Demo impressions thread

[Flaxseed Oil]

Well, I just played the demo at lunch. Some things I have noticed:

1) it feels a lot like MVP both hitting and pitching.
2) Its hard to see the ball after its been hit. The ball is tiny and the field is so bright green from the grass.
3) the announcing is much better.
4) the crowd is awesome. I hit into a huge double play with the cardinals in the 9th inning and the crowd went nuts.
5) Billy Wagner's motion looks awesome.

[AxionJackson24]

1) cant wait to see game highlights (not in demo)
2) Hope the annoying loading message between batters isnt in the final game
3) Graphics are insane on HD (42" Plasma)
4) I love Miller, one of my hometown announcers
5) Menu presentation is hot

could go on but thats what I got from 5 min of playing before work this morning lol

[RockinRobinChi]

ITA w/#2! Ball is SUPER TINY! Game is SWEET though. Hopefully I'll be able to pick it up in a couple hours!

[mpet29]

Agreed with all.

-Pitching motions are perfect, very smooth.
-They don't have every player's perfect stance (was disappointed to not have Julio Franco's bat over his head), but the ones they do have are dead on.
-Faces look great, especially Willie Randolph

one negative, it is very hard to see the ball when it's been hit, its very tiny, and I'm playing on a 50 inch plasma screen.

[Flaxseed Oil]

yea, i have a 42 inch plasma too...that makes it worth it.

[MdotS]

Fielding is hard but thats ok just gotta pick it up better itslike real life its not that easy. It looks great, THANK GOD they improved the swing stick this finally feels like real baseball I cant wait to use teams i actually care about.

[Jah King]

Fielding took me time to get used to but everything looks great.

The hitting is so realistic so people don't have to swing power all the time to score runs.

The one thing i didn't like too much is that in the Demo hitting homers seemed easy maybe its because of the difficulty but swinging just contact with Reyes and i hit a homer doesn't seem right lol.

This game is so realistic to the game of baseball and i cant wait to really play this game.

[nyyanks4ws]

what teams are in the demo?

[MdotS]

Cards and Mets

[RedSoxNewEngland]

This is great. It's like the best of MVP Baseball and the best of 2k sports. Finally a great baseball game again.

[Flaxseed Oil]

Last year, I got the feeling that it was just like the regular xbox version, except the stadiums looked better.


THIS year, it feels like a totally new game. I am going to enjoy playing this game for a while.

[DerekJeter]

So the gameplay is actually good this year???

[TheStros07]

I like the gameplay A LOT. The pitching is just Godly.

[Flaxseed Oil]

this game is freakin' sweet (as peter griffith would say). I cant wait to get the retail version tomorrow and get some more games in.

[colts 1965]

So far so good the fielders will when the ball is hit move right away instead of freezing, the ai seems to be improved alot. It does have that mvp feel to it which is real good, like the foul ball graphic pitching has greatly improved, by the way some stores do have the game in where i live in seattle i preordered mine so i'll have to wait for gamestop too call me, the reason some stores have it is because they are by the hubs the main fedex offices i used too work for fedex ground that happens alot when a major video game or consoles come out.

[JFKilla24]

Ok guys, I like it alot. I think we all are put in the same scenario in the seventh. I chose the Mets and used Bradford to K the side. Bottom of the seventh, did some damage with the sticks piling up five hits in the inning while scoring two runs on a Delgado single up the middle.

Ball hit to Belliard at second and Miller states "great play and throw by Molina." (noticed this too on the POTD w/ DET/CHI when a ball was hit up the middle to Granderson, Miller stated great throw by Rodrriguez).

Playing on a 50" LCD gameplay looks and feels amazing.

Love the interface and player AI

Stoked that the players round the bag the way they are meant to not like in 2K6 where it was a nightmare if you hit a single.

Won the game with the Mets, but they didnt go insane, nor did the crowd. This was supposed to be game seven of the NLCS??

Final box

STL 1 4 1
NYM 3 8 1

Delgado named player of the game.

I think we have a winner on our hands boys!/and girls!

[CincyFan]

i will agree with everyone so far in what they say. two things though about fielding that i don't think people have mention yet.

1. its easier now to catch a ball in the outfield and throwing it home or to third to stop the runner from advancing/scoring. i can't remember who hit one deep on me (i was mets) and it was out in the outfield with bases loaded and the announcer even said it was deep enough to score a run. I ran under it and then threw a rocket home to stop the runner from scoring. it this was last years game they would of easily scored by all the motions the outfielder had to do.

2. only once a ball was hit to the corner (or wall) where my player was chasing it down. it was a rocket line drive down the right hand side and i got over to cut it off before it hit the wall. in the wake of stopping the ball i was close by the stands and instead of falling down with the ball like last years game he put both hands up to brace himself and then did a little stumble back. i think the runner was held up at first, but i was just excited that the fielder didn't fall down like every time last year

[CincyFan]

ohh by the way one more thing. I won the game like 5-2 with the mets, but only had four hits in the game. Delgado hit a double to the left corner in the seventh, then had a back-to-back home runs to push the lead to 4. Stuck out with someone, then hit a monster shot to push the lead to five. It was weird i only had a double with 3 HR's in the game and nothing else. I did have some good shots between 3B/SS and in the gaps, but they were always caught or was thrown out. Only one homerun was on a power swing though, and the other two were contact. Which i am not too worried about cause the demo was pretty much on a low default, and when i get the game i always play on the hardest with some sliders so i can always change the outcome of hitting for me.

[tmoneymill]

i dont think i like how you said you caught one deep and was able to keep the running tagging from third....a deep fly ball SHOULD score the runner from 3rd almost everytime

[Keith7]

I dont understand the swing.. do they not have the power swing anymore?? everytime i try to do it, they just end up trying to bunt at the last second

[MdotS]

If i have any complaints its just way too many foul balls its kinda annoying but thats about all thats wrong with the game so far

[JCardinals15]

I dont understand the swing.. do they not have the power swing anymore?? everytime i try to do it, they just end up trying to bunt at the last second

You must be clicking in the right thumbstick. You are supposed to move it upwards as the ball is coming. When you click the right thumbstick you try to drag bunt.

[CincyFan]

i dont think i like how you said you caught one deep and was able to keep the running tagging from third....a deep fly ball SHOULD score the runner from 3rd almost everytime



maybe i should rephase the statement i made. It wasn't a very shallow hit or a very deep hit. It was the inbetween hit, where a very runner could score probably, but a small runner if he tried would of most likely got tagged out. I did get behind the ball so when the player caught it he was already in the motion of moving foward so it gave him the extra arm strenght to keep the runner at third. i was just saying that it was kind of a deep ball cause last year no matter if you did catch it on the run the Animation would go throw the long process of getting threw the motion of the catch. Then another motion for the throwing home. In which it always seemed everyone could of scored no matter if it was Sean Casey or Juan Pierre.

It was that inbetween ground where you could test the throwers arm to see if you could make it. Last years game it was an automatic sac. hit. This year it looks as if you actually have to know who's your runner on third.

hopefully that made a little more sense.

[searcher73]

Has anyone tried to make a pitching change? I wondered how the substitution interface worked in person. It was neat looking on the videos, but also seemed a little busy.

[KOOL2K7]

remember this is only a demo..so am sure when the real game comes out this will be no problem at all..fasho

[wexy]

I've played the demo 4 times:

The changing/warming up pitcher interface was pretty easy...the only thing was, I forgot to warm up my relievers twice and although it stated they were not ready, I put them in anyways and they still had 100% stamina, I'm SURE this will be fixed in the game...

The crowd noise off. I hit homeruns with beltran and delgado in the bottom of the ninth and althogh they both gave curtain calls, the crowd sounded like nothing had happened...kind of weird

[Bateman11]

How is Pujol's batting stance?
Did they get rid of the annoying bat sound when you hit the ball?

[bluejays4life]

Pujol's batting stance is great!
and for you're second question, what annoying bat sound? you know when you hit a ball with a bat it's gonna make a sound.

[jackbauerisgod]

from the demo, this seems like the best baseball game i have ever played!! it has taken the spot of mvp 2005 in my opinion!! the graphics are top notch, you can recognize all the players and the commentary is spot on (except the name glitch which was hopefully fixed in final version). I cant wait until tomorrow to play the full game and start up a franchise!! I need a little more work on hitting but my pitching is starting to get spot on!! i just finished a 14 inning game (7 innings after the starting 7th inning)!! that really gave me a chance to experience what a full game would feel like and it was amazing!! Carpenter was going strong with 8 k's in 6 innings pitched!! this game has lived up to the hype in my opinion and is a great start for the 2k and kush games franchise!!!!

[JPG619]

Well I just played 2 games of this demo so far, it is really fun but I have a hard time learning to get my timing right. Also I been giving up allot of wild pitches maybe I have to learn timing on that too, other then that the game is really good this year, can't wait till tomorrow when I pick up the full game.

[bigfnjoe96]

OK, I downloaded the DEMO on my son's 360(mines is on it's way to Microsoft :( ) Played 2 games on LEGEND.

1st thing I will say is "HELLO SLIDERS" man I'm gonna have work to do this year, as they have added a bunch of new sliders :eek: Looks like Brinkman has brought some MVP Sliders over with him.

I definitely like what I saw. The game plays a lot better than 2k6. Unless there are different Camera Options, I'm definitely gonna have to get use to the camera's I just played with.

Mind you I played on a 20" TV, but the ball looks very small when fielding. It's almost like the colors used in the game, make it hard to see/read the ball of the bat when playing the field.

The fielding animations look sweet. It was good to see the OF Cannon Arms were non-existant in the 2 games I played(the addition of Throwing Sliders is a plus)

The presentation is excellent & really makes you feel like your watching/playing a real-life MLB Game. The GRAPHICS looked real nice on a SDTV. I can only imagine how this game is gonna look on my 57" HITACHI :eek:

For the life of me I couldn't find the button to conduct a Mound Visit :confused: The lineup card with the bumper is also a nice addtion, but again on my son's SDTV, I couldn't read the text, unless I was about 1 ft from the screen. (NOT GOOD IMO)

The commentary was very fluent & the cut-scenes from what I saw were also smooth. Kudos to Brinkman & his crew for 1 helluva job on this title. This series is definitely headed in the right direction... :thumbsup:

[Portlander29]

I've played the demo 4 times:

The changing/warming up pitcher interface was pretty easy...the only thing was, I forgot to warm up my relievers twice and although it stated they were not ready, I put them in anyways and they still had 100% stamina, I'm SURE this will be fixed in the game...

The crowd noise off. I hit homeruns with beltran and delgado in the bottom of the ninth and althogh they both gave curtain calls, the crowd sounded like nothing had happened...kind of weird

Why wouldn't their stamina be 100% if you didn't warm them up. They have put out no effort, hence not hurting their stamina. If they come in blowing their hardest though, that is a problem and hopefully will lead to injuries. Hell, they shouldn't even let you bring a guy in that has not warmed up at all though unless the guy on the mound is injured.

[I AM CAT]

I couldn't find the mound visit button either, hopefully it makes it into the final build of the game, which Im sure it will or it might be in the demo but i too oculdnt find it. I personally dont hate the cameras but do agree the ball is very tiny. Loving how you can move the catcher around behind the plate and such. Gameplay feels good and tons of sliders, I'm excited to get this game tomorrow now for sure. This demo surpassed anything I ever expected, good job 2k

[Dolphins12482]

I was one of the lucky few to be up and dl this demo this morning, after playing it for few hours, I must say this is great game, I really love everything from the fielding all the way down to the line-up card. It just gives you a baseball feeling to it. Graphics are maybe one of the best I have seen in a sports game to date. Now for those that are finding it to easy like I was, go into options and mess around with difficulty.

The one thing that bothered me was the robbing of the homeruns. 3 in one game. Come think about 2 came in the same inning. But I'm sure sliders will be used to fix that.

Overall:

I give it about 8.6. I hope the final game is just as good as this demo, which I'm sure it will be!!!!

[wexy]

Why wouldn't their stamina be 100% if you didn't warm them up. They have put out no effort, hence not hurting their stamina. If they come in blowing their hardest though, that is a problem and hopefully will lead to injuries. Hell, they shouldn't even let you bring a guy in that has not warmed up at all though unless the guy on the mound is injured.

I would think the stamina would NOT be good if I just threw a pitcher in there. If you throw a pitcher on the mound and he hasn't warmed up, I understand what you're saying with him not having put out any effort, but he still shouldn't just "be ready to go." And I did pitch hard with them as soon as they entered and the stamina wasnt effected much. I'm not trying to make this a routine, just something I did accidentally and noticed what happened because of it.

[HeyBuddaaay]

Mound visits are in the demo. Go to the lineup card select the pitcher in the upper right part of the card. "Mound Visit" will be an option...should up the guy's composure a few notches if the pitching cursor is going wild.

Anybody going to be working on some strict realism sliders once the game is out? I'm going to try my best, hopefully I'll get some help?

[Julio_Lugi23]

I give it about 8.6. I hope the final game is just as good as this demo, which I'm sure it will be!!!!
What?? The demo is impressive and all, but i'm hoping (and expecting) that the actual game is/will be 100 times better than the demo. Based on the POD videos A LOT is missing from this demo.

[xav0971]

A couple of things of notice about the demo:

1. Has anybody seen passed balls? I've played demo 50 times and no passed balls/wild pitches. I was even throwing way outside of strike zone too. No slider for that either :(

2. I have not seen any unintentional walks. I done extreme slider settings to try to cause it with no avail. They automatically throw down middle with 3-0 count. I'll keep testing this.

3. Why no fielder views? Can't select low medium or high views. Maybe next year. Not a real big deal.

4. No foul balls directly behind me. I believe one of the designers mentioned this to be fixed next year. Again no big deal.

Other than these issues, its a great baseball game. Awesome animations!!

[I AM CAT]

I threw a past ball the first i played in ha so there are those.

[SoxFan01605]

A couple of things of notice about the demo:

1. Has anybody seen passed balls? I've played demo 50 times and no passed balls/wild pitches. I was even throwing way outside of strike zone too. No slider for that either :(

2. I have not seen any unintentional walks. I done extreme slider settings to try to cause it with no avail. They automatically throw down middle with 3-0 count. I'll keep testing this.

3. Why no fielder views? Can't select low medium or high views. Maybe next year. Not a real big deal.

4. No foul balls directly behind me. I believe one of the designers mentioned this to be fixed next year. Again no big deal.

Other than these issues, its a great baseball game. Awesome animations!!

1. I threw a wild pitch in my first game. Low and away, I believe.
2. I drew one walk, but I rarely had scouting so I was a little more free swinging than I would normally be.
4. I fouled a few directly back, but if you mean straight back like I think you do (rockets to the backstop) then I haven't seen those.

If you up the difficulty, you see more "standard" baseball things i.e. walks, pitch variety, and strategy. I agree...looks great overall and will hopefully address some of these issues in the years to come.

[RLJSlick]

I'm glad I'm not the only one, that ball is close to impossible to see coming off the bat. There was a few times I never saw the ball til it got pass me. I sure hope they do something about that.


Well, I just played the demo at lunch. Some things I have noticed:

1) it feels a lot like MVP both hitting and pitching.
2) Its hard to see the ball after its been hit. The ball is tiny and the field is so bright green from the grass.
3) the announcing is much better.
4) the crowd is awesome. I hit into a huge double play with the cardinals in the 9th inning and the crowd went nuts.
5) Billy Wagner's motion looks awesome.

[SoxFan01605]

Hopefully this is a "night game thing" I remember in 2k6 the game was a lot better looking at daytime. Maybe it's their lighting effects for the stadium lights? You guys are right though. It was almost impossible to see certain hit types off the bat

[JJT21]

great game, but as I keep playing the demo. I hate not knowing if I have a homerun or if it's going to hit the wall, because it looks the exact same. I can't wait to see in the game tomorrow the signature styles for like home run hitters.

[SoxFan01605]

great game, but as I keep playing the demo. I hate not knowing if I have a homerun or if it's going to hit the wall, because it looks the exact same. I can't wait to see in the game tomorrow the signature styles for like home run hitters.

I think you get that red icon when it has a good chance of going out. I don't recall hitting a homer without seeing that marker. I may be mistaken though. I'm looking forward to seeing other signature styles too. I'm about burnt out on the Mets and Cards.