, 24 L
C. Patterson .298 AVG, 2 HR, 19 RBI, 26 SB
A. Gonzalez .281 AVG, 6 HR, 50 RBI, 0 SB
S. Sosa .345 AVG, 55 HR, 122 RBI, 5 SB
M. Alou .249 AVG, 3 HR, 32 RBI, 0 SB
M. Bellhorn .304 AVG, 11 HR, 47 RBI, 1 SB
H. Choi .234 AVG, 0 HR, 24 RBI, 0 SB
B. Hill .281 AVG, 0 HR, 15 RBI, 2 SB
P. Bako .265 AVG, 0 HR, 18 RBI, 0 SB
K. Wood 11 W, 4 L, 2.27 ERA, 123 K, 0 HR
M. Prior 14 W, 3 L, 2.09 ERA, 82 K, 1 HR
S. Estes 8 W, 1 L, 2.32 ERA, 57 K, 2 HR
M. Clement 12 W, 4 L, 2.73 ERA, 42 K, 1 HR
C. Zambrano 12 W, 0 L, 1.67 ERA, 66 K, 1 HR
A. Alfonseca 1 W, 0 L, 44 S, 0.77 ERA, 34 K, 0 HR
First, let me say, that the hitting stats are the most realistic (not necessarily accurate) that I've seen for my particular skill level ... and that includes High Heat. I never could find a happy medium with HH. I would either get too many hits on one skill setting, or far too few on the next highest level. But that's enough about HH. I actually have a few every day players with a batting average under .280. This is terrific, as far as gameplay goes!! Sosa's 55 dingers are slightly too many, while Bellhorn's 11 are about right. I have to say that I'm quite pleased with the batting statistics I've accumulated on what I would consider an arcade-style baseball simulation.
As for pitching, though ... AHHH Pitching! Well, if EA makes some improvements in this area next year, they could have a real treat for baseball fans!
Winning 75% of my games, even while having a pitching staff with tremendous potential, is just far too many. I attribute this to the lack of homeruns I give up. I've only given up 10 total in 96 games. Most of my ERAs are in the 2.00 to 2.50 range. Again, if the CPU hit homeruns, this would be a very different story. Most of my games are really close, as evidenced by Alfonseca's 44 saves. If the CPU could've hit HRs in half of those, my record could easily be 52 - 44 ... a much more believable record. But, as it is, the CPU has to manufacture just about every run it gets, requiring the CPU to get 2 or 3, sometimes 4, hits in an inning before scoring a single run. CPU HRs would definitely result in more losses for me.
I've thought about why I don't give up many HRs, and it's mostly because I like to pitch the corners, and I make very few mistake pitches. The game does not do enough to "force" me to throw toward the heart of the plate, as I can locate an overwhelming majority of my pitches with laser-like accuracy. If EA can address this, they'll have a real winner in my book.
So, I thought about what EA could do to improve this ... in my opinion, of course. First, I feel that if they increase the speed of the accuracy meter for pitches, that would result in more "tipped" pitches and potentially better contact by the CPU. And I'm not talking about a flat increase in speed either, as it will be too easy to get the timing down. No, I'm talking about if you miss by a little, the meter goes a little faster ... and if you miss by alot, then it goes alot faster. This will make it tougher to get the timing down.
I like that the green accuracy area varies in size based on how well a pitcher pitches a certain pitch. I also like that it decreases in size when a pitcher goes into the red zone for pitch effectiveness. But, at least for me, it's too easy to hit that green area ... even when it is small. This is mostly due to the constant rate at which the meter indicator travels back-and-forth. But there is another thing EA could do, even if someone is able to hit the green zones with relative frequency to increase a human pitcher's reluctance to pitch the corners all the time. That is to require a pitcher to hit the exact middle of the green accuracy zone to pitch a perfect pitch. If the indicator is even slightly off-center, then the pitch will miss the "target" by a small degree. It seems that this is done to a very (and I mean VERY) small degree now. If this is expanded upon so that the accuracy of a pitch is measured in inches (relative of course) rather than centimeters, I think human pitchers will see more pitches at the corners miss the strike zone, resulting in pitches thrown closer to the heart of the plate to ensure strikes on batter-favorable counts ... and potentially resulting in better contact by the CPU.
Anyway, this was a nice first effort for a new engine by EA. Much better than the TP series. If they address the majority of the problem areas you'll see posted in this forum, they could have a great game on their hands.
Just my thoughts. I think it's time to dust off WSB 2K3 and give it a try, seeing as how I bought both.
First, let me give a quick run-down of my stats, and then I'll give my impressions of the gameplay as my season has progressed.
Game Settings: All-Star, Manual fielding, 2 - Center batting view, Strike Zone - On, Pitching Cursor - Fade
Chicago Cubs 72 W, 24 L
C. Patterson .298 AVG, 2 HR, 19 RBI, 26 SB
A. Gonzalez .281 AVG, 6 HR, 50 RBI, 0 SB
S. Sosa .345 AVG, 55 HR, 122 RBI, 5 SB
M. Alou .249 AVG, 3 HR, 32 RBI, 0 SB
M. Bellhorn .304 AVG, 11 HR, 47 RBI, 1 SB
H. Choi .234 AVG, 0 HR, 24 RBI, 0 SB
B. Hill .281 AVG, 0 HR, 15 RBI, 2 SB
P. Bako .265 AVG, 0 HR, 18 RBI, 0 SB
K. Wood 11 W, 4 L, 2.27 ERA, 123 K, 0 HR
M. Prior 14 W, 3 L, 2.09 ERA, 82 K, 1 HR
S. Estes 8 W, 1 L, 2.32 ERA, 57 K, 2 HR
M. Clement 12 W, 4 L, 2.73 ERA, 42 K, 1 HR
C. Zambrano 12 W, 0 L, 1.67 ERA, 66 K, 1 HR
A. Alfonseca 1 W, 0 L, 44 S, 0.77 ERA, 34 K, 0 HR
First, let me say, that the hitting stats are the most realistic (not necessarily accurate) that I've seen for my particular skill level ... and that includes High Heat. I never could find a happy medium with HH. I would either get too many hits on one skill setting, or far too few on the next highest level. But that's enough about HH. I actually have a few every day players with a batting average under .280. This is terrific, as far as gameplay goes!! Sosa's 55 dingers are slightly too many, while Bellhorn's 11 are about right. I have to say that I'm quite pleased with the batting statistics I've accumulated on what I would consider an arcade-style baseball simulation.
As for pitching, though ... AHHH Pitching! Well, if EA makes some improvements in this area next year, they could have a real treat for baseball fans!
Winning 75% of my games, even while having a pitching staff with tremendous potential, is just far too many. I attribute this to the lack of homeruns I give up. I've only given up 10 total in 96 games. Most of my ERAs are in the 2.00 to 2.50 range. Again, if the CPU hit homeruns, this would be a very different story. Most of my games are really close, as evidenced by Alfonseca's 44 saves. If the CPU could've hit HRs in half of those, my record could easily be 52 - 44 ... a much more believable record. But, as it is, the CPU has to manufacture just about every run it gets, requiring the CPU to get 2 or 3, sometimes 4, hits in an inning before scoring a single run. CPU HRs would definitely result in more losses for me.
I've thought about why I don't give up many HRs, and it's mostly because I like to pitch the corners, and I make very few mistake pitches. The game does not do enough to "force" me to throw toward the heart of the plate, as I can locate an overwhelming majority of my pitches with laser-like accuracy. If EA can address this, they'll have a real winner in my book.
So, I thought about what EA could do to improve this ... in my opinion, of course. First, I feel that if they increase the speed of the accuracy meter for pitches, that would result in more "tipped" pitches and potentially better contact by the CPU. And I'm not talking about a flat increase in speed either, as it will be too easy to get the timing down. No, I'm talking about if you miss by a little, the meter goes a little faster ... and if you miss by alot, then it goes alot faster. This will make it tougher to get the timing down.
I like that the green accuracy area varies in size based on how well a pitcher pitches a certain pitch. I also like that it decreases in size when a pitcher goes into the red zone for pitch effectiveness. But, at least for me, it's too easy to hit that green area ... even when it is small. This is mostly due to the constant rate at which the meter indicator travels back-and-forth. But there is another thing EA could do, even if someone is able to hit the green zones with relative frequency to increase a human pitcher's reluctance to pitch the corners all the time. That is to require a pitcher to hit the exact middle of the green accuracy zone to pitch a perfect pitch. If the indicator is even slightly off-center, then the pitch will miss the "target" by a small degree. It seems that this is done to a very (and I mean VERY) small degree now. If this is expanded upon so that the accuracy of a pitch is measured in inches (relative of course) rather than centimeters, I think human pitchers will see more pitches at the corners miss the strike zone, resulting in pitches thrown closer to the heart of the plate to ensure strikes on batter-favorable counts ... and potentially resulting in better contact by the CPU.
Anyway, this was a nice first effort for a new engine by EA. Much better than the TP series. If they address the majority of the problem areas you'll see posted in this forum, they could have a great game on their hands.
Just my thoughts. I think it's time to dust off WSB 2K3 and give it a try, seeing as how I bought both.
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