MLB: 10 The Show -- First Look

[tjung0831]

I've played two games so far....lost 9-1 in my 1st game and then 6-2 in my 2nd game. 16k's in game one so I thought I'd try and cut that down for game two...yeah that worked out well since I struckout 17 times in the 2nd game. Also, how do I transfer my game highlites? I saved them and then tried to copy to usb drive and put them on my pc but it keeps telling my that mp4 is an unknown file format and windows won't even open it nor will it find anything to open it with.

Never mind...figured out the video deal.

Don't fret over striking out too much. It happens especially to those who haven't played the series in a long time.

Couple other things of note. I'm not a huge fan of the broadcast view on offense. It's hard to see where the ball is hit. Maybe I'll get used to it.

I upped the Pitch Delay slider to "faster" and the CPU pitches with a better pace. This is a nice feature if you don't want to necessarily play on "fast play".

The ball really slices off the bat more this year than I can remember. It's a thing of beauty. Small things one will notice if you've played this game for the last few years.

Yeah...thats my biggest complaint right now is that I'm having a hard time picking up the ball in broadcast view 90% of the time. I've tried the changing the fielder view to high, med, and low but it's not much better. There were several ground balls to my shortstop to where I couldn't even charge the ball, it's almost like he was locked so I just waited for the ball to come to me and then threw him out. That's another thing that 2K10 does better in my book is the fielding as well as the fielding view. I see a lot of things in this game that people complain about in the other games like a lot of line drive shots to the 2nd baseman. I also think it's way to easy to bunt and I've seen a lot of dropped 3rd strikes by the catcher where the runner gets to 1st base with ease...at least 5 times in 3 games. Not sure what to make of it after 3 games as there is a lot I like about it and there are a few things that I don't.

[Slumberland]

That's great to hear that they're on top of the under-the-hood problems already.

The on-field stuff continues its steady march of improvement. Things I like:

-Separate difficulties for hitting and pitching, should you so choose. Last year I suspected that I was a HOF pitcher but an All-Star hitter, so now I can put that theory to the test.

-Real time presentation is a nice, subtle alternative to the canned cut-scenes.

-Every year it feels more and more like a round bat hitting a round ball, as opposed to smacking the thing with a digital cricket bat. There's a lot of english on the ball... pretty neat.

-The ability to throw warmup pitches when you bring in a reliever is GREAT. I always had trouble adjusting to the new timing of a reliever's windup, and tended to miss my first couple pitches as a result. No more.

-A setting for speeding up the CPU pitcher's time in between pitches. Smart.

[Danimal]

Only played 2 games so far.

Find myself caught between views, I love the Boradcast cam, but I like the Real Time with Replays option. Seems like i can't do both.

In my second game a guy magically appeared and was sitting on air behind the pitcher for the whole half inning, never hit a ball off him to see if it would of had collision detection.

Maybe my projector lamp is going but I am having a hard time readng the blue lines under the pitches for effectiveness. Also can' seem to pick up the ball half the time.

Love the warm up pitches option.

So far like what I see, just wish I could combo the camera view with real time.

[10spro]

Just finished an exhibition game on AS. Lost to the NYY 10-4 playing the Bosox. Didn't care much about the broadcast camera angle for either pitching or hitting. Had trouble with control using the meter as I think the back speed is a bit too fast. Will try classic if this becomes an issue for me.

[GTHobbes]

Only had a chance to get in a couple of innings from a couple of different games, and I wanted a chance to use both Broadcast and RTP with Replay options in a few different stadiums. God bless you, SCEA. That's what I'm looking for out of a sports game's presentation in 2010. I was recently reminded that it's been almost 30 years since the old Odyssey2, Intellivision and Atari baseball games, and finally, after all this time, I feel like someone's truly delivered by blurring the line between a videogame and an actual TV broadcast. Thank you!

[sportdan30]

Something little I found when I played tonight. If you switch the pitching view to "Outfield" rather than behind the "Catcher", you'll get little in game notices pop up like in an actual broadcast. For instance, I got a notice saying "Jim Thome on deck", or in the top of the 8th, it said "Joe Nathan is warming up in the bullpen". It's these little blurbs that make the game feel so real.

The lighting and crowd is just so darn nice. I'm amazed with even the slightest upgrade in graphics and atmosphere that it borders on such realism. Seeing fans reach over the railing, while it will probably get old sooner than later, is just so damn cool!

Now, I am having some problems with pitching, using Classic. More times than not, I don't hit my location. Granted, I pitched with Brad Penny rather than Carpenter or Wainwright, but I struggled. I don't care for the meter too much, so I'm interested to see how it will translate with my top pitchers.

With regards to picking up the ball on defense, I'm not having trouble whatsoever in the field. It's just when I'm hitting, and it goes in to broadcast view. For those of you having problems defensively, you may want to try and switch to the view that the game has been played on for the last several years. What that is I'm not sure.

I've been able to charge a ball on the infield, and I do feel like I have more control over my outfielders. At least to me, it feels more responsive than last year.

Right now, I'm playing on RTP, with no replays. You still get half inning highlights (homeruns) which just adds to the RTP feel, and seemingly there is less color commentary (which I tend to like).

[Danimal]

Actual conversation while playing the Show:

6 year old daughter: Daddy is that a new game.

Me: Yes it's a new baseball game, looks pretty real right?

6 year old: No not really.

Me: Oh no? Why not?

6 year old: their faces are all messed up, they don't look real they look like zombies.

I immediately got her and Operation Sports account.

[JRod]

6 year old: their faces are all messed up, they don't look real they look like zombies.

I immediately got her and Operation Sports account.

Well at least she didn't say the red hue on the reds alternate jersey was off.

[dougb]

Feels like hitting is a little easier than last year - or maybe it's the fact that I finally have figured out how to hit the offspeed pitches and I was playing Texas in Arlington. Won a game 13-3 with the Blue Jays where my catcher (Buck) hit 2 homers including a grand slam and Aaron Hill hit another grand slam in the same game.

OTH like others I'm finding pitches more difficult to locate.

Game is great fun!

Best wishes,

Doug

[sportdan30]

Wow, I thought some of the faces look absolutely spot on. Brendan Ryan of all players (Cards SS) comes to mind right away. But yeah, some of the faces are better than others. Zombies....eh no.

[Zeppo]

6 year old: their faces are all messed up, they don't look real they look like zombies.

I immediately got her and Operation Sports account.

Thus is the famed uncanny valley. Kids are much more sensitive to that stuff, too.

[sportdan30]

She'll be banned immediately from OS if she says one negative thing about the holy grail of baseball.

On a more serious note, I too have found the hitting to be more forgiving than '09 which is definitely nice to see. On veteran, I've only played two games, but I've already hit three home runs in two games. (My first ever at bat with '10 was a lead off homer by Skip Schumacher. Then, I had a home run that barely cleared the fence from Molina later in the game. Pujols of course slammed one in the second game.) I am not a fan of the holding of the helmet as they round the bases though! The realism is lost when they all do it.

[lexbur]

Something little I found when I played tonight. If you switch the pitching view to "Outfield" rather than behind the "Catcher", you'll get little in game notices pop up like in an actual broadcast. For instance, I got a notice saying "Jim Thome on deck", or in the top of the 8th, it said "Joe Nathan is warming up in the bullpen". It's these little blurbs that make the game feel so real.

I was getting those blurbs using the catcher view. You're right though, it's a nice touch.

And you guys are right about the broadcast view for the fielders when you're batting. I changed that right away, I'm surprised that was the default, it wasn't in previous years.

And the warmup pitches are cool, plus the the bullpen set up to show you which hitters are coming up and if they're righty/lefty/switch while you're looking at your bullpen is a nice touch. And I love the option for "scheduled to come in next inning". Very cool, last year I'd always wonder if my reliever's overdoing it in the pen if I had a big inning offensively, I guess you don't have to worry about that this year.

By biggest complaint though, is they rate the Tribe 30th overall! A little too much realism for my taste.

[matthewk]

Guess I'll be the first one to pee in the Cheerios and say I'm not impressed.

First off, they messed up the shadows in Miller park. Last year the shadows seemd too dark, but at least in Miller park they had it right. The way the park is designed, there are smei-circular glass walls where the roof rests when open. This lets in the sunlight quite a bit in the afternoon. This year, instead of seeing that, there is a solid black shadow all along the first base side up to about second base at the beginning of a day game.

For some reason the shadowing this year makes the players look flatter too me. In the sunlight or under the lights they look fine.

The fielders feel less responsive, not more so. That added to the very aggressive baserunning makes for some frustrating plays when in the field. I had two guys score from first on hits into left field. One at least made it to the wall, but I was on it quick. Still, I had no chance at throwing the guy out at home coming all the way around from first base. I forgot who the runner were, but it wasn't a Bourn or a Crawford. The second time I had cutt the ball off after going off the side wall in left field, but Braun got kinda stuck. It took him about 2 second to pry himself off the wall and actually throw the ball in. I never saw this in '09.

OK, that's enough negativity for now. Maybe tonight I'll have a different view of things. Right now I'd be happy with getting another year out of '09 and using the '10 money for other things.

[sportdan30]

Matt,

Is the problem with day games, or also games that are overcast, along with night games? That would frustrate me as well.

I played a quick home run derby with my son yesterday. We picked Wrigley Field, and because of the shadows, it made it a little more difficult to pick up the baseball. Sometimes this realistic lighting can be more of an annoyance!

[Brando70]

This dev team is second to none when it comes to sports video games. I know they've taken some flack in the past when they've disappeared when issues arose, but they've really tried in keep the lines of communication open. This is tremendous news.

I think they are the best in the industry. The deliver a great title every year, listen to the community, and respond rapidly to issues. Really impressed by them.

Nice to read these impressions, even if it makes it hard to fight the urge to buy this right now.

[lexbur]

Feels like hitting is a little easier than last year - or maybe it's the fact that I finally have figured out how to hit the offspeed pitches and I was playing Texas in Arlington.

Yeah, the hitting didn't seem as tough as I was expecting to me, either. I only played one game, All Star default, and even though I lost 8-6, my lowly Tribe knocked Jake Peavy of the White Sox around pretty good. Had two HRs and a couple doubles off him.

Of course, probably shouldn't judge that after just one game.

[vinny-b]

I think they are the best in the industry. The deliver a great title every year, listen to the community, and respond rapidly to issues. Really impressed by them.

The SCEA/SanDiego team is the Rockstar North, of sports developers

[ScoopBrady]

For the first time since Triple Play 99 I did not rush right out and get a baseball game on release day. I don't know if it's too early for baseball for me or if the limited game time I have with an infant in the house makes me want to avoid a game that takes at least an hour to finish. I've also noticed over the past couple of years that my interest in new baseball games wanes after a short amount of time. I think I'll Gamefly this one and just send it back when I lose interest in it. Thanks for the impressions though, it does make it harder to stick to this plan.

[XXXIV]

6 year old: their faces are all messed up, they don't look real they look like zombies.

I immediately got her and Operation Sports account.

Thus is the famed uncanny valley. Kids are much more sensitive to that stuff, too.

I think the kid is on to something...I thought the same thing. That they look like zombies....

I think they look that way casue they look pretty real for what they are...videogame baseball players.... They have no soul

[matthewk]

Matt,

Is the problem with day games, or also games that are overcast, along with night games? That would frustrate me as well.

It's just the day games. The one I played was a clear day. The night game I started seemed fine. My theory is that they simplified the shadowing at Miller Park to free up processing power for the progressive lighting.

It is frustrating, because they are my home team, and they took a step back by taking out the lighting detail that was there last year.

[10spro]

Personally, while I think that the minor improvements continue to add to the realism of the game, the added animations, notices that pop up while the game progresses, warm up pitches, heck even the fake grass at Rogers Skydom look better, if you still own the 09 version, I would not spend the $60 for this upgrade. It still plays a great baseball game and while it's getting monotonous listening to the commentators, dust off 09, apply the latest rosters and play ball.

If you haven't played any versions of the show, then this is a must purchase.

[sportdan30]

1.06 Patch Notes:

Minnesota Day and Night, Backstop changed to Limestone
Fixed bug where trades wont be accepted in Spring Training
Fixed HDD game data space and messages
RTTS Presentation settings are saved after rebooting
Fixed RTTS issue when on game stats screen after skipping training and then playing a game
Fixed issue in Franchise Mode and controlling 30 teams and then teams release a lot of players
Fixed issue with Movie Maker when selecting 10 replays and 11 are present
Fixed Ball Deflection sound off of players
Fixed issue with pitcher batter status window
Fixed Issue with injuries during online games
Fixed fielding issue with catcher overthrowing to first base on a dropped third strike
Fixed fielding issue with the ball in the dirt right at the feet if user catcher
Fixed an issue when playing a tiebreaker game
Online addition of game history option in user list options. Can be found in leaderboards, League Lobby, Buddy List, and Schedule Screen

[Rodster]

Personally, while I think that the minor improvements continue to add to the realism of the game, the added animations, notices that pop up while the game progresses, warm up pitches, heck even the fake grass at Rogers Skydom look better, if you still own the 09 version, I would not spend the $60 for this upgrade. It still plays a great baseball game and while it's getting monotonous listening to the commentators, dust off 09, apply the latest rosters and play ball.

If you haven't played any versions of the show, then this is a must purchase.

I'll second everything you said BUT it doesn't apply to someone like me who just plays RTTS mode. That's seen a nice upgrade this year.

[AJColossal]

In my opinion, here are the main ways 10 improves over 09 after one day of play:

-Hitting variety improved
-Check swings feel better
-User pitching seems a bit harder to control (good thing)
-Batted balls are much more lively, resulting in more extra base hits and randomness
-As a result of the livelier ball, all around defensive strategy becomes more important
-Presentation is much fresher
-Fielding much more dynamic feeling
-Errors more varied and random

It all depends on how important those changes sound to you. 09 was a fine game, and there was nothing at all wrong with it, but I couldn't be happier with the upgrade in 10.