Major League Baseball 2K8 360 Impressions

[baa7]

Re: Major League Baseball 2K8 360 Impressions

Well, rented the finally...

Past that, I don't quite know what to say or where to start. This game is so bad in so many ways. My copy of The Show 06 on the PS2 puts this game to shame. And rather than repeat what's already been said, I'll just recommend to anyone still on the fence: don't buy it. And don't even bother renting the game. I honestly feel I just threw $10 away.

[arichzona]

Re: Major League Baseball 2K8 360 Impressions

What a disappointment! I was so pumped after last years game because I thought they had a really great game with the exception of a few things(fielding,hit variety,a few other small things) but the bones were there for something great.Then this years version comes and...BOOM....they killed it.....This game is awful.Cmon fellas,just be honest.The graphics stink,the new pitching mechanic is ridiculously stupid and unnescessary and the frame rate is horrible which makes the fielding sketchy at best.Anyone who says they like this game is lying to themselves and I guarantee once "spring fever" wears off you'll be trading this in for GTA IV.

I am not lying to myself either.....the first two days that allowed me to play the game I thought it stunk. I said that 2k7 was better and that this was at least a step backwards. Now, after spending a Saturday with it and getting time to adjust sliders to how a game should act it plays the best game of baseball I have seen.

Do I have the show? Nope. Will I be trading it in - ever - for GTA IV? God no.

Pitching: easy once you get used to the meter
Fielding: amazing once you get the pace of the game down

Is it perfect? nowhere near......but I am happy. honest.

[jtdribbles25]

Re: Major League Baseball 2K8 360 Impressions

Great post, Mizzou. I'm sure if they had extra time the framerate wouldn't even be an issue.



Don't agree with you there at all. The installs to the hard drive are to speed up load times (or in some instances, eliminate them completely) as games are using textures now that aren't a few MB's in size. It's either that, stare at a loading screen for 5 mins or get a game with terrible textures.

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I've spent more and more time with the game and it's not the HUGE disappointment it first was. They really lowered a lot of the graphical effects and that's sad to see. Others may say the downgrade isn't that bad but I don't agree with them. The graphics were really nice last year and they're just ok this year, especially with some strange looking animations at times. At least last year these animations look strange with the graphics at such a high level. It's frustrating because you expect the game to look better every year, not worse.

Gameplay though... very, very nice. I love how loose everything feels. Very MVP-ish on the field. I'm really liking the pitching the more I spend time with it, but as someone else said, it's still a meter. The only difference is the motions you're inputting. Still is a nice diversion from the norm. I still hate the meatball thing. Such a stupid, stupid idea. The way the CPU always hits a no-doubter where they pose and everything is another stupid inclusion. Makes you wonder who was in charge of this aspect of the game. I can understand the CPU making you pay with a nice double down the line but to have it practically a HR most of the time is... ugh. That's a very arcade aspect that I hate and this series always seems to have something like that. WHY???

I'm seeing the CPU throw a decent variety of balls/strikes but the lack of walks is killing me. Once you get the hang of the meter you can still pinpoint your pitches. Again, get rid of the meatball and make the player miss his spot out of the zone sometimes as well.

This series is just beyond frustrating. If it's not one thing it's another. Last year it took heavy slider work to get the game to play a sim-game of baseball, but it looked great and the camera angle they added after the patch was tops. This year, the game looks flat and dull at times as it took a graphical hit with the gameplay being a bit better and more involving. Still needs heavy slider work, again
It's just frustrating to think this could be the only baseball game out there because of exclusivity. It certainly is nice to have a choice. If only we had the same thing in football.

Agree with you on this. Rented this game. I've been playing this for a few days without posting my thoughts to be fair. This game isn't as bad as it initially seems but it's not really near even grounds with the show. Almost in anyway. A big advantage was the graphics, and now its not. These graphics are really bad at this point and the textures are just horrid at times. Kinda looks wii' ish/n64 ish. just blurry and not sharp. The pitching mechanic is cool but like pared said, it's still a meter. Personally I use classic in the show, just because I like the randomness a little more. but non the less, If this was the only choice I had I wouldn't be totally dissapointed, but I would feel that I probably paid too much for this game. My favorite thing is the analog fielding. Hope they steal it for the show...

[metal134]

Re: Major League Baseball 2K8 360 Impressions

The most important thing to me is also getting sim like stats which the game also fails at miserably but thats not the point.The point is that 2K released a game that was worse than last years game and if they're going to charge premimum money for a game it should at least be as good as the previous years version.Look I'm not one of those trollers who looks to write bad things about a game,(you can check my posts,there's rarely any negativity)but when I pay 65$ for something I do have certain expectations.This game in my opinion is a failure on all fronts and thats a disappointment.

That's not what I was responding to, though. I can see why some people are frustated with this game; things that aren't important to me are important to them and it's bringing the game down. I'm not going to call anyone a troll for not liking this game; preference is preference. What I was repsonding to is the fact that you said that anyone who likes the game is lying to themselves.

[dodgerblue]

Re: Major League Baseball 2K8 360 Impressions

Is it just me or are people starting to get into this game very heavily now, some even praising it. I think all the naysayers and negative comments were very premature and though I admit some problems, I think this game will prove to be a fine one. Anyone agree? Or Disagree?

Gameplay wise, this game is fun because of the new controls and more realistic hit results. But the game just doesn't stack up visually. How they could take such a big step backwards when last year the game was stunning and the lighting effects were awesome? If only we could have the appearance of 2k7 + gameplay of 2k8. Or maybe that = 2k9? I mean, I bought a next gen system for games that look great and play great. If not I could have stuck with my xbox.

[orion523]

Re: Major League Baseball 2K8 360 Impressions

I am not lying to myself either.....the first two days that allowed me to play the game I thought it stunk. I said that 2k7 was better and that this was at least a step backwards. Now, after spending a Saturday with it and getting time to adjust sliders to how a game should act it plays the best game of baseball I have seen.

Do I have the show? Nope. Will I be trading it in - ever - for GTA IV? God no.

Pitching: easy once you get used to the meter
Fielding: amazing once you get the pace of the game down

Is it perfect? nowhere near......but I am happy. honest.

Well,I guess thats why they have vanilla and chocolate.My personal preference is a game that simulates the sport as closely as possible.To me NBA 2K8 is the benchmark for sports games.Madden 08 is actually another great game except for one fatal flaw,the dim witted CPU QB AI.If EA released Madden with a real announcer and better CPU QB logic it would be on par with NBA 2K.I really wanted this game to be great,baseball's my favorite sport and after LY's game I thought they were on the right track,which is why I'm so frustrated.I HATE the new pitching meter and its not because its hard or easy I just hate the concept I have no idea why they changed it last years was great.I'm sorry I'm babbling but whatever,I'm glad you like it.

[baa7]

Re: Major League Baseball 2K8 360 Impressions

I have no idea why they changed it last years was great.

I thought you could change back to last year's...??

[orion523]

Re: Major League Baseball 2K8 360 Impressions

I thought you could change back to last year's...??

You know I only rented the game and after I played like 5 games and didn't like it I sent it back.I didn't even look at the options(I am a dope).What I'm going to do is wait for the patch to be released and if everyone is satisfied I give it another go.I want nothing more than this game to be good

[Artman22]

Re: Major League Baseball 2K8 360 Impressions

Well, rented the finally...

Past that, I don't quite know what to say or where to start. This game is so bad in so many ways. My copy of The Show 06 on the PS2 puts this game to shame. And rather than repeat what's already been said, I'll just recommend to anyone still on the fence: don't buy it. And don't even bother renting the game. I honestly feel I just threw $10 away.

Lmao!!! That was the same way I felt when I first played the game. I don't know man people are praising this game and some can't even play it(including myself). I feel like this game went backwards. If they would have gave me 2k7 with 60fps and better gameplay I would have been cool with that. I think they spent too much time on the pitching and batting this year. They should have worked on locking this game at 60fps before anything else.

[sportyguyfl31]

Re: Major League Baseball 2K8 360 Impressions

Am I the only one who doesnt care all that much about the visuals? This game looks plenty good..I care about the game being fun and engaging me..this game qualifies on both fronts.

The only 2 changes I really want to see as of right now is the CPU going for steals and I'd like to be able to work the count better. I dont want 1 game to take the length of a real game. I want to acutally PLAY the game..have a fun experience with enough realism so that I do not feel like I'm playing MLB Slugfest.

[Brophog]

Re: Major League Baseball 2K8 360 Impressions

Am I the only one who doesnt care all that much about the visuals? .

I agree, to an extent. I'm certainly not a big graphics person myself, being a big retro gamer, but the one thing I think a sports game, graphically, in this age needs to do is to let you know instantly who a player is.

2K nails that with the basketball games. I can fire that ball around the hoop and know without thinking which player it is, and therefore know what my next move should be. While this isn't nearly as vital in a baseball game, there is no reason I shouldn't get that same effect. I think far older games did this better than 2K8 does, and that's a shame.

Secondly, baseball is an immersion sport. They get this ok with the fans chants, and some with the PA, but they totally miss this with the announcing and the visuals. It feels overall a shallow experience. It attempts to do it, it just doesn't got that full mile.

[orion523]

Re: Major League Baseball 2K8 360 Impressions

Well,even after all of my criticism I bought the game anyway hoping the patch fixes the main issues with the framerate.Once I found out I was able to switch back to last years pitching mechanic,I was sold because the hitting is fantastic.Now its just a wait for the patch

[Brophog]

Re: Major League Baseball 2K8 360 Impressions

I'm really liking the pitching the more I spend time with it, but as someone else said, it's still a meter. The only difference is the motions you're inputting. Still is a nice diversion from the norm. I still hate the meatball thing.

I'm seeing the CPU throw a decent variety of balls/strikes but the lack of walks is killing me. Once you get the hang of the meter you can still pinpoint your pitches.

Still needs heavy slider work, again.

That was me on the meter. At first, I was like, hey this is just the same thing, but with motions. It does grow on you, however, if for only the fact the gestures keep you engaged. The pitching is probably without a doubt my favorite part of this game.

I have two big complaints about the gameplay. The hitting just seems dull. The beautiful hits of baseball I am just not seeing. The choppers, the bounces, the slow rollers, etcetera. I don't feel like this ball is alive. It seems like it is more on rails. Lots of hits right smack up the middle, a few exactly down the line, etcetera. Nothing feels organic about the hitting process. The controls are engaging, but the end result feels very shallow.

Secondly, I'm not sure we're ever going to solve this AI pitching issue. The combination of the strike zone, the umpire, and the sliders is making it very difficult for me to feel like this is a representation of the game. Either the top pitchers turn into gods, or the average pitchers begin bouncing everything. I can get good ball numbers from average to below pitchers, but some of their pitches are so ridiculously far out of the strike zone as to be hilarious, (often resulting in passed balls) and even then, most of their strikes are still right at the corners. There doesn't seem to be that 5.0 ERA guy that is the bulk of the majors that has control issues but keeps it near the strike zone and just gets hit a lot.

I think post patch we can get a decent game of baseball for those that have a 360 only, but not without an exhaustive amount of work on the part of the user.

[baa7]

Re: Major League Baseball 2K8 360 Impressions

The hitting just seems dull. The beautiful hits of baseball I am just not seeing. The choppers, the bounces, the slow rollers, etcetera. I don't feel like this ball is alive. It seems like it is more on rails. Lots of hits right smack up the middle, a few exactly down the line, etcetera. Nothing feels organic about the hitting process. The controls are engaging, but the end result feels very shallow.

By far one of the biggest weaknesses with 2K baseball for at least 3 years. The problem is the players' hitting ratings are way too high in relation to the hitting engine programming. Take one team; lower the starting 8-9 players' hitting ratings (contact and power) by 50%. You'll see a huge improvement in the hit realism and variety. For one thing, no more fly balls outnumbering groundballs 3 to 1 or more.

[Pared]

Re: Major League Baseball 2K8 360 Impressions

I think post patch we can get a decent game of baseball for those that have a 360 only, but not without an exhaustive amount of work on the part of the user.

That's my biggest beef with games like this. People want to say "well with the right sliders it's great."

Why is the game not "great" out of the damn box? Did I not spend $400 on a gaming system and $60 on a game? Why should I have to do all this patchwork for the game to be solid.

I'm used to doing slider work but only to make a great game better. When you have to put in all this work to get the game under control it annoys me.