Major League Baseball 2K9 Review

[ajb1980]

Hi guys, can someone please tell me how to substitute my pitcher. I am not very familiar with baseball and it keeps saying something about a Bull Pen, help me please?

[Eddie1967]

Re: Major League Baseball 2K9 Review

Pause the game, scroll up and you should see the substitute menu.
If your talking about a pitcher getting hurt during the game then it should come up automatically.

[Diesel3649]

Re: Major League Baseball 2K9 Review

Very good review, fair and balanced, hit all the points, good and bad.
I've always had the theory with 2K baseball games that the game engine is just not that great, and needs to be scrapped and a new one built from the ground up. I still have that feeling when I see some of the same issues year after year. With 2k's money problems, I don't see that happening any time soon.

This is just a theory, but I haven't seen much to make me feel that I'm wrong in the past 3 or 4 years. Every year I still hope they come up with something great, but I feel that I should wish VC good luck making chicken salad out of chicken ****.

[7stringking]

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.

Don't go there..Nothing 2k makes is as bad as Jive...Uh, except maybe Prizefighter!

[DMB82]

That's exactly my point, and why I put it in quotes.

How can you review a game, expecting the reviewer to be level in how reviews this game compared to other sports games, and expect them to factor in that sliders can "fix" a game for them?

Does that make sense?

Exactly. People expecting another review based on sliders are being ridiculous and grasping at straws. What sliders is he supposed to review on considering everyone would change different things if they were making their own sliders? Besides, expecting people to tinker with sliders for hours to attempt to play a game of baseball that isn't completely broken after they've just spend $60 on the game is beyond absurd.

[DMB82]

I don't really get it. I'm saying to people it isn't broken, and that if sliders can make the game more to your preference - that should be factored in.
We are talking about videogame baseball, and your idea of what bliss is like will differ than mine.
I feel like the point of the review was to dock major points for the game not simulating real life baseball extremely closely - right out of the box.
I think your argument against mine is that the game is fundamentally 'broken' in certain aspects - is that right? And that sliders can band-aid those aspects and that the consumer shouldn't be expected to have to fix those issues himself..at least I think that's where you're going.
I'm just saying this is all very subjective and I'm not convinced that the game has to be extremely sim right out of the box to get a good score.
I think it's a great 'fusion' of sim, especially with my current sliders and I'm very happy w/ how it's playing now. I could list stats like my team BA or pitch count and things like this. I'll have lower walks (taken and given) and pitch counts - but everything else is very believable and my games only take 40-45 minutes.

So basically why you disagree with the review is that you like arcade baseball. You'd probably loved the old Triple Play games too didn't you? Personally I want a realistic experience from my baseball experience right down to allowing me to control everything all 30 teams do with their rosters (thank you The Show!) and having 20-2 games and 85 HRs in a season by one player is neither fun nor acceptable. If I wanted to play MLB slugfest I'd play the baseball game that comes with the Wii. For $60 I want a baseball sim and 2K has once again failed miserably at creating that although I'd argue that they aren't trying to make a sim game anymore. They are clearly going for a more arcade experience (and like I said if that's your cup of tea, enjoy!).

[DMB82]

the main difference is that 2k9 isn't broken...at least in my eyes. a typical game of mine I throw 85-95 pitches and the other team 95-120. That's not 'passable'? the game isn't for you...that's fine, but it's not broken imo either.

Amount of pitches thrown in a game determines whether this game is broken or not? Are you serious?

[VDusen04]

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.

I went through this exact scenario. I initially had a severe case of buyer's remorse but the more I played, the more fun and passable it's actually turned out to be. There are clearly so many things that could be added, fixed, or changed but I also agree with the point that I don't find this game nearly as bad as seemingly everyone has made it out to be. After reading reviews I was prepared for a Superman 64 experience but it has turned out pretty well for a 360 owner like myself.

With The Show being as great as I've heard it is, I'm sure it only amplifies the void between these two releases. In the recent NBA and NHL releases, I don't believe the gap has been quite as severe, both companies are putting together solid releases. MLB 2K seems to still be struggling to find an identity. But again, I'm satisfied with MLB 2K9 at this point, so go figure.

[SoxFan01605]

Re: Major League Baseball 2K9 Review

I went through this exact scenario. I initially had a severe case of buyer's remorse but the more I played, the more fun and passable it's actually turned out to be. There are clearly so many things that could be added, fixed, or changed but I also agree with the point that I don't find this game nearly as bad as seemingly everyone has made it out to be. After reading reviews I was prepared for a Superman 64 experience but it has turned out pretty well for a 360 owner like myself.

With The Show being as great as I've heard it is, I'm sure it only amplifies the void between these two releases. In the recent NBA and NHL releases, I don't believe the gap has been quite as severe, both companies are putting together solid releases. MLB 2K seems to still be struggling to find an identity. But again, I'm satisfied with MLB 2K9 at this point, so go figure.

You bring up some good points.

I think the thing with reviews that many people forget is that they (normally) cover the broad scope of the game's content with the slant of the writer's personal experience with the game.

Meaning that a review can be 100% fair and you can actually 100% disagree with the slant/viewpoint. I've played plenty of games where I enjoyed them much more than the review. I've seen plenty of movies that were "horrible" yet I loved them.

From a review standpoint, this game falls short in many areas. It's a mess of bugs (great and small), it misses the mark on the pitcher-batter confrontation (key to a great baseball "sim"), downgraded in textures it seems (though, overall the graphics improved), stripped down it's customization options, etc, etc.

This things all make up for a poor review...and rightfully so. What the reviews can't ever cover accurately, IMO, is "fun-factor." That's wholly subjective. While I may get comepletely turned off due to the games issues, plenty of others can ignore them (or at least look past them) and have an enjoyable videogame experience.

OS is typically considered a "hardcore" sport's gaming fan's site. It's to be expected that many of us would have a hard time rectifying the mess of issues in 2K9. I think for most (obviously excluding the people with an odd fixation on bringing everyone down with them...lol) it's not hatred, just disappointment with a game they were hoping to see something better from.

In the end (and I've said this before) there will be plenty of people who enjoy this game on it's own merits...no matter if other's can agree on what they actually are...lol.

If people's thoughts on the game (one way or another) are based off of reviews, then they will likely miss out on a lot. I'm not talking about agreeing/disagreeing. I'm talking about taking them as gospel rather than just another source of information and a potentially useful consumer tool.

[VDusen04]

Re: Major League Baseball 2K9 Review

That was well said and I think that I might agree with just about everything you touched on.

[Player9]

Mlb 2k9 is a Bad game for me.Baseball simulator 2000 with the 6 team without specials powers is more simple and more realistic than mlb2k9.Forget the graphics and the huge stadistics or deep roster of mlb2k9 the pitching interfase is a joke.The movements of players needs atention.The 2k team needs help from the nba2k series team to improve the baseball series.The only one and an excellent option is The show.I waiting for MVP in the future.

[SoxFan01605]

Re: Major League Baseball 2K9 Review

The 2k team needs help from the nba2k series team to improve the baseball series.

The irony of this statement is they DID have help from the VC basketball team...lol. That was part of the logic in breaking up 2KLA (Kush) and bringing them "home" again.

[brahmagoul]

Re: Major League Baseball 2K9 Review

Personally I want a realistic experience from my baseball experience right down to allowing me to control everything all 30 teams do with their rosters (thank you The Show!)

So, you can do this in MLB 09, but not MLB 2K9? That would be the clincher for me!

[The Gamer]

Re: Major League Baseball 2K9 Review

You can do this with 2k9 as well.

[JayBruce32]

Re: Major League Baseball 2K9 Review

MLB 2k9 is the WORST game I've ever played, from a simple standpoint of I've never had a game I've bought frustrate me and leave me cussing out loud and cracking my joints and in a terrible mood and turning it off in the middle of a game because of the stuff that happens until I owned this game.

Video games are supposed to be fun. I go from a good mood to a terrible mood after i play the game. It accomplishes the opposite of what its supposed to do. Everything feels backwards in this game. It feels like baseball with funhouse mirrors, and the more you play the worse and more distorted and bottled it really feels.