[threattonature]

Quote: Originally Posted by JayhawkerStL

I don't believe this is true, at all. *Is there evidence of the game being designed to act that way, or is this more of it being "obvious" because you don't get *the result you want? The problem The Show has is that there will always be gamers that can master stick skills to a point that getting realistic results is impossible. *Guys that see the frames in fighting games are an example. *Likewise, being able to use the PCI to square up every pitch could turn teams into hitting .600. *Baseball has alway been about the grind, doing the right thing over and over, and at best, getting a hit 40% of the time.* One of the reasons I prefer Directional hitting is exactly this. *It produces a fairly realistic and satisfying experience, partly because you cannot dial in and be perfecto in every pitch, as your hitter's ratings effect that. *This does put me at a disadvantage in DD, as guys that can dial in the PCI can always hit better than I could ever hope by relying on directional hitting. The biggest problem with sports games are the gamers. *They have been trained, from an early age now, that they can be a beat in any game they play if they figure it out. *But beasting a sports game ruins it. *And getting a hit about 23-27% of the time will enrage many, many gamers. * You see this so often in the forums, as someone struggles to play well, and the first suggestions, and tones taken most often, is sliders. *Just dial the game in to make you feel you are as good as you want. *It is truly paint-by-number gaming. *Instead of easing off the bullet passes, drop the INT slider. *Swing at too many pitches, SCEA adds quick counts. *Wait till you see the suggestions for guys getting tripping penalties from spamming the poke check. The DD, UT, and MyTeam modes are pretty great from removing this from the equation. *You are expected to perform under the the same sliders and settings as everyone else, even offline. *It's brought actual competition back to sports gaming, something more like the days when I play 90's Madden on the couch with friends all night, with the winner getting to play the next challenger. *But playing online means you might suck. *And that is something many, many gamers fund unbearable.

The best example of the ramped up CPU skill is NBA 2k. I have no problem taking losses and in any league I've done with others I'm always pushing to make the games harder so that we take losses on a regular basis.

My issue with NBA 2k is that when upping the game to Hall of Fame level was that it would have players on the CPU perform way above their levels. I would strategize to leave weak 3 point shooters open while applying more pressure to their stars. This would lead to players like Rajon Rondo or Josh Smith going 7/10 or 6/9 from 3 point range even though they were notoriously horrible shooters from deep. That to me is taking shortcuts to make the game more difficult compared to upping the AI's ability to recognize different strategies and picking it apart the same way a great human player would.