Major League Baseball 2K9 Review

[nike23EA]

Re: Major League Baseball 2K9 Review

Haha, from what little bit I played of MLB 2K9 (literally two games) I would attest to most of the points made and the score. Not like I played it enough to give a review of my own, but MLB 2K9 is so far behind The Show it's not even funny. We're talking NBA LIve 06 compared to NBA 2K6 separation levels here.

Thats the problem with the stereo-type reviews. In some games (playing allstar difficulty) i get an offencive surge (sounds familiar ive seen 21 run ball games before in real mlb games)...but most of my games against the good teams with the reds im having 4-3 ball games 1-1 ball games going into the 11th inning and just lastnight i had a game against the Marlins go into 11 innings at 2-2 with each team only getting 8 hits and i had 12 strike outs with my pitcher (some were swinging some were looking and some were even checked swings.)

I guess its probablly because i am not trying to spam the right stick up...i get a variety of hits to all different directions just based on the timeing of my swing. This is the problem i have with most any baseball games that come out lets dump the hit aiming and the ability to jack home runs by pushing up on the stick...thats lame who comes up with these ideas when making sports games! While not the best baseball game in the history its not bad...sorry ill let you guys at OS get back to your show lovefest.

[Muskrat]

Re: Major League Baseball 2K9 Review

I avoid the "right stick up spamming" except with certain hitters who typically swing for the fences (Soriano and Ramirez to be specific...and Lee sometimes..I'm using the cubs). I have noticed that certain "real life" situations work really well ie: hitting to the hole between 2b and 1b with a runner on first, etc...that works very well...

[Jimbo68]

I downloaded and played only three games of 2K9. I actually smiled as I turned the machine off. One of the biggest gripes that I'm seeing is that the AI batters swing at everything. In the last of my three, three-inning games, I had four strikeouts, two the AI batter did NOT swing, once he swung and missed and the other time the batter checked his swing and the plate ump punched him out. Not a bad pitching effort considering there aren't any sliders to adjust in the demo. I actually won that last game 4-0. Lost the first two games.

I enjoy using the sticks to pitch and bat. I don't like having to look at the pitching meters seen in The Show and MVP '05. But I did buy The Show '09 because I am a graphics and overall gameplay whore. It is what it is. Will pick up 2K9 when the price drops. Whatever happened to 2K games going for $19.99? Those were the days.

[Blzer]

Re: Major League Baseball 2K9 Review

Taking a first pitch strike that you can hit, simply because it's "what you do", to me, has always seemed a bit silly.

I just wanted to respond to this on a personal level.

I take the game of baseball very mentally when I play, and use everything to my favor when I can. I'm a leadoff hitter, so my job(s) are to: 1) get on base any way possible; 2) scout the pitcher for my fellow teammates. I abuse the latter so damn much when I play. If there were splits compiled into my stats, you would see that probably 80% of my at bats I have a two strike count, or last more than four pitches. I also walk over once a game on average. I'm a patient hitter in the sense that I'm looking in one zone for a long time, but this is besides the point.

Anyway, what I wanted to say about the "mental" thing is I'm really good at placing images into my head based on what I've seen. I recall my past at bats and pitches that came to me and in which sequence, and once I see a kind of pitch in the pitcher's arsenal, I remember how it moves and how the pitcher releases the ball, etc. But most importantly, if it's a pitcher that I haven't seen before, I never swing at the first pitch. I want to get the timing down and see where he releases the ball (when I bat, I don't look at the pitcher, I look at where the ball is going to fly out of his hand). I take the pitch without even really looking at the ball, but instead making a mental note on where he released it, and stay in the box for the next pitch to make it recognizable for myself.

Anyway, if there were AB splits, you'd also see that I have more success later in the game off the same pitcher. It's just that kind of mentality that I have.

So the only reason I made the post is to say that I'll take pitches right down the middle if it is the first time I'm seeing the pitcher. Otherwise, down the middle will be fair game to hack at.

[J.R. Locke]

Good Review.

I think all baseball games gear towards this softball style. I remember when I first played MVP 2005 on PC without Mods last summer. It was a horrible game. But once tuned it became a passable baseball game. Heres to hoping we can do that with MLB 2k.

[BlyGilmore]

Nobody is making excuses for anything being broken. If it can be remedied with sliders, it's NOT broken. Period. That's what they are there for. If you feel like the CPU gets too many hits, then lower the slider and there is no problem. That analogy is terrible for the simple fact that games which I think are unplayable without sliders (again NCAA Football 2009...much more unplayable than this game out the box, NBA2K9) are capable and in many cases, enjoyable to alot of people with default sliders.

Point blank, the issues that MLB 2K9 has (wonky fielding, AI not taking strikes, lack of customization) can't be fixed with sliders. But don't give this rationale that sliders are meaningless or you shouldn't have to adjust them. They're apart of video games just like Franchise, CAP, Editing Players, etc.

I never said they are meaningless. I said they are to tweak and perfect - not fix.

[bodean]

Re: Major League Baseball 2K9 Review

This game, like last years, is HORRIBLE!

Seems like 80% of the people on 2ksports forums seem to agree. Can't believe this company continues to put out sh|t products.

[JEM]

Re: Major League Baseball 2K9 Review

I am pretty impressed with what VC was able to do with the game this year. They came in after that EA clown made the series a joke ( saw that coming ) and they did not try to fix everything in one year ( not possible ).. Next year my expectations will be higher which also means harsh criticisms if they do not get it together.

[snugglyirishman]

I feel that this game is straight trash....bought a PS3 just for the Show and absolutely love it. Now I have played 2K baseball every year that it has been put out and to tell the truth I even found last years copy entertaining. That could be because I could strike people out in that game and didn't combine for 35 hits in my first game, the final score being 9-8 with 3 errors for the Cubs and 1 for the Astros. In the second game, the Cubs had 3 more errors by the 2nd inning and these weren't throwing errors, the outfielders dropped the ball 3 times. The player models are "okay" and the defense is choppy. I'm selling this game back and sticking with the Show....straight garbage.

[Muskrat]

Re: Major League Baseball 2K9 Review

I just wanted to respond to this on a personal level.

I take the game of baseball very mentally when I play, and use everything to my favor when I can. I'm a leadoff hitter, so my job(s) are to: 1) get on base any way possible; 2) scout the pitcher for my fellow teammates. I abuse the latter so damn much when I play. If there were splits compiled into my stats, you would see that probably 80% of my at bats I have a two strike count, or last more than four pitches. I also walk over once a game on average. I'm a patient hitter in the sense that I'm looking in one zone for a long time, but this is besides the point.

Anyway, what I wanted to say about the "mental" thing is I'm really good at placing images into my head based on what I've seen. I recall my past at bats and pitches that came to me and in which sequence, and once I see a kind of pitch in the pitcher's arsenal, I remember how it moves and how the pitcher releases the ball, etc. But most importantly, if it's a pitcher that I haven't seen before, I never swing at the first pitch. I want to get the timing down and see where he releases the ball (when I bat, I don't look at the pitcher, I look at where the ball is going to fly out of his hand). I take the pitch without even really looking at the ball, but instead making a mental note on where he released it, and stay in the box for the next pitch to make it recognizable for myself.

Anyway, if there were AB splits, you'd also see that I have more success later in the game off the same pitcher. It's just that kind of mentality that I have.

So the only reason I made the post is to say that I'll take pitches right down the middle if it is the first time I'm seeing the pitcher. Otherwise, down the middle will be fair game to hack at.

Your post makes total sense to me and I completely understand this..the more pitches you see, the more likely you are to do better when trying to make contact. My argument is mainly towards those that are getting worked up over the aggressive AI hitting..I just find it a little over the top.

[keats624]

Just bought 2K9 when it came out...its terrible...im tradin it back in for 2K8
They had a good thing going in 2K8 and alot to build off of but they decide to take alot of things out of it and ended up taking all kinds of steps back.

Nothing will ever top EA's MVP series...especially 2005, one of my favorite games ever

[Tyrant8RDFL]

One of the problems I have always had with 2k baseball is the feel of hitting the ball. It always felt like I was playing whiffle ball, and I never liked the sound effects used when the ball was hit.

Also the animations make the players seem like they only posses half a brain. They tend to look dazed at times when going from one animation to another.

[bkrich83]

Fair review imo. I think the game is fun, and will make a nice change of pace type game to play, but ultimately is not quite ready for prime time.

[CubsNBroncos]

Re: Major League Baseball 2K9 Review

I picked up MLB 2K9 despite the reviews just yesterday. I started playing and immediately thought "OMG....what have I done?" Then I gave the game another chance with some tweaks here and there, and now I'm having fun. Not as much fun as I had with 2K8, but it's livable. I'm not crazy about the camera angles the game gives you for pitching, fielding, and hitting despite being able to adjust them, but the game isn't nearly as bad as some make it out to be. Out of the box it IS crap, but with some tweaks the game is a solid 8 in my book. I like 2K8's pitching mechanic MUCH better, and wish VC would've retained what the previous devs did with it.

[jeffy777]

Re: Major League Baseball 2K9 Review

but the game isn't nearly as bad as some make it out to be.

You are right. It's not that bad, but it's just not as great as it should be either though. But I'm not going to pass final judgment until I see what VC does with the next patch. That's the only thing that's keeping me from going back to 2K7 right now or getting The Show for PS2. But if they can iron out the kinks, I'll stick with it and give it a high 7 or maybe even an 8.0 if they really work some mojo with that patch. We'll see.