Major League Baseball 2K8 Review

[ChaseB]

So we talked about a re-review type deal post-patch Brophog, but I actually think that's a bad idea and I don't think we'll do something like that. I'll explain my thought process on that though:

In the same way it's shaky ground to criticize a game for something it's not, it's also shaky ground to praise a game for what it could be. That's my general philosophy at least, and I think since the game comes boxed one way, that means some people won't be able to get a patch etc.

Now all that being said, I do agree it would make sense to take a second look once patches and all that come out, and I think we certainly will. But I just don't think it will be under the guise of a re-review.

[gallandro]

Re: Major League Baseball 2K8 Review

It's MLB2K6 all over again. Remember they had to release a patch to fix a freezing and frame rate problem??? Which again seemed to stem from an issue with the way VIPs loaded (just like this latest glitch).

Yancy

[abcd]

What a company lol I used to love 2k but how can anybody continue to make excuses for 2k.
I cant wait till EA buys them !
PS How do you go backwards graphically 2k7 to mlb 2k8 ?

[rsnomar05]

Re: Major League Baseball 2K8 Review

So we talked about a re-review type deal post-patch Brophog, but I actually think that's a bad idea and I don't think we'll do something like that. I'll explain my thought process on that though:

In the same way it's shaky ground to criticize a game for something it's not, it's also shaky ground to praise a game for what it could be. That's my general philosophy at least, and I think since the game comes boxed one way, that means some people won't be able to get a patch etc.

Now all that being said, I do agree it would make sense to take a second look once patches and all that come out, and I think we certainly will. But I just don't think it will be under the guise of a re-review.

I wouldn't re-evaluate the game at all, not even take a second look. If past history serves as any indication, we'll have to wait months for a patch. And even if they patch it up quickly, they still shipped out a flawed game. It seems these days that companies think "don't worry about the problem, we'll just let everyone know we plan on patching it, and then we can fix it whenever we get around to it." There is no way they didn't know about the frame-rate issue, just as the Madden crew definitely knew about the turnover glitch. And the supposed Madden patch that would fix this issue? Never happened, as the turnovers still happen post patch. Game companies shouldn't be rewarded unless their patch comes out quickly and fully addresses the issue. Waiting months for a patch to fix something that never should have been a problem in the first place is outrageous, especially when people plunked down $60 on the game. We bought the hype hook, line, and sinker. They said they "were tired of playing second fiddle to the show," promised smooth frame-rate...I could go on for ages, but then this post would be novel-length. I can't wait to see a sports game released that doesn't need to patched, but I won't hold my breath for one. At least with games like NBA 2k8 the game wasn't flawed and in drastic need of a fix.

The 6 rating is perfect, and to me it will remain a 6 unless a patch comes out A.S.A.P. If I've had to play with terrible frame-rate for months, sorry, but no ratings increase.

[Blzer]

Re: Major League Baseball 2K8 Review

What a company lol I used to love 2k but how can anybody continue to make excuses for 2k.
I cant wait till EA buys them !
PS How do you go backwards graphically 2k7 to mlb 2k8 ?

Like I said in my post earlier... I understand losing detail, but to completely dumb down the lighting intensity (and change it all for the worse) and make all of the colors very saturated to a gross extent is just totally inexcusable. It doesn't even make sense.

But again, the loss of detail was optimizing for the 60 FPS and anti-aliasing, which I would take over more detail any day of the week and twice on Sunday. But they really need to step up as much as they can, especially if the "other game" can do this stuff so well without suffice in detail.

[larma]

Good review, nailed my thoughts exactly.

[grunt]

Re: Major League Baseball 2K8 Review

So we talked about a re-review type deal post-patch Brophog, but I actually think that's a bad idea and I don't think we'll do something like that. I'll explain my thought process on that though:

In the same way it's shaky ground to criticize a game for something it's not, it's also shaky ground to praise a game for what it could be. That's my general philosophy at least, and I think since the game comes boxed one way, that means some people won't be able to get a patch etc.

Now all that being said, I do agree it would make sense to take a second look once patches and all that come out, and I think we certainly will. But I just don't think it will be under the guise of a re-review.

Thank you for a great review and holding developers feet to the fire. There are too many reviewers that would have given this game a 7 or 8 but a 6 is a wake up call for the MLB 2k series. Frame rate issues should never be acceptable in any video games and patches are becoming a crutch for too many developers. Developers believe we can get the game out on time and deliver a patch 2 months from now that in itself should be unacceptable.

Too many sport games have skated too long and it is good to see OS reviews pulling their cards.

OS reviews are heading in the right direction.

Peace

[grunt]

Re: Major League Baseball 2K8 Review

I wouldn't re-evaluate the game at all, not even take a second look. If past history serves as any indication, we'll have to wait months for a patch. And even if they patch it up quickly, they still shipped out a flawed game. It seems these days that companies think "don't worry about the problem, we'll just let everyone know we plan on patching it, and then we can fix it whenever we get around to it." There is no way they didn't know about the frame-rate issue, just as the Madden crew definitely knew about the turnover glitch. And the supposed Madden patch that would fix this issue? Never happened, as the turnovers still happen post patch. Game companies shouldn't be rewarded unless their patch comes out quickly and fully addresses the issue. Waiting months for a patch to fix something that never should have been a problem in the first place is outrageous, especially when people plunked down $60 on the game. We bought the hype hook, line, and sinker. They said they "were tired of playing second fiddle to the show," promised smooth frame-rate...I could go on for ages, but then this post would be novel-length. I can't wait to see a sports game released that doesn't need to patched, but I won't hold my breath for one. At least with games like NBA 2k8 the game wasn't flawed and in drastic need of a fix.

The 6 rating is perfect, and to me it will remain a 6 unless a patch comes out A.S.A.P. If I've had to play with terrible frame-rate for months, sorry, but no ratings increase.

Great post. Gamers are getting tired of this mess. 60 dollars just cant be thrown away on an incomplete product. I am waiting 2 weeks before I buy any sport games because the level of quality in the sport video game genre is getting worst every year.

[BrianFifaFan]

Spot on review. Man this is just the latest bummer in a year that 2k Sports really lost ground. All Pro flopped, NHL2k was a buggy mess, NBA2k lost a lot of graphical polish and College Hoops got canned. I've been a 2k fan ever since NFL2k5( I bought my Xbox just for it) but I'm really starting to lose faith. Other than CHoops (which wasn't really earth-shattering save 2k Share) the other titles have all been "meh" this year. I thought that Ben could save MLB but this game is just another Bargin Bin effort out of a year of poorly-executed half games. NBA was probably the second best game, but I couldn't take how the graphics degraded from last year. (fluidity of animations) All-Pro was too targeted for the online crowd (no franchise) NHL2k was a lesser game than its EA competitor. (realism, old control scheme)
Man I never thought I'd say this but maybe EA should win this war. Games like Fifa08 and NHL08 are clearly games that are headed in the right direction. NBA Live/MM and Madden/NCAA not so much. Well maybe Top Spin will be a winner. If,IF it is I'll drop the 60 bucks. But I can't continue to support games that are inferior. And that does include Madden/NCAA

[NEWYORICAN]

Good review!!, I gave it a 5, but close enough. Your comment of:

" It really has to make you wonder what happened over the course of 12 months?"

I think a lot of us feel the same about that!!

[Skyboxer]

Very good review. Totally agree.
The game has so much potential and time could have been better served working on the main core rather than a card system.
Also to a previous poster, you can get patches via the silver account also. You don't need gold.

[CMH]

This is one of the better reviews of this game. You dug deep into it's positives and negatives. Maybe I feel that way because everything is exactly how I feel. It's a good game of baseball that has inexusable negatives that should have been fixed before retail.

The audio and presentation should have been the downfall of 2k8. It should have been something that people would say, "Lets wait for 2k9 because I love 2k8!"

Instead, because of the frame rate issue people are experiencing, online lag, downed graphics, and minor bugs here and there, people are ignoring the good of the title and rendering 2k8 unplayable.

Honestly, I don't blame people for feeling this way because the above issues are, again, inexcusable.

Solid review that covers everything. When you consider it all I think a 6/10 is fair. The graphics taking a hit is a full point right there. The lack of audio and presentation is another point. And then I'd say if framerate was ironed out we'd have another point. It's crazy to know that if those three things are fixed then MLB2k8 would have been a 9/10 title easily.

Hopefully, the gameplay remains the same or continues to improve and 2k9 focuses on their above negatives. Because if it does then Brinkman and team weren't wrong.

[BlyGilmore]

Re: Major League Baseball 2K8 Review

The game "crashes"? You mean you'll be playing then, bingo, crashes like a computer game would?

Yep. Completely freezes. You push buttons, nothing happens. after a few minutes of waiting all you can do is turn off the console and start over.

[BlyGilmore]

Re: Major League Baseball 2K8 Review

For the review, I agree that a 6 is a tad harsh, but I don't know his scale.......everyone has a different 1-10 scale. On mine, it's a tad harsh. On his, it may be generious.

Funny you bring this up because it was a topic of our staff meeting last night.

We have some review guidelines. I thought they were live but they weren't. Look for them to be posted later in the week or first thing next week.

In the case of MLB 2K8, here's the description for games in that range ...

5 to 6.5 – Average to slightly above average. While fun at times these games generally have some glaring issues that need to be addressed before it can be considered a good game. These games tend to have some design issues and an overall lack of depth. In other words a little more time in development probably could have done these types of games some good. You are also firmly in, "if you're not a fan of that sport you shouldn't pick up this title" land.

[BlyGilmore]

Re: Major League Baseball 2K8 Review

So we talked about a re-review type deal post-patch Brophog, but I actually think that's a bad idea and I don't think we'll do something like that. I'll explain my thought process on that though:

In the same way it's shaky ground to criticize a game for something it's not, it's also shaky ground to praise a game for what it could be. That's my general philosophy at least, and I think since the game comes boxed one way, that means some people won't be able to get a patch etc.

Now all that being said, I do agree it would make sense to take a second look once patches and all that come out, and I think we certainly will. But I just don't think it will be under the guise of a re-review.

Yeah i agree, a full blow re-review probably won't happen. we'll certainly have some "MLB is patched - its better now!" coverage - assuming it is better.

but IMO you can't give companies mulligans. patching a defective product doesn't make up for the several months gamers had to deal with it being broken. If the patch was released in the first week it might be different, but weeks to months after release?