MLB 2K8 interview

Pete · Post by **Pete** » Sat Mar 08, 2008 10:20 pm

Throw me in the group that hasn't won a game yet. This on Pro with a few CPU pitching slider tweaks. My closet game was a 1-0 loss to the Nats as the Reds.

I am really enjoying this game. It looks great on my 50" Samsung, runs a little choppy but it doesn't effect gameplay.

Everything is difficult for me right now. I am horrible at hitting but I am going to continue to use Swing Stick 2.0 because when I do get it right it feels good. I just recently turned off the step and swing feedback and am going more by feel and that has seemed to help. Hit a couple bombs with Griffey Jr. Also, playing exhibition games I am always going against the opposing #1, so that is tough.

Pitching, I really have to concentrate and think about what I am going to throw. If I don't, I get ripped. Playing as the Reds and their weak staff is going to be a real challenge.

I also like fielding and especially the throwing. It is just more fun then just pressing a button. I have seen errors that make sense. You need to gather yourself to throw. Sometimes the animations take to long, which stinks.

Now these are all positives. Of course there are negatives. The strike zone is huge. It is difficult to judge pitches. It is not the smoothest game, but other than that, this game is good.

I played The Show the last few years on the PS2 and last years game was the best baseball game I have ever played. Still is. But for a 360 owner, this is not a bad option.

Time to watch Duke/NC. Erin Andrews on the sideline. Alright by me.

MizzouRah · Post by **MizzouRah** » Sat Mar 08, 2008 10:44 pm

Pete,

Start picking the #4 and #5 starters in exhibition to get used to the SS 2.0. It really helps!!!

Pete · Post by **Pete** » Sat Mar 08, 2008 10:49 pm

Mizzou,

Will do. I need all the help I can get!

greggsand · Post by **greggsand** » Sun Mar 09, 2008 12:16 am

So I finally got around to playing the 360 demo today. After browsing this thread, I was preparing myself for the biggest piece of crap ever made. Turns out, I thought it was actually pretty cool. Go figure. Probably buy my copy this week.

JackB1 · Post by **JackB1** » Sun Mar 09, 2008 12:24 am

Can someone explain how the "hitters eye works this year". I know you click the left stick to see it and then move it to where you think the pitch might be.

Question is...do I move the hitters eye where the pitch actually is while swinging? In other words...do I try and line up the "hitters eye" with the pitch or is it just to let me know if I "guessed" correctly?

Gangrel · Post by **Gangrel** » Sun Mar 09, 2008 12:33 am

A couple things I've noticed, that I wonder if they can be fixed in the patch.

1) Wayyy too many errors on the default sliders. I could decrease it, but why on default sliders am I averaging 2 a game?

2) Why do so many pitches bounce out of my catchers' glove and go in front of him?

2a) why do the CPU baserunners try to advance on this even if the ball is only 1 foot away from the catcher?

Just a few things I've noticed that I am wondering if others have too....

TheGamer · Post by **TheGamer** » Sun Mar 09, 2008 1:04 am

2) Why do so many pitches bounce out of my catchers' glove and go in front of him?

I actually thinks this is real cool. Representative of not getting the pitch right, mainly curves that fall short of the plate and the catcher doing a good job of keeping the ball in front of him instead of going all the way to the backstop as a wild pitch.

2a) why do the CPU baserunners try to advance on this even if the ball is only 1 foot away from the catcher?

I've only had Juan Pierre attempt to go on me, but he got gunned down by Geovany Soto. Can you tell I really enjoyed that? But seriously, the slower baserunners haven't attempted to go. They get their secondary lead as they are supposed to, but see that they couldn't make it, so they go back to first.

On another note, I got my first win tonight as the Cubs vs Blue Jays. Zambrano only went 5 1/3 giving up 2 runs. His fatigue was at 53% and I wasn't able to execute his pitches like I wanted so I went to the bullpen early and often. Ended up using the whole bullpen. Roy Hallady was somewhat filthy. he went 8 2/3 giving up 4 runs, 3 earned. Went into the ninth with a 4-2 lead. Either I have to give up my sentimental Cubs fan attachment to Kerry Wood as my closer or just increase his ratings to where he is the dominant closer I want him to be, because he blew my safe 2 run lead in the bottom of the ninth. I was lucky to get out of the inning with a tie. Top of the 10th Aramis Ramirez hit a solo hr to start the inning, Mark Derosa and Ronny Cedeno had rbi singles also. Felt my 7-4 lead was pretty safe, so I wanted to get some work with Wood to see if I can get his pitches down better. Of course he gives up a leadoff double to Alex Rios, so out comes Wood, in comes Dempster, (I'm not sold on him being a starter yet), after a wild pitch and a sac fly by the Big Hurt, Dempster manages to get the remaining outs. Very exciting game.

CUBS WIN!!! CUBS WIN!!!!

MizzouRah · Post by **MizzouRah** » Sun Mar 09, 2008 10:30 am

Gangrel wrote:A couple things I've noticed, that I wonder if they can be fixed in the patch.

1) Wayyy too many errors on the default sliders. I could decrease it, but why on default sliders am I averaging 2 a game?

2) Why do so many pitches bounce out of my catchers' glove and go in front of him?

2a) why do the CPU baserunners try to advance on this even if the ball is only 1 foot away from the catcher?

Just a few things I've noticed that I am wondering if others have too....

Congratulations on your first win TheGamer!!! I'm still looking for mine.

1. I'm only seeing 1 or 2 per game and I love that.
2. Not seeing this much at all, pretty realistic for me thus far
2a. Not seeing this either, the CPU running always stays at the base it's on.

Gangrel · Post by **Gangrel** » Sun Mar 09, 2008 11:29 am

It's weird, they try to go all the time on me. I'm pretty sure it was before I even upped the run aggression slider too, but maybe I'll put it back and see if my memory is shot and that's what caused it.

Another note, noticed on OS. Has anyone ever had the CPU try to steal second on them? I haven't, and there's been some speedy guys on first.... I had the slider on default, and upped it my last game. Maybe I'll up it more and see if anyone tries to go.

MizzouRah · Post by **MizzouRah** » Sun Mar 09, 2008 11:35 am

Haven't seen a steal attempt yet by the CPU.

I have seen two squeeze plays that caught me off guard both friggin times!!

TheGamer · Post by **TheGamer** » Sun Mar 09, 2008 1:11 pm

yeah I've seen about 2 or 3 squeeze plays. The last one had a pretty decent animation, with Aramis Ramirez coming in to field it and underhanding the ball to the catcher all in one motion. But I've yet to have the cpu attempt a steal either.

JackB1 · Post by **JackB1** » Sun Mar 09, 2008 1:15 pm

JackB1 wrote:Can someone explain how the "hitters eye works this year". I know you click the left stick to see it and then move it to where you think the pitch might be.

Question is...do I move the hitters eye where the pitch actually is while swinging? In other words...do I try and line up the "hitters eye" with the pitch or is it just to let me know if I "guessed" correctly?

Anyone know the answer to this? thanks

bkrich83 · Post by **bkrich83** » Sun Mar 09, 2008 1:17 pm

Ok, I must suck. I am probably wining about half my games. On pro that is.

I am enjoying the game, and really enjoying the card collecting stuff, and building my "card team".

TheGamer · Post by **TheGamer** » Sun Mar 09, 2008 1:19 pm

Jack, I've actually been using the batter's eye the last few games and my hitting has gotten better. What I believe part of the hitting problem is, the natural bat swing is an uppercut swing which is why there are so many pop ups in the game. So with that in mind, I put the batting eye about waist level so I will have to swing down or more level and I seem to get more line drive hits or more grounders that make it through the infield. So I click the LS to bring up the eye and then I move it around once the pitch is coming.

greggsand · Post by **greggsand** » Sun Mar 09, 2008 2:16 pm

JackB1 wrote:
JackB1 wrote:Can someone explain how the "hitters eye works this year". I know you click the left stick to see it and then move it to where you think the pitch might be.

Question is...do I move the hitters eye where the pitch actually is while swinging? In other words...do I try and line up the "hitters eye" with the pitch or is it just to let me know if I "guessed" correctly?
Anyone know the answer to this? thanks

How 'close' you are to where the pitch will land improves the type of contact you have on the ball. If you guess it dead-on, the better the contact. Does that make sense? Maybe? But yes, you want to use the eye to 'guess' where the pitch will land.

Pete · Post by **Pete** » Sun Mar 09, 2008 2:36 pm

bkrich83 wrote:Ok, I must suck. I am probably wining about half my games. On pro that is.

I am enjoying the game, and really enjoying the card collecting stuff, and building my "card team".

It's not only you! I just won my first game, a 2-1 thriller vs the Dodgers as the Reds. Great game. I did actually have 11 hits, just not in the clutch.

How do the cards work? I have one so far. Not even sure how I got it. Did get some points for achievements, not sure if that has anything to do with the cards.

I am really enjoying this game.

webdanzer · Post by **webdanzer** » Sun Mar 09, 2008 6:19 pm

I'm still having a very difficult time drawing walks in this game. Reducing the cpu sliders will definitely get you more balls thrown, but because of the size of the strike zone and the camera angles in the game, it's really hard to pick them out quickly enough. I've even tried reducing the pitch speed, but then you're left with even more time between your step and your swing and it makes the motion feel really awkward. Time for me to accept this as just another 'no walks' title, I think.

Anyone getting killed when they are pitching needs to experiment with the pitching difficulty slider. I think every person has a 'sweet spot' of their own for this...a spot on the slider that will get you missing with more balls rather than throwing constant meatballs. Yes, no matter what you do, the game should have had more user error simply be wilder pitches rather than meatballs, but with some experimentation I think a lot of people will be able to find a good setting for themselves that isn't meatball heavy and may actually help you throw some walks.

marino · Post by **marino** » Sun Mar 09, 2008 6:29 pm

Web Don't know if it will help you or not but I switched the batting camera to wide and I get a decent amount of walks with adjusted sliders. Granted sometimes it is hard to get some from teams aces, but if I am patient i usually get one or two from the great pitchers.

webdanzer · Post by **webdanzer** » Sun Mar 09, 2008 8:15 pm

You know, Wide is the one camera angle I haven't yet tried. I'll give it a shot. Thanks!

Rodster · Post by **Rodster** » Sun Mar 09, 2008 9:14 pm

You know here's a thought and I remember it applied to past 2K baseball games. Setting the sliders to 50 caused the CPU to actually play better and more unpredictable. I remember someone saying this on another forum and it actually made 2K7 more enjoyable for me.

TheGamer · Post by **TheGamer** » Mon Mar 10, 2008 9:12 am

here's a few "little things" I've noticed in the game and wondering if anyone else has seen them:

1. a fielder catch an offline throw and then dive to tag the runner coming to the base

2. The batter signaling the runner to stay or go on a wild pitch or block by the catcher.

3. 3rd baseman fielding a bunt and underhanding the ball to the catcher on a squeeze play attempt.

4. actually having to pitch to your defensive settings.

5. The reactions of the base coaches on different situations, ie: fist pump on a nice hit or holding their head down on a bad play

6. The sounds of the L-train in the background at Wrigley Field as the camera pans in from the outside outfield entrance.

Gurantsu · Post by **Gurantsu** » Mon Mar 10, 2008 9:47 am

There are certainly a lot more "little things" in this years edition.

One thing I noticed the other night: DO NOT play the game when you are starting to get a bit tired. I did, and was getting shelled like crazy. The new pitching interface really requires you to concentrate. After getting spanked in both my MLB and AA games, I just went to bed...

JackB1 · Post by **JackB1** » Mon Mar 10, 2008 10:35 am

That's it! I'm getting my copy at lunchtime today. Screw gamefly! They take too damn long. I have a $10 coupon for Best Buy anyway, so it will only cost me $49.99.

I fired up MLB2K7 last night and people are right...the graphics were better in 2K7. Not by ebough to ruin the experience, but it's a shame that the graphics took a step backwards. The graphics in 2K7 have a "sharper" look to them and the colors are more realistic. 2K8 has a slightly "cartoony" look to it and the colors are a bit too deep...adding to the cartoony feel. However, while playing 2K7, I was quickly missing the new pitching and throwing controls of 2K8. Also, the fielder control in 2K8 is much better. No more banging into the outfield wall repeatidly and falling over by accident.

Looking forward to some extended play tonite. I think right off the bat I will adjust the sliders for AI throwing strikes way down and raise the slider for A! steal attempts. It's also still too easy for me to throw a pitch exactly where I want, so I am hoping there is some type of slider to make that harder. I haven't walked one batter after playing the demo over a dozen times.

MizzouRah · Post by **MizzouRah** » Mon Mar 10, 2008 12:50 pm

I can't wait to get home and get a game in tonight!!!

Pete · Post by **Pete** » Mon Mar 10, 2008 1:22 pm

I should have waited to buy this game as I have a NBA2K8 Celtic season going and I have a feeling I won't be finishing.

I played a Cubs AAA vs. Mud Hens game last night. Initially I thought something was wrong with the audio, but turns out there is no announcing crew in Toledo! Also, great playing at a ballpark where we took in a few games late last season.