Major League Baseball 2K8 360 Impressions

[brendanrfoley]

Re: Major League Baseball 2K8 (360/PS3) Impressions

That is correct. B to bunt.

Um, I gave you two options!

Is "classic" swing one button... or two buttons (power/contact). Just curious .

[Qb]

Re: Major League Baseball 2K8 360 Impressions

Well, I tried AI Corners at 5 as MIL at HOU. Had them pitch Brendan Backe (60 control); he lasted 5.2 and threw 10S-57B (85%). Overall Houston's pitchers were 14B-80S for 85%. Once again, not a bad game, I lost 5-2 due to a shaky bullpen and Ty "F'n" Wigginton's (that's what me and my old roommate called him when he was with Pittsburgh) 3-run HR in the top of the 8th. That more than made up for his two errors. Houston committed four according to the official scorer, but I think one was erroneous. Seems like they gave Berkman two on the same play when he missed the pitcher covering first.

As for my shaky bullpen, Salomon Torres got me into a bases-loaded jam and Derrick Turnbow walked in two runs (one on a HBP). I allowed three walks for the game as my pitching remains on the up-and-up (40B-66S, 62%). Gallardo had a gem going (7IP, 3H, 9K, 1BB before the 8th), but I guess I left him in too long. He was tagged for 2H, 1BB and a 3R-HR without retiring a batter in that fateful inning. On the plus side of things, I managed to strikeout only 5 times (usually around 10).

MIL --- 2R - 10H - 2E
HOU --- 5R - 7H - 4E

I think I may start a thread to track my results while I try to nail down some early sliders, if you guys don't mind. I think most of my settings are close. It's really just the AI pitching that I'm struggling with ("with which I'm stuggling" for you grammar buffs ).


And brendanrfoley, there is only one swing button in classic hitting. The in-game control menu says that you can influence your hits (fly/grounder) with the left stick, but I'm not having much luck hitting the ball in the air...

EDIT: I forgot to mention that Prince needs a little beef added in the midsection. Hey 2K, the dude is BIG (5-11, 270)!!!

[merff11]

Re: Major League Baseball 2K8 360 Impressions

Has anyone noticed how cool the errors look this year? I can't remember a baseball game where the ball actually bounces away from the player, and I mean away.

Example: Pads-Hou in the season opener for my franchise. Brian Giles hit a screamer at the first basemen who attempted to julp and catch it. What happened made me jump up and say "I have never seen that happen before!"
In the process of jumping the ball ricochet into right center field. It almost turned from a line drive to a shallow fly.

Example 2: Grounder in the hole to Tejada. He takes a knee and the ball bounced off his leg and down the left field line.

I am so jacked about this feature. It definetly beats the bobbled ball that is recovered and still gets you out.

[Jukeman]

Re: Major League Baseball 2K8 360 Impressions

Man after gambling on this game becuz no one would talk about franchise mode.......I have to say who ever saying that this game s*** is just ungrateful or must have high hopes on everthing, maybe its becuz ive been playin MVP05 for 3 years but Im liking this game alot(I never liked 2k baseball) its time to retire my MVP05!

the presentation is fine with me IMO better than MVP05 I like how they show stats in detail...commentary really dont matter to me, I dont kno about U but 21years of my life baseball commentary was always boring to me IRL........

Pitching is gonna b tough 4 me but I will live......
framerate fix is good(I play CPU VS CPU 75% of the time anyway so VIP doesnt matter)

Franchise is great! K's are a little low and it seems some teams only carry 1 catcher after year two but thats ok, it can b fixed prolly.

Cpu teams resign players during season! coaches get fired during season! ( but b. cox, jim, leyland geting toss was weird!)

its alot I can talk about for franchise mode overall Im just happy with this game
MLB08 prolly is better and if I had a PS3 I diff would have bought that instead as I always liked sony's baseball back on ps1

to the guys who said this game s**** yall get a woooooooooooooooooow like flavor flav!

[allBthere]

Re: Major League Baseball 2K8 360 Impressions

This might seem petty, but after playing the demo I like most things (can't understand pitching yet), but what ALMOST ruins it for me is that you lose power when trying to pull an outside pitch. (it even says this in the tutorial text)

To some you may say 'big deal', and others may even claim 'that's how it works in real life' ..but it's a big deal to me, and it's not how it works in real life.
I grew up idolizing Joe Carter who made a career out of pulling outside pitches for hr's. Lots of power hitters like to 'extend those arms', it's their power zone. In Joe's whole career I think he hit one or MAYBE 2 opposite field hr's (probably to Right-center) - and he's not alone either. Frank Thomas is another example. To me the most satisfying thing in baseball is crushing an outside pitch to Left-Center that people want to measure the distance for.

[pdawg17]

Re: Major League Baseball 2K8 360 Impressions

Has anyone noticed how cool the errors look this year? I can't remember a baseball game where the ball actually bounces away from the player, and I mean away.

Example: Pads-Hou in the season opener for my franchise. Brian Giles hit a screamer at the first basemen who attempted to julp and catch it. What happened made me jump up and say "I have never seen that happen before!"
In the process of jumping the ball ricochet into right center field. It almost turned from a line drive to a shallow fly.

Example 2: Grounder in the hole to Tejada. He takes a knee and the ball bounced off his leg and down the left field line.

I am so jacked about this feature. It definetly beats the bobbled ball that is recovered and still gets you out.

Some of the errors definitely look cool...others I've seen look "forced"...

For example, I hit a hard grounder to first against the BoSox...Youkalis just stood there standing completely upright and it went through his legs...there was no animation at all...it was like he was looking up in the stands picking his nose at the time...

[CarryTheWeight]

Re: Major League Baseball 2K8 360 Impressions

I think just spending some time away from these boards and going into this game thinking for myself about its issues really helped me change my opinion of the game. I'm starting to appreciate its qualities. That's not to say that this game is perfect, or pretty, for that matter.

The frame rate issues I once experienced in the outfield aren't there anymore, strangely... since I finished my first game on Tuesday afternoon, I have yet to see another fielder stop running, in mid-stride, before making a routine grab.

I'm spending a lot of my time in Franchise Mode and I feel this is where the game succeeds the most. Hopefully, if 2K DOES acquire a third-party franchise mode next year, we can see more realistic options for signing players, not to mention salary arbitration and the Rule 5 draft (which ASB 05 had eons ago). Developing your minor leaguers is an excellent option but I haven't seen any major ratings changes during the season...it's usually as I begin a new season.

I'm very impressed by the fielding this year. It was far too easy, IMO, in 2K7 to turn a double play in the infield, but this year, it's much more difficult and hardly happens (since the runner always takes out my fielder's legs).

The presentation from Joe and Jon isn't anything to write home about, but I find that the analysis by Zelasko and Physioc rivals The Show in terms of depth. Why couldn't 2K just have these two announce the entire game? I always look forward to hearing their update in the 7th Inning.

[ericdrum]

Re: Major League Baseball 2K8 (360/PS3) Impressions

Um, I gave you two options!

Is "classic" swing one button... or two buttons (power/contact). Just curious .

Sorry for not being clear. Yes it's one button 'A' to swing and I think the manual is wrong because I hit 'X' on accident swinging last night and laid down a bunt. So there is simply one swing and I've gotten a really good balance of hit types with it, so I recommend the classic buttons for batting if you are frustrated or simply don't like the analog for batting.

[homerjfry]

Re: Major League Baseball 2K8 360 Impressions

I gotta say, I was apprehensive initially about getting this game after hearing the horror stories, but after cracking it open and playing it for a bit, and getting knocked around, I really like it.

I won't go into any more details as people have beat them to death, but this is coming from someone who returned 2K7 after a day and was an avid player of The Show. the little things in this game are great and the level of detail on some of the players are phenomenal (seriously, any Dodger fan can attest, they have re-created James Loney PERFECTLY at 1st base).

I have already started tinkering with the sliders and I am seeing some really great games of baseball being played. I can't use the swing stick yet, so I am on classic, but that helps with varying hits and what not.

My BIGGEST gripe is freezing. That is inexcusable. I was playing a great game that froze before the 7th inning. Unacceptable.

Other than that, I am very conent with this game. If you didn't put in the time with 2K7, I think this is a definite must buy.

[ericdrum]

Re: Major League Baseball 2K8 360 Impressions

I gotta say, I was apprehensive initially about getting this game after hearing the horror stories, but after cracking it open and playing it for a bit, and getting knocked around, I really like it.

I won't go into any more details as people have beat them to death, but this is coming from someone who returned 2K7 after a day and was an avid player of The Show. the little things in this game are great and the level of detail on some of the players are phenomenal (seriously, any Dodger fan can attest, they have re-created James Loney PERFECTLY at 1st base).

I have already started tinkering with the sliders and I am seeing some really great games of baseball being played. I can't use the swing stick yet, so I am on classic, but that helps with varying hits and what not.

My BIGGEST gripe is freezing. That is inexcusable. I was playing a great game that froze before the 7th inning. Unacceptable.

Other than that, I am very conent with this game. If you didn't put in the time with 2K7, I think this is a definite must buy.

Loney looks awesome dude. I'm playing as the Dodgers of course.

Yeah, I froze up in the 9th inning after having top of the ninth comeback against the D-backs with Furcal coming out of his slump to drive in 2 with a stand up triple and it froze. It broke my heart. I have started to save every game after a run or if there's a streak of scoreless innings. It adds like 20 seconds and is nice insurance to have.

[Knight165]

Re: Major League Baseball 2K8 360 Impressions

Got just two games in last night....and I'll admit not complete ones(I was tired)

I'm a little surprised that the game ....graphically looks quite a bit worse than last year.....but at other times looks a little better. I know that sounds nuts....I'm just not explaining it that well I suppose.

On the field.....I ran across a couple of funny glitches....but nothing crazy. One....David Wright ran for a foul ball....then the next thing I know...he's running across the diamond from the first base side!...like he ran clear across the world in three seconds!...but I can definitely see the improvement in the gameplay. Fielding is much better. The game seems much tighter than last year all around in the field.
Maybe it's because I'm really a manage only mode player....but I really don't see that the actual mechanics of the gameplay are so fantastic that they make people jump for joy. The are nice....pitching is pretty cool....but it is what it is....it's an element. Again....that's just me...not really a "player".

Franchise mode looks good. I haven't delved into it obviously, but there is plenty there. I read about the Padres bug....I didn't see anything like that with the Mets...like the framerate problem...maybe there is a work around.....if there is someone will find it.

I'll definitely see how things go with 2K8......there are some really nice things in this game....some things need ironing out....so it's on the radar.

M.K.
Knight165

[homerjfry]

Re: Major League Baseball 2K8 360 Impressions

Loney looks awesome dude. I'm playing as the Dodgers of course.

Yeah, I froze up in the 9th inning after having top of the ninth comeback against the D-backs with Furcal coming out of his slump to drive in 2 with a stand up triple and it froze. It broke my heart. I have started to save every game after a run or if there's a streak of scoreless innings. It adds like 20 seconds and is nice insurance to have.

Cool, another Dodgers fan. You know for a team that draws over 3 million fans a year, they really get no respect or decent representation in the rest of the baseball world (I guess that's what playoff win in 20 years will net you)

VERY smart bro...I didn't even think of that. I guess after playing the Show on Ps2 for the past 2-3 years, I forgot a time when I was able to save mid game! I'll definitely start doing that too, seeing as I am a paranoid "save game freak" anyway.

Any BTW, have you noticed that they made Matt Kemp really light skinned? Not to sound like an *** or anything, but they realy made him nearly white...and this is one of the 1st games to really get Nomar's stance right and Andy LaRoche looks GREAT.

[Marino]

Re: Major League Baseball 2K8 360 Impressions

hey dodger fans get this i hit a homer with juan pierre lol and brad penny is a beast!!!

[homerjfry]

Re: Major League Baseball 2K8 360 Impressions

hey dodger fans get this i hit a homer with juan pierre lol and brad penny is a beast!!!

1st or all, you are a dirt, dirty liar...haha, just kidding, but that is crazy. And you are correct sir, Brad Penny is friggin awesome. That's what hooking up with Eliza Dushku and Alyssa Milano (and subsequently passing him on to Russell MArtin) does for your game. I have concluded once you hook up with Milano, your game is exponentially sweeter. She needs to be passed around that locker room...

[Marino]

Re: Major League Baseball 2K8 360 Impressions

haha with the juan pierre homer i was like wow...then i realized the wind was blowing out but it was still at petco