***Official MLB 2K9 Retail Version Impressions***

[Rocky]

I can't believe anyone is still playing the AI in this game. It's completely broken.

Online w/ sliders and classic (2K8) pitching and batting = 100x's better game.

[kGinGreen]

I honestly dont think people realize there is this thing in this game called sliders and Inside Edge. Use them. If you throw pitches in a hitters hot zone he is going to swing. I honestly don't think people have put 2 and 2 together here. Throw in the cold zones and the chase zones and see what happens. Throw pitch types that each batter has trouble hitting and see what happens. Use your pitchers stronger pitches. It's an amazing thing.

This game has something called depth to it which I'm not sure people understand which is too bad. Don't max out the throw meters and maybe you won't pull the first baseman off the bag? Throw in the green. Set your feet. Make slight adjustments from there depending on the play. If you need a flip, flip it. If you need a little extra give it a little extra. Get in the area to make a play and let the AI help you get in position. Don't go nuts on the sticks. Hit the button if you need a little extra to get there. Hold it to make a bigger player. Use the right bumper to block homeplate and make a tag. When at bat work the count. Take a pitch or two and wait for a pitch to hit. Adjust sliders accordingly. I know it makes way too much sense. This game is a lot of fun if you can get a hang of the basics and look past some of the shortcomings.

This game is not as broken as people are making it out to be. Yeah there are framerate hiccups and glitches. Yes the graphics are a bit dated and washed out although 2k did up the animations big time. Yeah the way IE is integrated is poor and I don't think a lot of people even know how to use it. There should be a better way to see these things without having to bring up the window every at bat. But it's second nature once you get the hang of it. Turning on IE K Zone and getting some good sliders changed this game for me.

[kGinGreen]

I honestly have not seen the 1b bug off the bag since the 1st day I got the game. I've played about 20 games this week and have not seen it once.

Same with the fielder problems and the ball going over the fielders. Let the AI help you. There is also different footplanting in this game like nba 2k9... Set your feet.

Same with the overly aggressive AI. It's still a bit aggressive but if you use IE you will see this reduced dramatically.

All these bugs that people are complaining about are not bugs.... It's just the way the game is implemented and people not having a clue.

[VDusen04]

Quote: Originally Posted by kGinGreen

I honestly have not seen the 1b bug off the bag since the 1st day I got the game. I've played about 20 games this week and have not seen it once. Same with the fielder problems and the ball going over the fielders. Let the AI help you. There is also different footplanting in this game like nba 2k9... Set your feet. Same with the overly aggressive AI. It's still a bit aggressive but if you use IE you will see this reduced dramatically. All these bugs that people are complaining about are not bugs.... It's just the way the game is implemented and people not having a clue.

I, too, have not had a problem with the 1st baseman coming off the bag. I use the right stick to throw, though I'm not sure if that makes a difference or not. The 1st baseman has come off the bag once in my experience (within my first game or two).

Fielding flyballs has been a similar experience. I dropped one or two that I shouldn't have in the early going, in large part to not having a feel for how to field. I have had one drop since learning the game. It seems to happen when you fight the subtle auto-positioning when settling under a fly ball. That is, if the fielder is in position to catch and I toggle the left analog stick in any direction, it seems to increase the chance for error, even if the left analog movement does not yield a drastic on-screen direction change.

Even using Inside Edge, I believe the batter aggressiveness could still probably use a little toning. Though, truly, the Inside Edge is a great tool to use in the interim

[kGinGreen]

You can't just play this game like a little kid on crack and go nuts with the sticks. You have to understand the controls and utilize them. I think it's shame if people who want instant gratification can't look past some anomolies and graphical things because this game has a good amount of depth to it.. Hopefully next year 2k will redo a lot of the player models,, and work on incorporating all these things better into a more cohesive package. I hate how certain things look washed out, players faces are a mixed bag. Some look cool. Others look bizarre. Hopefully with a patch some of the ai things and graphical stuff will be improved as well.

[ckarlic]

Just a quick question. Are there rain delays in 2k9?

[The Gamer]

Quote: Originally Posted by kGinGreen

I honestly dont think people realize there is this thing in this game called sliders and Inside Edge. Use them. If you throw pitches in a hitters hot zone he is going to swing. I honestly don't think people have put 2 and 2 together here. Throw in the cold zones and the chase zones and see what happens. Throw pitch types that each batter has trouble hitting and see what happens. Use your pitchers stronger pitches. It's an amazing thing. This game has something called depth to it which I'm not sure people understand which is too bad. Don't max out the throw meters and maybe you won't pull the first baseman off the bag? Throw in the green. Set your feet. Make slight adjustments from there depending on the play. If you need a flip, flip it. If you need a little extra give it a little extra. Get in the area to make a play and let the AI help you get in position. Don't go nuts on the sticks. Hit the button if you need a little extra to get there. Hold it to make a bigger player. Use the right bumper to block homeplate and make a tag. When at bat work the count. Take a pitch or two and wait for a pitch to hit. Adjust sliders accordingly. I know it makes way too much sense. This game is a lot of fun if you can get a hang of the basics and look past some of the shortcomings. This game is not as broken as people are making it out to be. Yeah there are framerate hiccups and glitches. Yes the graphics are a bit dated and washed out although 2k did up the animations big time. Yeah the way IE is integrated is poor and I don't think a lot of people even know how to use it. There should be a better way to see these things without having to bring up the window every at bat. But it's second nature once you get the hang of it. Turning on IE K Zone and getting some good sliders changed this game for me.

Great post buddy!! I actually learned something new in this post. I wasn't aware that you had to hit the right bumper to block the plate. That's good information. You are correct, this game does have depth if you know how to play it. I had been thinking about the setting your feet aspect, but just never really knew how to explain the issue. I knew there was something that needed to be explained. Just last night while playing, after an out, and just throwing the ball around from the outfield, I noticed that if I didn't let the player "set" themselves, I'd have the big wind up then a slow toss. But then I would start letting the player catch the ball relax for a split second and drop the hands and then throw, it would be a normal looking throw.

As far as the video that is circulating around the web with the runner going to third, missing the bag and then diving out of play. It is clearly the user continuously pushing the triggers too quickly and not letting the animation play out. The game doesn't have a chance to catch up to the commands and so it looks jacked up. Just another case of someone trying to break the game and find a gamekiller.

[belljr]

I use LT a lot for throwing.

My main "gripe" is I wish I could turn off buttons for throwing.

What happens is I'll try to make a play with a fielder, I'll hit A to switch fielders, but it doesn't switch right away so I hit A again.

What happens, it finally switches fielders then throws home. It hasn't happened a few times on me because of my lack of patience (I think).