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

[SoxFan01605]

Quote: Originally Posted by gilgamesh348

It's not a bug. There won't be a patch for it. People are not understanding the technicalities of video game development. It's obvious the new system they put in place was incompatible with editing batting stances. So rather than try and fix it and running the risk of breaking the whole game code (like 2k7), they just decided it would be best to not let you edit batting stances.

I'm not sure I completely agree with this. I agree it's not a bug, but I doubt that letting you select a stance would break anything...it's just opening up an option to the user that's likely already there underneath.

Not stating this as fact, mind you, but from things I've been told by various developers I don't know that it fits quite the way you mention in this case. I also allow for the fact I could be completely wrong too...lol.

In any case, I guess in the end it doesn't really matter, as the point likely remains the same. A patch isn't likely for a problem such as that. We'll see, of course, but it doesn't look good.

I don't know if it's "game killing" for me on what will be a 20$ purchase in my case (if I do purchase), but it's pretty disappointing. Oh well.

[crumpled_heap]

Quote: Originally Posted by bigfnjoe96

The Swing Message CANNOT be turned-OFF

And you can't even turn off the flashing colors after throwing a pitch WTF?

[Foo4Everlong]

(Hand over mouth in astonishment)

I can't believe we cannot edit batting stances or pitching deliveries. This is just another thing to the already long list of things taken out of this game. First the deletion to change the size of the jerseys and pants as well as getting rid of the cutsleeves, which were all in the last two titles. And now this?! I just don't get it. I think I could have dealt with the jersey and the pants option gone, but this is ridiculous. Maybe we can get an answer from Ronnie at the 2K boards. I can't believe this. Later

[PVarck31]

Quote: Originally Posted by bigfnjoe96

We'll here are my impressions: Once the game loads you can see the difference from 2k8 visually. 2k9 look good & runs really smooth. Hitting, Pitching & Fielding look good. You do get some slow down on foul balls to the back stop. Graphically it's not 2k7 but it's better than last year. The Player Models look great IMO. The Player Faces on the other hand need some work. Some players look spot-on & others look OK. Played both a Day & Night Game. The Day Game I played looked beautiful. The shadowing is a thing to see. Player Self-Shadowing is in also. Now to Game Play. The Game Play is better than last year, but is rough around the edges. For some reason Outfielders are taking bad routes on balls in the gaps & on short pop-flies. Maybe it has something to do with Fielder Speed. The AI is very aggressive @ the plate & without a good explanation of what the NEW Hitting Sliders do it looks like were gonna have to wait & see if the Online Manual gives us some detail like NBA 2K9 or we get some explanation from 2K themselves. I tried different Slider changes for AI Hitting & I had no luck in getting the CPU to be less aggressive. Also noticed the AI has a hard time hitting breaking stuff. The AI seems to react properly in certain situations. Bunting when they should. Pitchers sac bunting, Pinch Runners & also Pinch Hitters. They steal, they also squeeze if your not alert. As for AI Pitching. The AI will work the plate. They will throw balls. You can walk if you are patient. Umpires have variable strike zones which makes hitting a little more of a challenge. 1 thing that's cool is when your pitcher is getting tired the STAMINA & COMPOSURE Bars appear during the pitch selection I'm not a fan of the softball cursor @ all. I wish they would allow us to turn-it OFF. For me it makes the Pitcher/Batter duel seem arcadish. Hey VC how bout you allow for the Ball Cursor to be removed & bring back the rumble feature as an option. Speaking of Options let's talk Inside Edge. I'm not a big fan of IE, but I must say the info you get when pulling IE up with the D-PAD is mind-boggling. It's a stat's man heaven. I tried it with a couple of batter's & it seemed pretty good. Really hate that it's tied to Player Ratings this year but I guess I will learn to like it.. Now to HITTING... The Hit Variety is there for the User & CPU. Like I said before Zone Hitting is a PITA. In 1 game I used it I struck-out 15 times cause I couldn't time moving the Cursor with pulling the stick back & moving it forward. Those looking for a Hitting Challenge this option is for you. I'm not sure how good the L-Stick is for Influencing hits because I didn't use that option. I will say that you can influence where you want to hit the ball using cursor with the Swing Stick. This is done by pushing the stick in the direction you want the hit to go. The Swing Animations look good, but not great. The Bat/Ball Physics look better than last year. I won't talk about the Bat Sound. The Swing Message CANNOT be turned-OFF. VC wasn't lying when they said they wanted a Pick-up & Play game.. For me the Batter/Pitcher Interface is pretty good. Presentation is the Best 2k baseball has ever had even though it's still rough around the edges. The Real-Time Atmosphere is a great change & a step in the right direction. Hopefully 2k will tighten this feature-up in the future. Especially the End Game Stuff because right now it looks really unfinished. Thorne & Phillips are great together. The commentary flows really well. For some reason hearing this new team makes you feel like your @ that game, compared to John & Joe. The game has a lot of clipping & players morphing thru each other which sometimes takes away from the experience. Not to emntion VC took out the Take-out slides. So far I've enjoyed the time I've spent with the game. Honestly would I recommend it to a friend who had a choice to pick-up the "Other" Game probably not, but this time around I wouldn't hesitate to tell them to go rent-it & give it shot, inlike last year where I told my friends to save there $$$$ If somehow we can get the AI to be more discipline @ the plate I'll give MLB 2K9 a 7.5. If we can't get the AI to be more discipline 2 the plate the game gets a 7...

Good impressions. Would you say the game is fun or more frustrating to play?

[bigfnjoe96]

Quote: Originally Posted by MattNYY

Can you show a picture of joba?

Here ya go.. VC did a pretty good job on Joba's Sig Style BTW

[~Guru~]

a couple of other crappy things

you cant edit the fielding cam so the high cam for fly balls is there for good....sucks but not a game killer

and there is no way that i can tell for me to see how many pitches the cpu pitcher has thrown...

i can see mine but not theirs

i just made zambrano sweat and he walked 2 of my batters and gave up 3 runs

[Scottdau]

Quote: Originally Posted by pjv31

I don't think its a bug. It sounds more like a design decision. A stupid one if that's the case. Its not a gamekiller, but it sucks.

It is just what NHL 2k9 did. They took out a lot of options from last years game. Sounds like they did the same here too. Maybe next year is when they will bring all that back.

[~Guru~]

Quote: Originally Posted by pjv31

Good impressions. Would you say the game is fun or more frustrating to play?

the game is tons of fun bro...and i love the show....so you are getting an honest opinion here

it has game killers for some..

but pitching is king in this game and it is fun....i am loving it...