Major League Baseball 2K9 Demo Available, Post Your Impressions Here

[watts2you]

I'm a big fan of the 2k Sports Baseball seris but last year forced me to buy The Show as well. I have 5 possitives and 5 neggetives for my first impressionsof the the demo:
Possitives:
1) LOVE the commentary
2) Animations are smooth (smooth enough)
3) New polished throwing meter is a must
4) Gameplay is solid but a little clunky in the outfield
5) Pitching is MUCH improved and more friendly
Neggetives:
1) Player models look a little skinny (downgrade in graphics)
2) Still some awkward moments when opposing team singles and my cut-off man hold the ball in a "ready to fire" possition.
3) Fielding view when ball is in play is too far.
4) Action view when a runner steals is too far.
5) Miss the Cut Scenes.....I miss those close ups when you could see the texture on players faces. 07 and 08 has way better graphics.

All the neggetives I can definatley live with. Overall it's going to be a good game and I'm enjoying the demo and can't wait to pick up my copy!

[jsou4646]

Re: Major League Baseball 2K9 Demo Available, Post Your Impressions Here

Let down, to say the least. I'm not even going to get into it.

[tgalv]

Re: Major League Baseball 2K9 Demo Available, Post Your Impressions Here

my impression is this game is shoddy at best just like the last two and the only reason 2k sports sells any copies of it is because of uninformed ps3 buyers and no competition on the 360.

plusses and minuses

- the fielding controls are sluggish and flat out horrendous

- baserunning controls same thing

- bad and inappropriate animations that look stupid

- the AI is horrible. i just got in a pickle and spent 5 minutes and 200 throws running back and forth before i got tired of it and just ran into the out. saw carlos pena decide to go for a triple with 1 out for no reason in a scoreless game and get thrown out by half a basepath. fielders missing balls for no reason because the controls are garbage

- they dumbed down the pitching which i thought was a neat feature.

- there are no replays in the demo and i'm guessing that's because
they run at 5 frames per second

+ inside edge is cool

+ some of the presentation is cool, but i really don't give a crap about it if i can't field a routine ball without it turning into a ridiculous slow motion horror show

+ the quick menus with the dpad are nice

+ they improved the framerate from "wtf were they thinking" to "terrible"

2k needs to re prioritize how their game works. it's like what's going on in the field during the game is just filler and the cutscenes, and whatever stupid crap the announcers are saying is what they want you to be impressed with.

[tgalv]

Re: Major League Baseball 2K9 Demo Available, Post Your Impressions Here

and what type of development team releases a demo with no explanations of the controls? especially when they've changed many of them

told me all i really needed to know, not that i was the least bit surprised.

[Lepermessiah]

Re: Major League Baseball 2K9 Demo Available, Post Your Impressions Here

my impression is this game is shoddy at best just like the last two and the only reason 2k sports sells any copies of it is because of uninformed ps3 buyers and no competition on the 360.

plusses and minuses

- the fielding controls are sluggish and flat out horrendous

- baserunning controls same thing

- bad and inappropriate animations that look stupid

- the AI is horrible. i just got in a pickle and spent 5 minutes and 200 throws running back and forth before i got tired of it and just ran into the out. saw carlos pena decide to go for a triple with 1 out for no reason in a scoreless game and get thrown out by half a basepath. fielders missing balls for no reason because the controls are garbage

- they dumbed down the pitching which i thought was a neat feature.

- there are no replays in the demo and i'm guessing that's because
they run at 5 frames per second

+ inside edge is cool

+ some of the presentation is cool, but i really don't give a crap about it if i can't field a routine ball without it turning into a ridiculous slow motion horror show

+ the quick menus with the dpad are nice

+ they improved the framerate from "wtf were they thinking" to "terrible"

2k needs to re prioritize how their game works. it's like what's going on in the field during the game is just filler and the cutscenes, and whatever stupid crap the announcers are saying is what they want you to be impressed with.

WHAT? Frame rate was smooth for me in the demo, and is even betetr in the final according to OS, did you play the same demo?

Pitching can be switched to 2k8 controls, so moot point, and why is it Ok for the show and every other game to have simplier one button pitching?

You are guessing they run at 5 fps?This just shows your a troll, a bad assumption that is proved wrong if you read rpeviews and even OS's own Q & A with the final version, game runs smooth.

How are the baserunning controls sluggish, works fine.

The rest are valid points, but posts like this show people are going out of their way to bash when it is not warranted.

your comment about tat other game shows your intentions, no, many like 2k are more informed about baseball then you, I like 2k because its online leagues make the shows look dull in comaprison, and the controls in 2k are more pleasing to many then simple one button pressing that has been around forever. The show is a solid game nothing more that is the same game every year with a roster update. I have both, not near the game it is mad e out to be.

[Hoos]

Re: Major League Baseball 2K9 Demo Available, Post Your Impressions Here

Ugggh!!! Just had something terribly disturbing happen during my latest game with the demo

I had men on first and second and the batter got a hit that I thought the guy on 2nd could score on............but, since I had no clue how to advance runners, I ended up with a guy on third base, a guy on second and another guy stuck between second and third.

This is when the ugly started.........the guy stuck between the two bases was literally just standing there in what appeared to be a mid running stride. The AI's third baseman ended up with the ball and was just staring at said runner, didn't make any attempts to tag him. At first I thought the game had froze, hence the stuck runner......OH NO, it was 2K's version of a major league stare down confrontation unfolding right before my very eyes.

The situation outlined above must have lasted for a solid minute or two before I finally fumbled around with my controller and figured out how to release the runner toward home from third base. At that moment, the AI FINALLY reacted and made the throw to home to tag out the runner trying to score. The stuck runner then proceeded to third base.

WTF!!!!! This is just inexcusable

I sure hope this type of bad AI didn't make it into the final build, but I'd be willing to say that it did. If there's one such bad AI moment, then chances are good that there will be others waiting to rear their ugly heads.

I'm sure the above situation would be avoidable for the most part once I learn the controls and make smart base running decisions. As we all know, a runner getting stuck between two bases does happen in real life on occasion but you wont see the defense just standing there in a trance.

[tgalv]

Re: Major League Baseball 2K9 Demo Available, Post Your Impressions Here

from what i've seen the baserunning and fielding AI is cringe worthy, but hey the graphics look pretty

and to the dude above dogging my post: i never mentioned the show in my post. if i wanted to do a comparison i would compare it to the mvp series of 5+ years ago or the high heat series from even further back, neither of which 2k9 is on the remote playing field of. wish i had a ps3.

[bigfnjoe96]

Re: Major League Baseball 2K9 Demo Available, Post Your Impressions Here

Well I finally played a couple of games last night.. Went in with no major expectations.

From the moment the game hit my TV the difference in 2k8 was evident. The color look great. Crowd also looks good. It's also looks like VC has ported over the graphics engine from NBA 2k9.

Players did have the same graphical look. Some players look good & others didn't. 60fps was also evident as the game look pretty smooth.

The real-time stuff looked rough around the edges, but I really like the concept. The day of the CUT-SCENE in Sports Games are a thing of the past.

The animations need work. You can tell VC didn't do much of anything with the animations. From the RTA, to the way players walk & run. It looked very stiff & robotic @ times.

Hopefully re-doing the animations are a PRIORITY for next year.

Really disappointed VC chose to not allow for the user to change ANY of the options in the DEMO.

The NEW Pitching Mechanic is gonna take some getting use to. No tutorial didn't help either, including the brief overview @ the beginning.

Hitting was OK, but I'm really looking forward to using the Zone Hitting Option.

Fielding seem good except for some slow down in the outfield which is something that has plague this game for a couple of years now.

The AI seemed pretty good. Saw some substitutions that would happen in real-life. Stolen bases were there also. Yes the AI was aggressive @ the plate, but they didn't swing @ everything & they did take pitches that were out of the zone.

All & All I was impressed. Looking forward to the full version.

[DaveDQ]

Re: Major League Baseball 2K9 Demo Available, Post Your Impressions Here

Something pretty lame just happened with me. I hit a deep ball to right and the fielder went for it and hit the wall. He stood in place and was doing a "mario run" against the wall while the other fielder ran over and picked the ball up. I could have taken it to home plate.

Not good, and I hope it's not something that's in the final version because that could determine the outcome of a game.

[Knight165]

Re: Major League Baseball 2K9 Demo Available, Post Your Impressions Here

Something pretty lame just happened with me. I hit a deep ball to right and the fielder went for it and hit the wall. He stood in place and was doing a "mario run" against the wall while the other fielder ran over and picked the ball up. I could have taken it to home plate.

Not good, and I hope it's not something that's in the final version because that could determine the outcome of a game.

I'm seeing a lot of this...both CPU and with me(although of course some of that is me sucking )....when it comes to playing off the walls.
Whether it be the "mario run" or really bad bouncing off the walls.....when the ball is hit near the wall or rolling to the wall....I give a little uh-oh.
The animations definitely need some cleaning up.

M.K.
Knight165

[nycfabuloso]

how about the distance of the homeruns is that gonna be in the final build not a game braker but very annoying if its not

[jrod1981]

Re: Major League Baseball 2K9 Demo Available, Post Your Impressions Here

I think the demo's are showing something else entirely different. It appears its too easy to pinpoint the ball. In real life, which we all want for our video games to emulate, most pitchers strive to pinpoint their pitches and most hits/mistakes from the pitcher occur when this doesn't happen. I think in order for the game to have mass appeal, the developers have to dumb down pitching and put too much empasis on the batter making the pitch/hitter battle real. This is why i will be adding in the 3rd motion to the pitching interface on 2k9. I feel it has more impact on mistakes. Hopefully this makes sense. LOL

[erkizzlemynizzle]

Re: Major League Baseball 2K9 Demo Available, Post Your Impressions Here

Sorry, I am sure this has been asked several times, but I don't feel like digging through the thread to find it.

Is the PS3 demo out yet? If not, what time today should it be released?

[akabarneyphife]

The organ is alreay pissing me off also the players move around like robots

Yes .... that does sound like you are playing a 2K game!
2K got the robot thing down perfect!

[CarryTheWeight]

Re: Major League Baseball 2K9 Demo Available, Post Your Impressions Here

Rundowns/"pickles" are in the demo...I tried stealing third and both the second and third basemen chased me down after they threw the ball back and forth a few times. It does exist, it just doesn't happen every time.