Major League Baseball 2K9 Demo Available, Post Your Impressions Here

[nyisles16]

Here's something I didn't expect..

Me (Phils - ewwwwww ) vs the AI.. Aki leads off with a hit to the OF where Victorino tries to make a diving catch (ok, I hit the X button by accident).. anyhoo, he ends up on third.

Crawford then pulls a suicide squeeze to get Aki in from third, and he beats the bunt out. The next batter takes the first pitch as a ball (squared around to bunt). Next pitch, he swings and misses. Third pitch, he bunts again and beats it out.. of course, TB goes onto a double steal, and Pena drives them in..

Impressed by that series of AB's..

[SoxFan01605]

Wow...I see we've done a great job of staying on point today...lol. Just as a side note, it's a tad disappointing to see this happening here. OS has always been viewed as a mature and more adult site(even from other sites..though opinions vary on how good that really is...lol). This highschool chest pounding for your "side" garbage is the exact opposite of the reason I'm sure many of us joined. Just wanted to toss that out there. But enough with the idealism...lol...I digress...

Just saw a few questions while sifting through the pages. First, thanks to Pared for the compliment!

-Sig style are a bit disappointing to me in the demo. I mean, we're talking 2 WS teams here and it's 50/50 at best in how they're represented. Pena's stance might be the worst...looks generic.

Now, that said, I know there are some in The Show (WARNING-SET THE PERIMIETER 2K POLICE...WE HAVE A SHOW MENTION...lol. j/k) that are off and will be fixed/updated in the final version. I'm going to give VC the benefit of the doubt on this since it's an arae that's been a strength overall for 2K games. Something to keep an eye on though.

Someone asked about steals and I didn't see it answered. What I've done to be successfull is lead off by a step or two and then wait for the pitcher to start his motion. Once he begins holt LT and it will rumble and you'll take off.

The timing is more crucial here as obviously if you hold it too early, you're toast. I like the concept, but I'm on the fence about effectiveness. It does seem to add an interesting layer to the "cat and mouse" aspect of it.

Speaking of the stealing in general, I'm a bit bugged about the pickoffs. They're too easy on both sides, IMO. If the CPU starts creeping away from the bag and you spot it, you'll likely get him, it seems.

On the flip-side, if you stray too far (talking by tapping LT, not holding it too early) there is a noticeable delay in the time between when the CPU looks to you and he throws. As I said much earleir in this thread, I actually just kind up baby-stepped my way back to the bag with no urgency. It was kind of like "if I move back slow enough, he won't notice me."...lol. If you watch Family Guy, then picture the "UH OH" slowly stepping back from a disaster move...lol.

Also, one last thing. I've read some complaints and concerns about replays and camera angles, etc, etc. Try and remember that it's a demo and it likely came down to choosing "A" over "B" for inclusion. Some sports games don't have commentary. I think that they wanted to make sure we heard the commentary and saw the real-time, which is likely why it was stripped of other stuff.

As always, take all this with a grain of salt. It's just a demo. Nothing to get worked up over, IMO.

The end

EDIT: Also, for a completely new graphics engine I think they did alright. I have my gripes, but again, given the turnaround necessary the effort is clear. Whether or not that translates into a worthy purchase, I honestly don't know.

Hopefully base animations are a graphical focus next year as they trend towards the "Yuck" side of things...way too jerky and robotic.

[dave_sz]

Quote: Originally Posted by Ronoko

Victorino and werth are big names? Pena is the biggest but in reality has had only one great season.

I dunno about that. I'm not a phillies fan but I sure have heard a lot more about victorino and werth last year, than I did about pena...

[bukktown]

I think that this game will be fun head to head. From playing 2 games of the demo I am really doubting the A.I. though. My baserunner on 1st got forced out at 2nd base on a single to right field. In 2 games I threw 30 pitches in 6 innings. The good news is that the bar is finally raised high enough where we can start to worry about things like AI as opposed to basic gameplay and framerate issues.

[DJDReW3102]

personally, I am enjoying the demo a lot! it's just a taste, but I really like the smooth framerate, i didn't have any problems blowing by strikes while the CPU was caught looking, great hit variety, etc.

MUCH improved, from this small sample that we've been given, IMO.

[Eddie1967]

Great seeing the crowd standing with the game tied, 2 outs and the phillies at bat.

[Brooklynnets24]

jesus the fielding controls are just crap this stuttering is annoying.

[phillyfan23]

Quote: Originally Posted by Eddie1967

First of all, the notion that the CPU swings at everything is dead and gone. Put it to rest, don't want to hear it anymore. .

Why should people put it to rest? in 3 innings of play, on the demo, the cpu takes an average of a strike per inning. The jury is still out on this issue.

Are you seriously telling me that you think that the cpu takes a realistic number of strikes in the demo ?? Come on now....take off the 2k glasses.

Also, the ONLY pitches that the cpu takes are pitches that are right on the edge, anywhere close to the middle they swing.

Again, it's a demo so I can't judge completely. But if the retail version only improves this problem slightly via sliders, it's STILL a gamekiller for me and many people here.