Major League Baseball 2K11 Hands-On Preview

[ChaseB]

Re: Major League Baseball 2K11 Hands-On Preview

awesome preview chase. how did mccutchen look?

He's got the dreads in the game this year, thought he looked good. Not sure if his batting stance is 100 percent accurate but he definitely got some love from 2K.

That was what I was referring to. I remember 2k giving the explanation that they made the ball speed coming off the bat more realistic so it would be almost impossible for the player to react to the ball in time for the infield to make the play so they put in the "assist". I loved in 2k8 you can take the infield assist off and make the play yourself (mainly because the ball speed was much slower and you had time to react).

In 2k10 I felt playing the infield was mostly; YOU make the pitch, WATCH the ball get hit as your fielder makes the play and then YOU make the throw to first.

Right, yeah I didn't feel like I was useless in the infield. Like I said in my example, I lunged towards a ball with Walker through the hole, and the appearance of bleeders and choppers led to more situations where the IFers had to make things happen on their own.

Everything written about this game is sounding more and more positive. Thanks for a good write up Chase. The examples you use really help give a sense of a good game with the small details.

Have you seen a real time injury or error in the game yet that surprised you?

Just saw one bobble error, otherwise no injuries etc.

[ChaseB]

Re: Major League Baseball 2K11 Hands-On Preview

Not too sure if your writing the review on 2k11 but I hope you guys can refer back to these major concerns many of us had with 2k10s fielding.

As for cannon arms, hard to say at this point. However, there is arm strength slider at the very least.

Chase,

With respects to hitting, did you notice if check swings are in the game? :-)

I think the fact that there is no talk of a release day patch is very encouraging!

BigBlue

I did not check swing during my time (or try), and I've said before I'm awful at check swinging with analog controls (in both baseball games).

[swaldo]

Nice preview, I'm really getting excited for this game. I can deal with funny looking player models because all the important areas got some major work. Well, I do hope they take a good look at the choppers from high swings and possible opp field power issues. Thank God we dont have to put ourselves in training to win a million bucks with a crappy game!

[Marino]

Re: Major League Baseball 2K11 Hands-On Preview

Well, now I see why you have been neglecting us in KZ3. Good read though.

[Ollienyy]

Re: Major League Baseball 2K11 Hands-On Preview

Can't wait, thanks for the great preview! It looks like it's going to be a fun time spinning the disc this year!

[leafsfan17]

Re: Major League Baseball 2K11 Hands-On Preview

Chase, has they fixed the glitch in Franchise where drafted rookies were placed on the MLB team immediately and caused the game to freeze in Franchise making the mode unplayable?

[leafs nation]

do you guys know if there is dynamic attendance. I play with the Jays and don't really want to see a packed ballpark away from opening day unless i'm having an incredible season.

[Money99]

Re: Major League Baseball 2K11 Hands-On Preview

Great read Chase! Keep the info coming!

[XBox_Roughneck]

Why doesn't anyone ever mention any commentary improvements? The announcing was one of the things 2K clearly had over it's competition. Listening to each game felt like a listening to a real ballgame.

[therizing02]

Thanks for the impressions Chase. Sounds like like some substantial improvements were made in this dev cycle.

I'd really like to get your thoughts on the CPU manager. How do they handle pitching changes? Did the use pinch hitters at the right time? Do they use the lefty/righty factor? Do they hit and run? Do they make late game defensive subs? Lastly, do a lot of the CPU hitters who have no business swinging at 3-0 pitches in the wrong situations still do it?

IMO, these are the things that are missing in video game baseball. The chess match that goes on in every game is the soul of baseball. With the exception of the majority of the text sims, I have yet to see this reproduced effectively in a video game. There is just way too much emphasis on graphics and animations

Lastly, do you think the Inside Edge part of the game has been improved on?

Thanks again.

[TimeBombTown]

Re: Major League Baseball 2K11 Hands-On Preview

One thing I am incredibly curious to see if it has been fixed is pitcher substitutions. I think all 2k10 players know how ridiculously clunky the process was last year. For example, I would take Cain out of the game and sub in Nate Schierholtz to hit for him. Then, the next inning, there's Nate standing on the pitcher's mound with a prompt telling me to do something about it...which would never, ever happen in a real game. I'm sincerely hoping there is a way to pre-determine what pitcher will replace the hitter or if there will be a double switch and make things much more streamlined and realistic, because every time that happens in 2k10 it pulls me right out of the realism and is a hassle to boot.

[ChaseB]

Re: Major League Baseball 2K11 Hands-On Preview

Why doesn't anyone ever mention any commentary improvements? The announcing was one of the things 2K clearly had over it's competition. Listening to each game felt like a listening to a real ballgame.

Sound was rather low on the games I played. Generally speaking, you're talking to a developer while playing during most of these things so sound takes a backseat much of the time.

Thanks for the impressions Chase. Sounds like like some substantial improvements were made in this dev cycle.

I'd really like to get your thoughts on the CPU manager. How do they handle pitching changes? Did the use pinch hitters at the right time? Do they use the lefty/righty factor? Do they hit and run? Do they make late game defensive subs? Lastly, do a lot of the CPU hitters who have no business swinging at 3-0 pitches in the wrong situations still do it?

IMO, these are the things that are missing in video game baseball. The chess match that goes on in every game is the soul of baseball. With the exception of the majority of the text sims, I have yet to see this reproduced effectively in a video game. There is just way too much emphasis on graphics and animations

Lastly, do you think the Inside Edge part of the game has been improved on?

Thanks again.

I know nothing about any of that since just saw half of two games, no late-inning stuff.

As for Inside Edge, not sure what you want improved on. You can see hot and cold zones before each pitch if you want.

[tvman]

Re: Major League Baseball 2K11 Hands-On Preview

Sound was rather low on the games I played. Generally speaking, you're talking to a developer while playing during most of these things so sound takes a backseat much of the time.



I know nothing about any of that since just saw half of two games, no late-inning stuff.

As for Inside Edge, not sure what you want improved on. You can see hot and cold zones before each pitch if you want.

I haven't played 2k ball game for a few years now so can you tell me if the hot cold zones change at all depending on the count? I really like that feature in PYS.

[stlstudios189]

so glad that I pre ordered this

[statum71]

I'm a Show fan. But after reading this (and seeing the impressive presentation in the video) I really gotta check out the demo.

MLB 2K11 is at least creating a little buzz for me.