MLB 2K10

Review by Jeff C. NY for MLB 2K10
Rating:
Okay, so before I begin, I am not going to make any comparisons to “The Show” for PS3, because that game is not available for the XBOX so, although everyone seems to think it is better, it’s not an option for XBOX owners, so the comparisons are useless.

That being said, I happen to think that MLB 2K10 is an overall above average game. The main thing keeping last years version from being a good game was the pitching controls, it was just terrible. This year it is much better, and actually makes the game more enjoyable. The pitching has been completely redone. Each pitch now has its own particular motion that you must do with the joystick. In a way it is similar to doing a special attack in a fighting game. For example, for one particular pitch, you must first push forward and then do a half circle from 3 o’clock to 9 o’clock on the joystick. The success of the pitch is determined by the timing and motion of your movements. They even do a pitch analysis after the pitch so you can see what you did right or did wrong. The new pitching structure is a great feature of the game.

The graphics are decent but they are actually a slight down grade from last year…..however this is a welcome change because the gameplay is alot more fluid than last year. I’ll take a slight drop off in graphics if it makes the game run smoother and cleaner. The players really don’t look anything like they do in reality but when it comes to playing a sports game, graphics are second in my opinion to smooth gameplay. The stadiums are very accurate and detailed and do a nice job of giving each field its nuances.

The presentation in this game is really good. The announcers (Steve Philips, John Kruk, and Gary Thorne) have more varied and insightful phrases than ever before. It makes you feel that they are really there calling your game. For example, I was playing the game on a Tuesday night, and when the game started, they said “welcome to tuesday night baseball.” They also have alot of information to say about every player and team and their performance last year, even vs the particular team you happen to be playing. Another aspect of presentation I like is on stolen bases. When its a close play at second, they slow down the play and zoom in on it so you get a really nice view of the tag. They also do pitch and swing analysis after the pitches and swings. This is really helpful at first when you are trying to learn the game, but can get annoying once you don’t want to see it anymore. That’s ok though because it can be turned off. I am stats guy and another thing I like about this game is that when a batter comes up, they will show his last years stats vs the particular pitcher he is facing, a nice touch. The batting view in default mode is way too low to the ground in my opinion, but it can be switched in the options menu.

The gameplay itself is alot more fluid on swings and also once the ball is in play, but no real major changes here from last year. One particular bug that bothers me and wasn’t fixed from last year is that the players body position and arm motion don’t necessarily match up with where he is throwing. For example, I took a cutoff throw to shortstop and then threw to second base, however the player was facing towards third and his arm motion was to third, but the ball came out to second base. Not a huge deal but it is something that should have been fixed.

Overall, MLB 2K10 is a pretty nice game that is really fun to play. I happen to be a gamer who is not overly critical of a game and try and have fun when playing. Any casual to advanced baseball gamer will find this game enjoyable. If you are someone who gets really bothered by bugs and such, you may have your gripes with this game but in my opinion, this game is alot better than 2K9 and worth a play. If you found 2K9 okay, minus the pitching structure, then you will really like this version, but however if your dislike of 2K9 was for other reasons, you may not find something you like here because little else was changed.

3/5/10 Update:

Upon playing this game more I have noticed a bunch of more bugs than when I originally wrote the review. The check swing has either been taking out of the game or is impossible to pull off, this is a big draw back in a baseball game. Also, if you switch to classic batting, the controls are inverted…for example, if you want to hit the ball to the left side you have to push right on the joystick and vice versa. Also, in classic batting theres only one swing, not a power and a contact swing, so I have no idea how it decides if you hit a little bloop or a long drive. Finally, the game is a bit off in its stats record keeping, it charges RBIs and ER to the wrong player sometimes. Hopefully these will be patched. I would have to give the game 3.5 stars if I could.

Review by Art Vandelay for MLB 2K10
Rating:
This game is a vast improvement over 2K9. The graphics are very good and the frame rate issues from last year are non existent. The Stadiums are gorgeous and they looked like they added more detail this time around. The pitching can be challenging but is done very well. The pitching A.I. is a lot better, and it forces you to take more pitches to be successful. The batting physics are awesome, anyone who has played baseball can attest to the realism in this game. You can also see the difference in team talent, for example I played one game using the Yankees and beat the Phillies 7 to 3, and then I played using my favorite team the Padres and I struggled to beat the D backs 2-1. Another cool feature is “hurry up baseball”, this mode enables you to turn off all of the replays and cut scenes that make a normal game seem like 3 hours, now it’s possible to get in a quick game in 30 minutes! This is great especially if the wife is waiting to watch her favorite TV show.

There are some quirks though, all of your outfielders seem to have canon arms, and they can get throws to home with extreme accuracy. The fielders constantly make Derek Jeter type 360 jump throws which are pretty far fetched for some defensively challenged fielders. I know I’m nitpicking here but I wish they could add a little more detail in the backdrops, for example for PETCO PARK in MLB the show you can see planes coming in to land at Lindbergh Field in San Diego. Is it a big deal? No, not really but hopefully next year they can add things like that.

I have yet to play the “my player” mode. I typically stay away from these parts of sports games. The last thing I want to do is turn a baseball game into a role-playing game, but I understand some people like this so my review does not include that aspect of the game.

This is definitely not a perfect game, but it is fun and challenging. Visual Concepts has got this franchise on the right track. When I bought 2K9 I noticed the flaws from my first game on. Playing 2K10 I noticed the improvement over last years mediocre game.

Review by alxn for MLB 2K10
Rating:
The gameplay of the game is pretty fun but there are some major problems.

1. Franchise mode is almost unplayable. The teams re-sign every player every year so there are virtually no new free agents. The teams will also go way over budget just to keep their mediocre players. There is also a problem with the pitcher progresion. Every pitcher will get way worse after a couple years.

2. The one major problem with gameplay is that the fatigue meter resets back to 99% after about 7 innings. I think this is just cosmetic, since I still feel fatigued when I pitch, but the AI doesn’t realize this. The AI will leave the SP in the game forever because the fatigue resets. I’ve seen the SP be left in for 13 innings.

3. This also applies to My Player. It is nearly impossible to be a SP for My Player because of this issue. You will pitch a complete game almost every time unless you really get lit up. My Player as a hitter has been very fun though.

Other than these major issues, the game has been very fun and much better than recent years for 2k. If you can look past these things you will have a great time playing this game.

Review by Chris Sabanty for MLB 2K10
Rating:
Like another reviewer mentioned, I won’t compare this to MLB: The Show since The Show isn’t available for Xbox 360.

Gameplay

In my opinion, a video game’s most important aspect is gameplay. MLB 2K10′s gameplay is pretty good. One of the biggest new features this year is Total Control pitching. At first, I wasn’t down with TCP and it frustrated me. However, the more I played, the more it grew on me. For lack of a better description, you control everything. If you have good timing and good precision, you’ll get batters out. The only downside is it requires a lot of focus for each pitch. If you’re looking for a more laidback, casual experience you can always change the controls back to button-based pitching.

I’m less of a fan of the new hitting system, Total Control Hitting. While I think precision and timing work great for pitching, the batting system requires way too much precision at higher difficulty levels. Get ready for a lot of low scoring games. To get an extra base hit or a home run you literally have to have near perfect aim and timing (this very rarely happens). The good news is you can revert to 2K9′s system, which is easier to use. One new hitting feature I am a fan of is Batter’s Eye. It makes good vision players like Kevin Youkilis and Nick Swisher more effective by occasionally telling you what kind of pitch is coming.

The game types in MLB 2K10 are standard fare for modern baseball games. The one difference is My Player. It’s similar to a regular Franchise mode except you control a player instead of a team. If you like Franchises, you’ll probably like My Player. There are also a variety of other modes including Home Run Derby, Drills, Franchise, and more.

Like most other 2K games, the AI is strong. Whether a pitch is hit is based on a variety of factors you’d expect like timing, the pitcher’s skill, and the hitter’s skill. What’s really unique is 2K’s Inside Edge scouting. They have a huge amount of information for each hitter: stuff like how aggressive they are for each count, how well they do against certain pitches, and more. The same is true for pitchers. Having this information makes the ratings more accurate and the AI more intelligent.

Online gameplay right now is questionable. It’s early and things could change but 2K is known for having mediocre online service. If you want to play online, expect a lot of server downtime and slow connection times.

Graphics and Presentation

Not a strong part of the game. They don’t detract much for me, but if you’re looking for an impressive visual experience, I wouldn’t get this game. With that said, the players and stadiums are relatively detailed but it’s tough to compare to MLB: The Show’s graphics (I know I said I wouldn’t compare).

The presentation is also pretty standard for a sports game. As of the time I write this, there a bunch of presentation bugs that don’t affect gameplay but can be a little irritating. However, 2K has a history of fixing these bugs in patch releases so I wouldn’t let them deter you.

Sound

The commentary is both impressive and irritating. What’s impressive is how much unique commentary there is. Even though some of it is a little generic there is more variety than most other sports games. What’s irritating is that the announcers talk too much. I’m a fan of announcers like Pat Summerall and Mike Gorman (Boston Celtics) who know that brevity is important (kind of ironic compared to how long this review is). The announcers sound like they’ve downed a 6 pack of Jolt, coffee, or maybe both.

The soundtrack has some decent selections if you like pop/alternative rock but I’d say it’s too small compared to other sports games.

Overall

Nothing revolutionary here but that’s not a bad thing. If you’re a fan of baseball games, you’ll probably like MLB 2K10. If you own a Playstation 3, you might want to look at MLB The Show, too.

Review by Anthony Tocco for MLB 2K10
Rating:
Bought this last week and had a chance to play about 20 games. Well I told myself I was not going to buy this until I read some positive reviews on Amazon. Well the reviews all looked good so I jumped on it and I must say, everyone who reviewed this game were right on the money. I could not agree more. So I traded in my MLB 2K9 (which sucked), and bought 2K10. Love the pitching interface. Really inovative. The pitching on 2K9 was a joke. On the hitting side, nothing new here, hitting is hitting. Just pull or push the right stick close your eyes and hit the freakin ball!. The best thing for me is the fielding is MUCH MUCH easier and I love it. I don’t have the greatest reflexes anymore but this fielding thing is pretty sweet. Plenty of time to get under a pop fly or make a dive in the hole, etc. My only complaint for this version is the baserunning. For some reason if you hit a liner to the outfield with a guy on first, the runner stops and watches the outfielder field the ball. Well then the dummy takes off for second only to get thrown out by a mile. (ON A HIT!!!). Nothing is more aggrevating to me to get a hit and the guy on first should be on second (or third). Kills a rally every time. I wanted to throw the controller at the TV. Happens at least twice a game. I have adjusted the baserunning to be “smarthold”, “neverhold”, (does not matter, the baserunners are stupid AI).

All in all, I would rate this game a 4 total. Outside of the baserunning (which is bad on every 2K baseball game beginning with 2K7 (XBOX 360)all the way up to and including 2K10. Very nice effort on 2K10, now I don’t have nightmares anymore about 2K9 and the first basemans foot coming off the bag 2X per game.

Update 4-8-10

On the pitching:

Just wanted to add some stuff after playing 19 games with the Yankees. I’m in franchise mode and have a 10-9 record. First and foremost: the pitching interface is fantastic. I have found that even with playing 19 games you will only have about maybe 2-3 “max pitches” per game. (this happens when everything lines up perfect and the pitch wheel turns bright orange). When this happens it usually turns out that the batter swings and misses or the pitch lands right over the plate. Of couse your location of the pitch (using the left stick to locate needs to be in the right spot over the plate). Also using a pitcher like A.J Burnette who features the knuckle curve is a joy to behold. In one game he had 7 strikeouts after 3 innings. This will happen if you set up the batter with other pitches then use the knuckle curve as your out pitch. The only thing I dislike about the pitching interface is I have found that if any one of my starters go deep into the game they get fatigued, if you do not perform the gesture correctly the pitch winds up hitting the batter. So far the Yankee pitchers have hit 30 batters in 19 games. I have yet to figure out how to stop this from happening. My bullpen is not too bad so I have been going to the bullpen earlier than I want to (even if I have the lead). Rarely can I have a starter go the full 9. When they get fatigued as I have said, it winds up as a bad thing as I will give up walks and hit batters more frequent. When you bring in a fresh pitcher from the bullpen, the gesture mechanic once again works flawless (fresh arms perform better) and it results in stopping the rally from the opposition. I guess this is how it should be anyway in keeping the game as real as possible.

On the hitting:

I have noticed that if you use the left stick to try to aim in one area is just about useless and I have almost stopped trying it. The only time I use it is to move a runner over by hitting the ball to a certain part of the infield purposely. The other feature I have given up on is pulling the right stick down to cock the bat for the long ball. What I have been doing is just pushing the right stick up and thats it. I turned up the slider for “power” and have found this to be a simplified configuration. In 19 games Mark Texira has 7 homers while A-rod has 6. And the team as a whole only has 17 homers in 19 games. While a little light on the homers, I find that this is more accurate than bashing 30-40 homers in 19 games. This game has made me work for homers in the simplified hitting config that I am now using.

On the basrunning:

In my earlier review, I pointed out the basrunning nightmare that has plaqued the 2K series for 4 years running. (see original review above). Anyway, what you need to do is at the crack of the bat pull the left trigger to start your runner on 1st or any other base for that matter. If it looks like the ball is going to get caught, pull the right trigger to send him back to his original base. There should be plenty of time to do this. If you don’t send your runner back, he’ll just stand there while the outfielder throws behind him for a double play. On tagging up: simply wait as in real life, when the outfielder catches the ball, pull the left trigger and hope the runner gets to the next base without getting thrown out. I have had success in tagging up and have scored from 3rd numerous times. This has won me some games in fact. Lastly: stealing is a joke for the player-controlled team. I have gotten thrown out 10 out of 10. I have even turned up the slider for my teams running speed and have gotten thrown out at second by a mile. Even while using a very fast runner like Robinson Cano.

All in all, I’m lovin this game. Don’t want to win every game, just want it to be a challenge as it should be. All of the games that I have lost have been by 1-2 runs. Very satisfied. But you must experiment “intensely” with the sliders to find the perfect balance. Hope this helps everyone out.