05:25 AM - March 1, 2011 by Rdogg1026
The MLB 2K11 demo is available now. Add it to your download queue right here.
Please play a few games and post your impressions here.
*UPDATE: PS3 demo is available now.
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MLB 2K11 News Post
05:25 AM - March 1, 2011 by Rdogg1026The MLB 2K11 demo is available now. Add it to your download queue right here.
Please play a few games and post your impressions here.
*UPDATE: PS3 demo is available now.
Major League Baseball 2K11 Videos
Member Comments
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I agree that I like the option occasionally to watch all the extras and take it slow but you can't say MLB2k11 doesn't give you the option based off of a demo. It might be in the full version.
On a side note though, i noticed a pitcher doing the same thing at the end of an inning. The third out was recorded and he started walking to CF while everyone else went to the dugout. Kinda odd. Not a huge deal though.
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After attempting more steals, it's definitely improved. There's no hitching to cue up canned results like last year, which was one of my main complaints with 2K10. Stealing 3rd was almost impossible last year because your runner would slow down as he closed in and went into his slide. Doesn't happen this year, so I'm happy about that. Stealing is easier and smoother for sure.
Tags seem much more urgent in general as well, so that's another plus.
Just worked two back to back walks with Andrus and Kinsler. Cain doesn't look too comfortable today
Tags seem much more urgent in general as well, so that's another plus.
Just worked two back to back walks with Andrus and Kinsler. Cain doesn't look too comfortable today
# 84
DirtyJerz32 @ 03/01/11 11:05 AM
I like it! I like it A LOT!
One thing that has been said is about the graphics. I think the graphics are fine. Sure some of the guys are off, but look at NBA 2k11. Some guys look great while some aren't. I'd rather have a game that looks good, plays good and sounds awesome. There's a lot of memory used up because of the commentary (MLB Today) so I'm not expecting awesome graphics. Again, I'd rather have it sounds great look good then sound horrid and look awesome. That's just me though.
I love the hitting view. Being able to read the pitches is great. I may not even need the batters eye feature turned on.
I really like the fielding camera now. Really looks like a broadcast game now. I only got a chance to play 2 innings before coming to work but, I'm really liking it so far.
The one thing I haven't seen mention is the CPU AI knowing there's only 3 innings left and trying to win the game. They try to move the runners over when on first or second. That IMO is a great thing to see. When the real game comes out I hope their aware of the same situations.
One thing that has been said is about the graphics. I think the graphics are fine. Sure some of the guys are off, but look at NBA 2k11. Some guys look great while some aren't. I'd rather have a game that looks good, plays good and sounds awesome. There's a lot of memory used up because of the commentary (MLB Today) so I'm not expecting awesome graphics. Again, I'd rather have it sounds great look good then sound horrid and look awesome. That's just me though.
I love the hitting view. Being able to read the pitches is great. I may not even need the batters eye feature turned on.
I really like the fielding camera now. Really looks like a broadcast game now. I only got a chance to play 2 innings before coming to work but, I'm really liking it so far.
The one thing I haven't seen mention is the CPU AI knowing there's only 3 innings left and trying to win the game. They try to move the runners over when on first or second. That IMO is a great thing to see. When the real game comes out I hope their aware of the same situations.
Chill with the framerate stuff! Its the demo!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! It's probably from an earlier build and that is why you get the hiccups.. geesh. Some people
Well, I mean, I guess you can understand why we'd be gun shy, right? We've been burned for, what, 5-6 years with this series.
Yay! Balls lined or grounded up the middle are no longer automatically gobbled up by the pitcher and there are some nice animations of him covering his head and crouching out of the way, or lifting his foot to dodge a grounder. So far, many of my complaints from 2K10 have been taken care of.
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# 90
Spongedaddy @ 03/01/11 11:17 AM
My biggest complaint about the demo so far is that there are no extra innings. 3 and done.
That's a pretty good sign. Unless I read about a major flaw I am getting this game next week.
That's a pretty good sign. Unless I read about a major flaw I am getting this game next week.
# 91
steelereign @ 03/01/11 11:23 AM
Here's my initial review after about 6 games:
- HATED that: Pitchers stand on mound like zombies during some cut-scenes…almost makes me wonder if their eyes will turn red before throwing a flaming fastball at my head
- LOVED that: Infield play is much more responsive and user-friendly
- LOVED that: throwing the ball while the meter is in the red has a noticeable affect
- LOVED that: I hit a chopper to first and the play seemed realistic
- LOVED that: AI pitchers don’t paint the corners and do throw obvious balls allowing you to work the count into hitter-friendly counts
- LOVED that: I Experienced small strike-zone, was forced to throw more to the middle of the plate to avoid BBs
- HATED that: I Still noticed the annoying habit where infielders, after receiving the thrown from the outfield, will stand frozen in place with the ball before finally throwing it in to the pitcher
- LOVED that: Hit a handful of rockets to the outfield, only one was a HR…there was no immediate HR animation so I had to wait and watch to see what happened – love that!
- HATED that: the crowd seems completely uninterested in the game & there is no audible difference between a dribbler to the mound or a lightning shot over the centerfield wall…even when the home team was hitting & scoring, the crowd was completely indifferent as though they were watching Tim Lincecum brush his hair
- LOVED that: the outfield play is more iffy due to the large “potential landing zone” circle…it really had an affect on the game…there were a couple liners that I wasn’t sure if I should run and dive for or just pull up and play off the bounce – real stuff!
- HATED that: the demo is still only 3 innings! Give me more time to let the game develop – at least 6 innings
- CONFUSED that: Barry Zito appears to be Carrot Top’s brother! WTF is with the hi-lighter orange helmet-hair BZ was rockin’? He looks like Annie Lennox circa 1983. Scary stuff. Especially when he goes into the aforementioned Zombie Mode!
- HATED that: Pitchers stand on mound like zombies during some cut-scenes…almost makes me wonder if their eyes will turn red before throwing a flaming fastball at my head
- LOVED that: Infield play is much more responsive and user-friendly
- LOVED that: throwing the ball while the meter is in the red has a noticeable affect
- LOVED that: I hit a chopper to first and the play seemed realistic
- LOVED that: AI pitchers don’t paint the corners and do throw obvious balls allowing you to work the count into hitter-friendly counts
- LOVED that: I Experienced small strike-zone, was forced to throw more to the middle of the plate to avoid BBs
- HATED that: I Still noticed the annoying habit where infielders, after receiving the thrown from the outfield, will stand frozen in place with the ball before finally throwing it in to the pitcher
- LOVED that: Hit a handful of rockets to the outfield, only one was a HR…there was no immediate HR animation so I had to wait and watch to see what happened – love that!
- HATED that: the crowd seems completely uninterested in the game & there is no audible difference between a dribbler to the mound or a lightning shot over the centerfield wall…even when the home team was hitting & scoring, the crowd was completely indifferent as though they were watching Tim Lincecum brush his hair
- LOVED that: the outfield play is more iffy due to the large “potential landing zone” circle…it really had an affect on the game…there were a couple liners that I wasn’t sure if I should run and dive for or just pull up and play off the bounce – real stuff!
- HATED that: the demo is still only 3 innings! Give me more time to let the game develop – at least 6 innings
- CONFUSED that: Barry Zito appears to be Carrot Top’s brother! WTF is with the hi-lighter orange helmet-hair BZ was rockin’? He looks like Annie Lennox circa 1983. Scary stuff. Especially when he goes into the aforementioned Zombie Mode!
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Another positive that I know some were concerned about:
When attempting a pickoff move, the runner diving back looks smooth and the animation isn't sped up like last year. I tried picking off the fastest runners on each team and it looked good and the speed was normal, unlike 2K10..
When attempting a pickoff move, the runner diving back looks smooth and the animation isn't sped up like last year. I tried picking off the fastest runners on each team and it looked good and the speed was normal, unlike 2K10..
# 94
DirtyJerz32 @ 03/01/11 11:25 AM
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I played 2 games, and have always been a 2k buyer until last year's glitches. I agree with 90% of the comments here, but one thing I noticed in just 5 1/2 innings was tHat there were 2 very unnatural fielding animations.
1) Torres laid down a bunt and Beltre charged it. He was all set up to do a David Wright-ish launch off 1 foot and peg the runner, until he stopped cold, set and threw very steadily to 1st...about a step and a half too late.
2) I hit a strong grounder upmthe middle and Renteria (is that the SF ss, geesh, can't remember) dove to his left and snared it - looked good so far - but then stood up, spun, moved to his back foot and did the Jeter move with the jump and throw. Again, about 2 steps late.
This concerned me.
1) Torres laid down a bunt and Beltre charged it. He was all set up to do a David Wright-ish launch off 1 foot and peg the runner, until he stopped cold, set and threw very steadily to 1st...about a step and a half too late.
2) I hit a strong grounder upmthe middle and Renteria (is that the SF ss, geesh, can't remember) dove to his left and snared it - looked good so far - but then stood up, spun, moved to his back foot and did the Jeter move with the jump and throw. Again, about 2 steps late.
This concerned me.
Played two games, one as each team. Some thoughts (both negative and positive) not in any particular order.
- impossible not to notice how much smoother the game is overall compared to last year. Just moving your guy in the field feels perfect.
- graphics, though not world-beating, are improved and I especially noticed the improved lighting and player models.
- stadium looked much better than last year's, though I would've liked to have seen some clouds instead of just the blue sky (may just be the default weather set for the demo, like the 18mph wind in The Show demo)
- pitching, as expected, is a dream. I try to pitch to the catcher's recommendation 90% of the time (I also use API in The Show) and I had alot of 2-2 and 3-1 counts. Corners can definitely go either way. Not much else to say about the mechanic itself, I like The Show's analog pitching, I LOVE 2K's. Just awesome.
- hitting is so much more improved and it's mainly because of the added frames of animation. In last year's game, it seemed like the large majority of the time you were either right on the ball or way too early or way too late. In the demo, there's alot of in-between stuff too, which leads to choppers and soft liners. Something about this hitting too that just feels...right. I hit a jack with Pat Burrell my first game and though it wasn't a no-doubter by the game's standards (didn't get any special camera) I just KNEW I hit it out based on timing, trajectory etc. Felt great.
- absolutely love the camera after you hit the ball. Probably my favourite addition.
- don't like the size of the numbers and font on the back of jerseys. (Still) way too big.
- really like some of the presentation elements, despite no commentary.
- it was mentioned earlier that in between pitches when you're up the batter steps away and steps back in but the computer doesn't. I found the A.I. batter to do this often, just not every time. Might be something to look for in the final buld.
- I had zero frame rate issues at any point other than foul balls that went straight back into the screen. It was silky smooth.
- transition animations definitely need work but they are better.
- love the fielding and the throwing meter. This aspect of the game is just great all-around. One aspect I didn't like was a particular scenario when throwing. I like to pre-load all my throws when I field. It just makes everything look better. Problem is, if you pre-load any throws in this game where the play takes you away from the bag you're throwing too, it always triggers an off-balanced/spin and jump throw, regardless of how much time you have to get the runner. I would like for the game to determine if it's necessary or not to trigger those animation (like The Show does) and if you DO have enough time, to catch the ball, plant and throw instead of always making an unbalanced throw.
- one other aspect that was also evident in the Phillies/Rockies video that is still in the demo is where there's a grounder that's low but the animation the fielder is doing causes the ball to morph up into the fielder's glove. I'm not going to say this is a fielding problem per se, as it's probably more of an animation issue.
- one aspect about pitching that The Show does that I would like to see incorporated in this series is the breaking of pitches, particularly when it's thrown in a certain spot. I'll try to explain it as best I can. Say you have a righty pitcher and a righty batter. Say you want to throw a curveball. If you were to throw a curveball inside to the righty, the ball would break less than if you were to come across your body a little more and throw a curveball to the outside part of the plate. The Show has the pitches break less in those scenarios (also in scenarios where you throw a breaking pitch up), whereas in this game, the pitch breaks the same amount regardless of location. Small detail but one I'd like to see worked on for next year.
It's been brought up that this game reminds some people of MVP 2005 and I couldn't agree more. Not in the sense that it plays the same or anything like that. But in the fun factor. I find The Show is a sim game of baseball with some fun elements behind it, whereas I find this series to be a fun game with some sim elements behind it (not unlike MVP). For the first time in a while though, and this is assuming the final build comes together like the demo seems to show it will, you can talk about both The Show and the 2K baseball game in the same sentence without sounding silly. I very much enjoyed the demo and look forward to the 8th
- impossible not to notice how much smoother the game is overall compared to last year. Just moving your guy in the field feels perfect.
- graphics, though not world-beating, are improved and I especially noticed the improved lighting and player models.
- stadium looked much better than last year's, though I would've liked to have seen some clouds instead of just the blue sky (may just be the default weather set for the demo, like the 18mph wind in The Show demo)
- pitching, as expected, is a dream. I try to pitch to the catcher's recommendation 90% of the time (I also use API in The Show) and I had alot of 2-2 and 3-1 counts. Corners can definitely go either way. Not much else to say about the mechanic itself, I like The Show's analog pitching, I LOVE 2K's. Just awesome.
- hitting is so much more improved and it's mainly because of the added frames of animation. In last year's game, it seemed like the large majority of the time you were either right on the ball or way too early or way too late. In the demo, there's alot of in-between stuff too, which leads to choppers and soft liners. Something about this hitting too that just feels...right. I hit a jack with Pat Burrell my first game and though it wasn't a no-doubter by the game's standards (didn't get any special camera) I just KNEW I hit it out based on timing, trajectory etc. Felt great.
- absolutely love the camera after you hit the ball. Probably my favourite addition.
- don't like the size of the numbers and font on the back of jerseys. (Still) way too big.
- really like some of the presentation elements, despite no commentary.
- it was mentioned earlier that in between pitches when you're up the batter steps away and steps back in but the computer doesn't. I found the A.I. batter to do this often, just not every time. Might be something to look for in the final buld.
- I had zero frame rate issues at any point other than foul balls that went straight back into the screen. It was silky smooth.
- transition animations definitely need work but they are better.
- love the fielding and the throwing meter. This aspect of the game is just great all-around. One aspect I didn't like was a particular scenario when throwing. I like to pre-load all my throws when I field. It just makes everything look better. Problem is, if you pre-load any throws in this game where the play takes you away from the bag you're throwing too, it always triggers an off-balanced/spin and jump throw, regardless of how much time you have to get the runner. I would like for the game to determine if it's necessary or not to trigger those animation (like The Show does) and if you DO have enough time, to catch the ball, plant and throw instead of always making an unbalanced throw.
- one other aspect that was also evident in the Phillies/Rockies video that is still in the demo is where there's a grounder that's low but the animation the fielder is doing causes the ball to morph up into the fielder's glove. I'm not going to say this is a fielding problem per se, as it's probably more of an animation issue.
- one aspect about pitching that The Show does that I would like to see incorporated in this series is the breaking of pitches, particularly when it's thrown in a certain spot. I'll try to explain it as best I can. Say you have a righty pitcher and a righty batter. Say you want to throw a curveball. If you were to throw a curveball inside to the righty, the ball would break less than if you were to come across your body a little more and throw a curveball to the outside part of the plate. The Show has the pitches break less in those scenarios (also in scenarios where you throw a breaking pitch up), whereas in this game, the pitch breaks the same amount regardless of location. Small detail but one I'd like to see worked on for next year.
It's been brought up that this game reminds some people of MVP 2005 and I couldn't agree more. Not in the sense that it plays the same or anything like that. But in the fun factor. I find The Show is a sim game of baseball with some fun elements behind it, whereas I find this series to be a fun game with some sim elements behind it (not unlike MVP). For the first time in a while though, and this is assuming the final build comes together like the demo seems to show it will, you can talk about both The Show and the 2K baseball game in the same sentence without sounding silly. I very much enjoyed the demo and look forward to the 8th
# 98
dodgerblue @ 03/01/11 11:31 AM
Played a couple of innings and I have to say:
The good:
I can see that it will be better than last year, and I enjoyed 2k10.
Fielding is going to be fun and challenging. Analog throwing is touchy but gives a realistic result of off line throws. It has brought interest to defense, it's not just about pitching.
2K really knows analog controls. All of the analog features, hitting, pitching and throwing are right on imo. Not comparing it to anyone else's game...just saying it feels right.
Not seeing the frame rate issues others are having.
Not bad, but could improve:
I made two poor throws in my 2 innings, one was ruled an error and the other was scored a hit. Not sure how the game determined what was what but I thing a scorer would have ruled it differently.
Lots of base hits, in 2 innings 9 hits from the two teams total, mostly softer drop in type.
CPU batters swing at alot of pitches and hit alot of them, even if outside strike zone. too early to tell if this will be a problem or not.
Graphics look on par with last year.
The good:
I can see that it will be better than last year, and I enjoyed 2k10.
Fielding is going to be fun and challenging. Analog throwing is touchy but gives a realistic result of off line throws. It has brought interest to defense, it's not just about pitching.
2K really knows analog controls. All of the analog features, hitting, pitching and throwing are right on imo. Not comparing it to anyone else's game...just saying it feels right.
Not seeing the frame rate issues others are having.
Not bad, but could improve:
I made two poor throws in my 2 innings, one was ruled an error and the other was scored a hit. Not sure how the game determined what was what but I thing a scorer would have ruled it differently.
Lots of base hits, in 2 innings 9 hits from the two teams total, mostly softer drop in type.
CPU batters swing at alot of pitches and hit alot of them, even if outside strike zone. too early to tell if this will be a problem or not.
Graphics look on par with last year.
I'm loving Timmy's split change 
Line drives to shallow left or right are now hits instead of being victims of "the football catch" from middle infielders
Line drives to shallow left or right are now hits instead of being victims of "the football catch" from middle infielders
# 100
panthers_freak @ 03/01/11 11:35 AM
Impressions after one game...
Love the variable strike zone. Makes pitching so much better.
CPU pitchers throw more realistic. Played against Colby Lewis, and he was working the zone and pitch count very well.
Also loved the new hitting camera. I hit a moon shot with aubrey huff, and i didnt tag up at 3rd because i assumed it was gone. Borbon proceeded to catch the ball right up against the centerfield wall. This will make things interesting.
Also didnt really notice framerate drop. People may be exaggerating this a bit.
Things I didnt like so much...
When infielders throw the ball, it sort of floats across the diamond.
Saw an ackward animation at first when the 1b tried to field a grounder.
CPU players swing at a lot of pitches early in the count. If they could be a little more patient it would be nice.
Overall, its looking like a buy for me since i never got 2k10.
Love the variable strike zone. Makes pitching so much better.
CPU pitchers throw more realistic. Played against Colby Lewis, and he was working the zone and pitch count very well.
Also loved the new hitting camera. I hit a moon shot with aubrey huff, and i didnt tag up at 3rd because i assumed it was gone. Borbon proceeded to catch the ball right up against the centerfield wall. This will make things interesting.
Also didnt really notice framerate drop. People may be exaggerating this a bit.
Things I didnt like so much...
When infielders throw the ball, it sort of floats across the diamond.
Saw an ackward animation at first when the 1b tried to field a grounder.
CPU players swing at a lot of pitches early in the count. If they could be a little more patient it would be nice.
Overall, its looking like a buy for me since i never got 2k10.
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