New ESPN Baseball 2K5 Trailer

Jason · Post by **Jason** » Wed Dec 22, 2004 3:08 pm

ESPN Videogames has released a new trailer for ESPN Baseball 2K5:

http://www.espnvideogames.com/news/movie.php?id=1197

Jason · Post by **Jason** » Wed Dec 22, 2004 3:17 pm

I'm not sure what to make of those new baserunning windows yet. It seems like a nice idea but takes up alot of screen real estate during actual gameplay. It also seems to make the game look less like real baseball and more like videogame baseball.

MizzouRah · Post by **MizzouRah** » Wed Dec 22, 2004 3:24 pm

Dare I say, almost has that EA cartoonish look to it.

Todd

pk500 · Post by **pk500** » Wed Dec 22, 2004 3:35 pm

I'm not sure what to make of the new pitching system with the horizontal and vertical sliding crosshairs. Reminds me of all of the sh*tty free-throw shooting systems from past basketball games that I've finally forgotten thanks to College Hoops 2K5's intuitive system.

That pitching meter has real potential to be a game-wrecking feature if the pitcher throws a pinpoint dart to the target every time you get the crosshairs lined up just right. Once you have mastered the system, you'll be able to hit your spot every time, a la MVP 2004. That's not realistic.

Take care,
PK

Jason · Post by **Jason** » Wed Dec 22, 2004 3:43 pm

pk500 wrote:I'm not sure what to make of the new pitching system with the horizontal and vertical sliding crosshairs. Reminds me of all of the sh*tty free-throw shooting systems from past basketball games that I've finally forgotten thanks to College Hoops 2K5's intuitive system.

That pitching meter has real potential to be a game-wrecking feature if the pitcher throws a pinpoint dart to the target every time you get the crosshairs lined up just right. Once you have mastered the system, you'll be able to hit your spot every time, a la MVP 2004. That's not realistic.

Take care,
PK

My guess is that there will be an option to play without it just like you can turn off the Effort Meter in 2K4. I also think there is a little more to it than the free throw systems in basketball games - if you watch the video carefully, the pitch location is shifting down and right after the horizontal button push but before the vertical button push.

Diablo25 · Post by **Diablo25** » Wed Dec 22, 2004 3:44 pm

Swing animations finally looked fixed but the pitching thing looks ridiculous.
Graphically, it looks spretty much the same. Gotta here some hands on impressions before I start getting pissed/excited.

Leebo33 · Post by **Leebo33** » Wed Dec 22, 2004 3:46 pm

Just hearing the word crosshairs in reference to a baseball game makes me long for High Heat.

kevinpars · Post by **kevinpars** » Wed Dec 22, 2004 4:33 pm

Leebo33 wrote:Just hearing the word crosshairs in reference to a baseball game makes me long for High Heat.

Ditto

GTHobbes · Post by **GTHobbes** » Wed Dec 22, 2004 4:51 pm

Diablo25 wrote:Swing animations finally looked fixed but the pitching thing lookas ridiculous.
Graphically, it look spretty much the same.

Actually, I'm not sure the swing animations have been fixed. They (purposefully?) show very little footage of a batter taking a swing, but if you slow down the video, it still looks awkward as hell, IMO. Take a look at the hitter's feet..looks REALLY strange to me. Almost looks like he is doing the box step during his swing. Wonder why they have so much of a problem getting this right? It's not like it is something you only have to see a couple times a game.

Brando70 · Post by **Brando70** » Wed Dec 22, 2004 4:52 pm

I also hope they will have an option to pitch like last year, I got really good results. Also, if there is some variability in the crosshairs thing, or if they move really fast on harder levels, it will probably be okay.

I am willing to give them the benefit of the doubt. Last year's game was thought to be a dog before it came out, and it turned out to be great. I just hope they don't try to out-MVP EA.

Dave · Post by **Dave** » Wed Dec 22, 2004 5:23 pm

I'm not a big fan of the crosshairs or meter pitching, too much work for me.

But, I think there are ways to make it challenging. Instead of just having the meters go faster or slower, depending on the pitchers control, the speed should be inconsistent for pitchers with poor control. As any pitcher tires, the speeds should change more often as well.

If the Twins keep it up this offseason, I won't be able to stand playing a baseball game with them next year...