Early impressions after two games:
Well, I'm inclined to say that ESPN *is* probably the best game out of the bunch at this point, but I'm not quite getting the tingly feeling that it seems some of the rest here are experiencing.
Played two games as Yanks. 1 vs tampa Bay and Zambrano, lost 4-1, and 1 against Schilling and the Sox, lost 8-7. Happy that I lost the first two!
Both games were played at All-Star level, classic batting cursor set to small size, and 'Real' pitch speeds. All sliders at default.
Observations in no particular order:
Gonna have to adjust the user pitch control slider. No unintentional walks here.
On the other hand, while I'll still probably tweak the CPU control slider as well, very happy with the CPU balls and strikes, and how the pitcher worked the batters. Nice variety, and great to see walks on default settings!
Fielding is fun and involving, I'd put it second to MVP. Not fond of the speed burst, though, and glad you can turn it off. The 'squashed screen' can be a problem with the new moving ball indicator, however. Twice on pop-ups hooking fair from down the third base line, the indicator was off screen until the last minute, when it quickly shot onto the screen, giving me a very short time to adjust. This was a popup! My third baseman shouldn't be guessing like that.
Confidence meter is just silly. If it works by actually lowering or raising your players abilities, I agree with the IGN reviewer: It's not baseball. You strike out your first at bat, that really shoudn't lower your chances for success the rest of the game. I'll turn it off, but I'll wonder if that means I just don't see it while it is still working behind the scenes.
Good variety of hits, for both the user and CPU. Timing and cursor placement matter...probably my favorite hitting system this year. I do have a concern about how easy it will become, however. Playing classic cursor on small, I ripped 4 home runs off of Schilling the second game. yes, I can go up a level in skill and reduce the cursor to 'very small,' but I have an eye on this at this point. By the way, anyone know if 'fast' pitch speeds are faster than 'real'?
CPU substitues very well from what I've seen. Changes pitchers at about the right times.
I like the frequency off slightly off and then WAAY of throws. Seems about right.
Baserunning controls are intuitive and the least frustrating of all the games this year. However, on lines to the outfield, occasionally your runners won't even step off the bag unless you force them. This stinks, because they *usually* go half way themselves, just not all of the time. this means you really have to watch this closely, as I've had runners thrown out going to second easily on liners to the center field area that really weren't even all that close to catchable.
The stolen base bug is fixed! And, I'm getting picked off like crazy. Maybe too much, but we'll see now that I know it's something I have to pay attention to. I *think* I'll be okay if I watch myself. If so, a definite plus!
CPU AI is aggressive on the basepaths, and unlike last year where they usually only ran when they knew they had the bag, this year you can get them out. I actually saw the Tampa Bay lead off hitter attempt a suicide squeeze with one out in the middle of the game. Took me by surprise, but the batter whiffed the bunt attempt. Posada simply took like three steps up the line and tagged the runner out. Cool stuff!
very few strikeouts for both me and the CPU at the default settings. Maybe 3 each side in the two games combined.
Games moves along swiftly, and has a nice, clean, easy to use interface. Thank God ESPN realizes it is nice for the player to be able to see the handedness of upcoming batters. I also like the quickkey option, or whatever it is, but I wish you could also manage your bullpen from there as well.
Finally, I'll touch on the graphics. In my opinion, this is the least pleasant of the baseball games to look at this year. The player models are squared and wide-hipped, and their glowing faces are just a joke. Schilling staring in at fenway looked like the Wal-mart smiley face from the plate. And these glowing visages kind of float above the players torso in a disconnect, not really moving right with the rest of the body. Clipping of the arms and legs is a graphical bother as well. The players in this game have a definite lack of 'weight' as well.
And I agree the swing animation is atrocious. You know, the toothpick flick that everyone complained about in last year's game never bothered me. It must be worse this year, because seeing it in motion from the pitchers view is quite nauseating.
Add to this jaggies, shimmering, and tearing that can even occur on simple pitches to the plate, and I'm a little let down in the graphics department. These all seem worse than last year.
Overall, though, it's the gameplay that matters, and aside from a few small things, This game has it.
I agree with Fatpitcher, though, when he says he is ultimately disappointed in this year's baseball games.
