Major League Baseball 2K9 Hands-On Preview

[Steve_OS]

I have played quite a bit of our beta copy of Major League Baseball 2K9, so I will give my impressions of what I have seen so far. Just keep in mind, some of the issues I have witnessed will not be in the final retail version, according to the developers of the game.

Some Unanswered Questions

The biggest question has to be the frame rate and the A.I. swinging at anything remotely close to the strike zone. After multiple games, I can definitely tell you there are some issues with the frame rate, but those issues are not consistently popping up. For example, here are some instances where I have seen hiccups in animations one time, and then a few innings later, seen the exact type of play and not seen any hiccups.

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[baseball88]

Re: Major League Baseball 2K9 Hands-On Preview

Steve

Could you post a video for the Baltimore Orioles at Cleveland Indians


I would like to see what the Indians batting helmet looks like for home.

Thanks

[nemesis04]

Re: Major League Baseball 2K9 Hands-On Preview

Nice preview Steve, basically all the concerns you mentioned can been seen in the samples you gave us. If the cpu AI swinging was addressed but not the frame rate, do you think the title would still have legs?

[brendanrfoley]

Re: Major League Baseball 2K9 Hands-On Preview

Steve, thank you for your hard work. You keep a lot of people here very happy (and unproductive)!
<ul>
<li>I won't worry about the framerate yet; the code is unoptimized. The fact the same play can hitch sometimes and not others tell me there is the potential for the entire game to run smoothly at all times</li>
<li>CPU swinging at everything does concern me</li>
<li>Drawing walks? Yes!</li>
<li>The hit variety you describe sounds dreamy</li>
<li>The "little" things and real-time world have me very excited</li>
</ul>
All in all, it sounds like the game is still rough around the edges. But it sounds (from your hands-on) that if the game played smoothly and the CPU swung less, we'd have a solid baseball game on our hands.

That sounds great!

[larma]

Finally some info about the PS3 version. Sounds good compared to what we got last year. Nice preview, thanks.

[Trevytrev11]

Re: Major League Baseball 2K9 Hands-On Preview

All in all, I am enjoying my time with the game even though I have a few gripes with the gameplay. If the developers tweak the game so the A.I. does not swing at everything in the zone and get the frame rate right, I will be satisfied, and I am sure most gamers will be as well.

Pretty much how I feel from what I have seen and read. If they can fix this (or make it fixable), it sounds like everything is stuff I can live with if it is not fixed.

[nemesis04]

Re: Major League Baseball 2K9 Hands-On Preview

Finally some info about the PS3 version. Sounds good compared to what we got last year. Nice preview, thanks.

I know it says ps3 but I thought he was playing the 360 version?

[brendanrfoley]

Re: Major League Baseball 2K9 Hands-On Preview

More in-depth thoughts on my end...

I can definitely tell you there are some issues with the framerate, but those issues are not consistently popping up. For example, here are some instances where I have seen hiccups in animations one time, and then a few innings later, seen the exact type of play and not seen any hiccups.

The lack of consistency is a good thing. There are times the game runs smoothly, and the code likely just needs optimization.

When playing the A.I., it seems it swings at everything in the strike zone, rarely swinging at balls outside the zone. So, it makes it very difficult to get a decent pitch count.

This is my biggest concern, and many people here. This could actually be a "deal breaker" for me.

On the other end of things, I have been able to generate walks for my team.

Wonderful news, though it leads to more questions... why would the developers create a sim experience on the hitting end, but not the pitching. The CPU swinging at everything must be early code. I hope.

The hit variety has got to be seen to be believed. Even though I have not actually captured most of the various hits, I have witnessed seeing-eye singles, bloop singles, slow grounders, dribblers, line drives just over the leaping infielders, as well as foul balls off the batter's foot.

More great news.

The commentary is very solid. There are some repetitive sayings, but it is very well done and appropriate in all situations.

Having the commentary this finely tuned more than a month before release is another great sign.

Speaking of the fans, they get a little more frantic as the game progresses. You will especially see this in the ninth inning of a close game because you will slowly see fans stand up in different parts of the stadium, until finally all the fans are up out of their seats cheering the home team on.

Awesome.

Real-time atmosphere is very nicely done. I cannot tell you how well it has been implemented. You see some of it in the videos, but there are so many other instances of it.

More awesome.

When foul balls are hit into the dugouts, players jump out of the way. This also happens in the bullpens.

I'm tired of saying awesome, but that's awesome.

Just keep in mind, some of the issues I have witnessed will not be in the final retail version, according to the developers of the game.

Fingers crossed!

[sask3m]

Re: Major League Baseball 2K9 Hands-On Preview

Steve any chance you could ask one of the devs what the sliders actually do. Most slider definitions are vague if not impossible to understand what they control.

[ChaseB]

I know it says ps3 but I thought he was playing the 360 version?

Yes, he's playing 360 version, it's just our database sometimes will put any platform the game comes out for next to the title.

[jeffy777]

Re: Major League Baseball 2K9 Hands-On Preview

thank you Steve, great read. Hopefully everything gets worked out in the final game as it sounds like there's certainly a lot of potential.

[bigfnjoe96]

Re: Major League Baseball 2K9 Hands-On Preview

Thanks for the honesty Steve & for the tons of screens & videos you have provided. It's great to hear you enjoying the game outside of the issues you have seen. Are you allowed to share with us @ what % was the Beta Build 2K sent to you?

[larma]

Re: Major League Baseball 2K9 Hands-On Preview

I know it says ps3 but I thought he was playing the 360 version?

Yes, he's playing 360 version, it's just our database sometimes will put any platform the game comes out for next to the title.

Damn.

[The Living Legend]

Re: Major League Baseball 2K9 Hands-On Preview

Great Job Steve, you pretty much nailed the worries i have as well.

I hope the AI swining at everything in the strike can be tweaked and some of the animations are cleaned up.

[miamimarlins1]

Re: Major League Baseball 2K9 Hands-On Preview

Steve thank you for the review, you just saved me $60, unless they can fix the CPU swinging at everything. I'm really pissed because it really looked pretty outside of that issue, but that is a deal breaker for me.