MLB 2K9

[Philberto]

Is anyone really wanting to do a FANTASY LEAGUE for this FANTASY GAME? If so, let me know. I know I should be fully in the love with MLB The Show but I have played the equivalent to about 7-8 "real games" and I still can't get down the timing for the hitting. I think I've scored 5 runs in those "games" and 4 of them were by the homerun variety. So, if you guys are wanting to do something like this, then I would very possibly be swayed to buying 2k9 as opposed to The Show.

Are you referring to actually tracking stats for a fantasy league, or doing a fantasy draft in an online league?

Online league. Similar to the NCAA league. Based off of the way the NCAA league panned out, I guess I should assume no on this.

[Kermit, B.]

I love how thoroughly I botched the quote function in my reply up there.

How's this for a complaint about the 2K9 demo?  I'd like to actually hit off of a righthanded pitcher, but it's a frickin' three inning game with two of the best lefty pitchers in baseball starting for the teams.

(Yes, it's not much of a complaint.)

I think you can switch to the team you want to face and sub out their pitcher, then switch back.

Buyers beware.  I'm hearing some BAD things about this game from people who have picked it up early, but I'm going to foolishly buy it tomorrow, anyhow.  I hated 2K8 way less than a lot of people did, and this seems a lot better than 2K8.  I'm hoping it's fun enough to hold my attention for at least part of the summer.

How bad?

Well, as I mentioned, the franchise bug is supposedly going to be fixed by patch tomorrow, so that's good.  And some people are working on sliders to fix the over-aggressive CPU batters.  But apparently there are stupid-ass things like no Exhibition mode.  There's only a Play Now mode.  It wouldn't be a big deal, but if you do Play Now, you can't edit the CPU rosters, meaning you're going to see the other team's ace every.  Single.  Game.  I play franchise, anyhow, so that doesn't affect me, but that's a pretty silly oversight.

The one good thing is that it seems like VC is actually paying attention to these bad quirks and is trying to fix them.  With the "Living Rosters" thing, some people are guessing that they can tone down the over-aggressive CPU batters by updating their ratings.  I also read that turning off your catcher's suggestions and pitching the way you want to pitch seems to help a lot, and the batters will take more strikes.  When Kush patched 2K7, it made it a completely different (and playable) game.  I'm hoping VC just has to make some minor tweaks to make it a solid game.

And if you are decent at fielding the demo, you shouldn't have problems in the game, but some people are bitching about the fielding.

There are a few people saying that the core gameplay is very good, despite the quirks.  I'll be the sacrificial lamb and get it tomorrow and answer questions for you guys, so we don't all have to blow $60 if it's going to suck.

[Weebs]

I love how thoroughly I botched the quote function in my reply up there.

How's this for a complaint about the 2K9 demo?  I'd like to actually hit off of a righthanded pitcher, but it's a frickin' three inning game with two of the best lefty pitchers in baseball starting for the teams.

(Yes, it's not much of a complaint.)

I think you can switch to the team you want to face and sub out their pitcher, then switch back.

Buyers beware.  I'm hearing some BAD things about this game from people who have picked it up early, but I'm going to foolishly buy it tomorrow, anyhow.  I hated 2K8 way less than a lot of people did, and this seems a lot better than 2K8.  I'm hoping it's fun enough to hold my attention for at least part of the summer.

How bad?

Well, as I mentioned, the franchise bug is supposedly going to be fixed by patch tomorrow, so that's good.  And some people are working on sliders to fix the over-aggressive CPU batters.  But apparently there are stupid-ass things like no Exhibition mode.  There's only a Play Now mode.  It wouldn't be a big deal, but if you do Play Now, you can't edit the CPU rosters, meaning you're going to see the other team's ace every.  Single.  Game.  I play franchise, anyhow, so that doesn't affect me, but that's a pretty silly oversight.

The one good thing is that it seems like VC is actually paying attention to these bad quirks and is trying to fix them.  With the "Living Rosters" thing, some people are guessing that they can tone down the over-aggressive CPU batters by updating their ratings.  I also read that turning off your catcher's suggestions and pitching the way you want to pitch seems to help a lot, and the batters will take more strikes.  When Kush patched 2K7, it made it a completely different (and playable) game.  I'm hoping VC just has to make some minor tweaks to make it a solid game.

And if you are decent at fielding the demo, you shouldn't have problems in the game, but some people are bitching about the fielding.

There are a few people saying that the core gameplay is very good, despite the quirks.  I'll be the sacrificial lamb and get it tomorrow and answer questions for you guys, so we don't all have to blow $60 if it's going to suck.

I plan on picking it up tomorrow afternoon too.  Maybe we can try out an online game or two to see if it's at all playable.  If so, we could try to get an online league going.  I've always been interested in playing a fantasy draft league.  My friend and I used to do a fantasy draft in MVP and play out games against eachother.  It was a lot of fun.  Of course, that's probably because MVP was a lot of fun.

[Kermit, B.]

I love how thoroughly I botched the quote function in my reply up there.

How's this for a complaint about the 2K9 demo?  I'd like to actually hit off of a righthanded pitcher, but it's a frickin' three inning game with two of the best lefty pitchers in baseball starting for the teams.

(Yes, it's not much of a complaint.)

I think you can switch to the team you want to face and sub out their pitcher, then switch back.

Buyers beware.  I'm hearing some BAD things about this game from people who have picked it up early, but I'm going to foolishly buy it tomorrow, anyhow.  I hated 2K8 way less than a lot of people did, and this seems a lot better than 2K8.  I'm hoping it's fun enough to hold my attention for at least part of the summer.

How bad?

Well, as I mentioned, the franchise bug is supposedly going to be fixed by patch tomorrow, so that's good.  And some people are working on sliders to fix the over-aggressive CPU batters.  But apparently there are stupid-ass things like no Exhibition mode.  There's only a Play Now mode.  It wouldn't be a big deal, but if you do Play Now, you can't edit the CPU rosters, meaning you're going to see the other team's ace every.  Single.  Game.  I play franchise, anyhow, so that doesn't affect me, but that's a pretty silly oversight.

The one good thing is that it seems like VC is actually paying attention to these bad quirks and is trying to fix them.  With the "Living Rosters" thing, some people are guessing that they can tone down the over-aggressive CPU batters by updating their ratings.  I also read that turning off your catcher's suggestions and pitching the way you want to pitch seems to help a lot, and the batters will take more strikes.  When Kush patched 2K7, it made it a completely different (and playable) game.  I'm hoping VC just has to make some minor tweaks to make it a solid game.

And if you are decent at fielding the demo, you shouldn't have problems in the game, but some people are bitching about the fielding.

There are a few people saying that the core gameplay is very good, despite the quirks.  I'll be the sacrificial lamb and get it tomorrow and answer questions for you guys, so we don't all have to blow $60 if it's going to suck.

I plan on picking it up tomorrow afternoon too.  Maybe we can try out an online game or two to see if it's at all playable.  If so, we could try to get an online league going.  I've always been interested in playing a fantasy draft league.  My friend and I used to do a fantasy draft in MVP and play out games against eachother.  It was a lot of fun.  Of course, that's probably because MVP was a lot of fun.

From what I hear, the online is actually smooth this year.  An online league is a big commitment, though.  I don't know if we're ready for that step.

[Slaky]

I love how thoroughly I botched the quote function in my reply up there.

How's this for a complaint about the 2K9 demo?  I'd like to actually hit off of a righthanded pitcher, but it's a frickin' three inning game with two of the best lefty pitchers in baseball starting for the teams.

(Yes, it's not much of a complaint.)

I think you can switch to the team you want to face and sub out their pitcher, then switch back.

Buyers beware.  I'm hearing some BAD things about this game from people who have picked it up early, but I'm going to foolishly buy it tomorrow, anyhow.  I hated 2K8 way less than a lot of people did, and this seems a lot better than 2K8.  I'm hoping it's fun enough to hold my attention for at least part of the summer.

How bad?

Well, as I mentioned, the franchise bug is supposedly going to be fixed by patch tomorrow, so that's good.  And some people are working on sliders to fix the over-aggressive CPU batters.  But apparently there are stupid-ass things like no Exhibition mode.  There's only a Play Now mode.  It wouldn't be a big deal, but if you do Play Now, you can't edit the CPU rosters, meaning you're going to see the other team's ace every.  Single.  Game.  I play franchise, anyhow, so that doesn't affect me, but that's a pretty silly oversight.

The one good thing is that it seems like VC is actually paying attention to these bad quirks and is trying to fix them.  With the "Living Rosters" thing, some people are guessing that they can tone down the over-aggressive CPU batters by updating their ratings.  I also read that turning off your catcher's suggestions and pitching the way you want to pitch seems to help a lot, and the batters will take more strikes.  When Kush patched 2K7, it made it a completely different (and playable) game.  I'm hoping VC just has to make some minor tweaks to make it a solid game.

And if you are decent at fielding the demo, you shouldn't have problems in the game, but some people are bitching about the fielding.

There are a few people saying that the core gameplay is very good, despite the quirks.  I'll be the sacrificial lamb and get it tomorrow and answer questions for you guys, so we don't all have to blow $60 if it's going to suck.

I plan on picking it up tomorrow afternoon too.  Maybe we can try out an online game or two to see if it's at all playable.  If so, we could try to get an online league going.  I've always been interested in playing a fantasy draft league.  My friend and I used to do a fantasy draft in MVP and play out games against eachother.  It was a lot of fun.  Of course, that's probably because MVP was a lot of fun.

From what I hear, the online is actually smooth this year.  An online league is a big commitment, though.  I don't know if we're ready for that step.

Why the hell would anyone do that to themselves?

[Kermit, B.]

I love how thoroughly I botched the quote function in my reply up there.

How's this for a complaint about the 2K9 demo?  I'd like to actually hit off of a righthanded pitcher, but it's a frickin' three inning game with two of the best lefty pitchers in baseball starting for the teams.

(Yes, it's not much of a complaint.)

I think you can switch to the team you want to face and sub out their pitcher, then switch back.

Buyers beware.  I'm hearing some BAD things about this game from people who have picked it up early, but I'm going to foolishly buy it tomorrow, anyhow.  I hated 2K8 way less than a lot of people did, and this seems a lot better than 2K8.  I'm hoping it's fun enough to hold my attention for at least part of the summer.

How bad?

Well, as I mentioned, the franchise bug is supposedly going to be fixed by patch tomorrow, so that's good.  And some people are working on sliders to fix the over-aggressive CPU batters.  But apparently there are stupid-ass things like no Exhibition mode.  There's only a Play Now mode.  It wouldn't be a big deal, but if you do Play Now, you can't edit the CPU rosters, meaning you're going to see the other team's ace every.  Single.  Game.  I play franchise, anyhow, so that doesn't affect me, but that's a pretty silly oversight.

The one good thing is that it seems like VC is actually paying attention to these bad quirks and is trying to fix them.  With the "Living Rosters" thing, some people are guessing that they can tone down the over-aggressive CPU batters by updating their ratings.  I also read that turning off your catcher's suggestions and pitching the way you want to pitch seems to help a lot, and the batters will take more strikes.  When Kush patched 2K7, it made it a completely different (and playable) game.  I'm hoping VC just has to make some minor tweaks to make it a solid game.

And if you are decent at fielding the demo, you shouldn't have problems in the game, but some people are bitching about the fielding.

There are a few people saying that the core gameplay is very good, despite the quirks.  I'll be the sacrificial lamb and get it tomorrow and answer questions for you guys, so we don't all have to blow $60 if it's going to suck.

I plan on picking it up tomorrow afternoon too.  Maybe we can try out an online game or two to see if it's at all playable.  If so, we could try to get an online league going.  I've always been interested in playing a fantasy draft league.  My friend and I used to do a fantasy draft in MVP and play out games against eachother.  It was a lot of fun.  Of course, that's probably because MVP was a lot of fun.

From what I hear, the online is actually smooth this year.  An online league is a big commitment, though.  I don't know if we're ready for that step.

Why the hell would anyone do that to themselves?

Because they miss how much fun the NCAA 2009 league was?

[Kermit, B.]

DPD.  Still mixed reviews from O.S., but I wonder if the cursor hitting is going to make this game a lot more fun.

Well I just played some more, testing zone hitting vs. default directional timed hitting. My observations:

- Default directional hitting (same as demo) is EASY! I just played a 5-inning game on Legend vs. the Mets, Johan vs. C.C. Sabbathia, pitch speed maxed out. Through 5 innings, it was 6-6, Johan only got through the 4th, ARod hit a homerun that hasn't landed yet, if you hold up and pull, while you definitely won't crush every pitch, I still had 10 hits through 5 innings. I only one homer, but it was definitely offensive friendly.

- I personally think zone hitting is the way to go this year. You're DEFINITELY going to have to slow pitch speed down (or increase human hitting contact) because on default All-Star or Legend, I was missing everything. I lowered pitch speed to 50 and through 3 innings, I had 3 hits and got K'd twice, definitely played a better game.

- I tried lowering all IE sliders for Human and CPU. Doesn't matter. I got the CPU to take a combined 2 called strikes. Legend difficulty is not the way to go if you want realistic pitch counts. Furthermore, the AI offense is jacked up on Legend default. Slider tweaks WILL be needed on any level you play (actually AllStar seemed ok for CPU offense, just pitch speed still seemed a bit high and the CPU still swung WAY too often).

Slak, did you already try the demo?

[Philberto]

I love how thoroughly I botched the quote function in my reply up there.

How's this for a complaint about the 2K9 demo?  I'd like to actually hit off of a righthanded pitcher, but it's a frickin' three inning game with two of the best lefty pitchers in baseball starting for the teams.

(Yes, it's not much of a complaint.)

I think you can switch to the team you want to face and sub out their pitcher, then switch back.

Buyers beware.  I'm hearing some BAD things about this game from people who have picked it up early, but I'm going to foolishly buy it tomorrow, anyhow.  I hated 2K8 way less than a lot of people did, and this seems a lot better than 2K8.  I'm hoping it's fun enough to hold my attention for at least part of the summer.

How bad?

Well, as I mentioned, the franchise bug is supposedly going to be fixed by patch tomorrow, so that's good.  And some people are working on sliders to fix the over-aggressive CPU batters.  But apparently there are stupid-ass things like no Exhibition mode.  There's only a Play Now mode.  It wouldn't be a big deal, but if you do Play Now, you can't edit the CPU rosters, meaning you're going to see the other team's ace every.  Single.  Game.  I play franchise, anyhow, so that doesn't affect me, but that's a pretty silly oversight.

The one good thing is that it seems like VC is actually paying attention to these bad quirks and is trying to fix them.  With the "Living Rosters" thing, some people are guessing that they can tone down the over-aggressive CPU batters by updating their ratings.  I also read that turning off your catcher's suggestions and pitching the way you want to pitch seems to help a lot, and the batters will take more strikes.  When Kush patched 2K7, it made it a completely different (and playable) game.  I'm hoping VC just has to make some minor tweaks to make it a solid game.

And if you are decent at fielding the demo, you shouldn't have problems in the game, but some people are bitching about the fielding.

There are a few people saying that the core gameplay is very good, despite the quirks.  I'll be the sacrificial lamb and get it tomorrow and answer questions for you guys, so we don't all have to blow $60 if it's going to suck.

I plan on picking it up tomorrow afternoon too.  Maybe we can try out an online game or two to see if it's at all playable.  If so, we could try to get an online league going.  I've always been interested in playing a fantasy draft league.  My friend and I used to do a fantasy draft in MVP and play out games against eachother.  It was a lot of fun.  Of course, that's probably because MVP was a lot of fun.

From what I hear, the online is actually smooth this year.  An online league is a big commitment, though.  I don't know if we're ready for that step.

Why the hell would anyone do that to themselves?

Because they miss how much fun the NCAA 2009 league was?

I thought it was fun. I was 7/8-0, though. I guess that does skew things a bit. I just thought it was pretty entertaining to see how everyone was faring week to week. Plus, I thought it might have been interesting whenever we were able to incorporate each other into our schedules.

[Slaky]

DPD.  Still mixed reviews from O.S., but I wonder if the cursor hitting is going to make this game a lot more fun.

Well I just played some more, testing zone hitting vs. default directional timed hitting. My observations:

- Default directional hitting (same as demo) is EASY! I just played a 5-inning game on Legend vs. the Mets, Johan vs. C.C. Sabbathia, pitch speed maxed out. Through 5 innings, it was 6-6, Johan only got through the 4th, ARod hit a homerun that hasn't landed yet, if you hold up and pull, while you definitely won't crush every pitch, I still had 10 hits through 5 innings. I only one homer, but it was definitely offensive friendly.

- I personally think zone hitting is the way to go this year. You're DEFINITELY going to have to slow pitch speed down (or increase human hitting contact) because on default All-Star or Legend, I was missing everything. I lowered pitch speed to 50 and through 3 innings, I had 3 hits and got K'd twice, definitely played a better game.

- I tried lowering all IE sliders for Human and CPU. Doesn't matter. I got the CPU to take a combined 2 called strikes. Legend difficulty is not the way to go if you want realistic pitch counts. Furthermore, the AI offense is jacked up on Legend default. Slider tweaks WILL be needed on any level you play (actually AllStar seemed ok for CPU offense, just pitch speed still seemed a bit high and the CPU still swung WAY too often).

Slak, did you already try the demo?

Yeah, I tried it. It was cool looking, but based on all these asinine reviews I don't know...I may just pick up The Show for the PS2.

[Kermit, B.]

DPD.  Still mixed reviews from O.S., but I wonder if the cursor hitting is going to make this game a lot more fun.

Well I just played some more, testing zone hitting vs. default directional timed hitting. My observations:

- Default directional hitting (same as demo) is EASY! I just played a 5-inning game on Legend vs. the Mets, Johan vs. C.C. Sabbathia, pitch speed maxed out. Through 5 innings, it was 6-6, Johan only got through the 4th, ARod hit a homerun that hasn't landed yet, if you hold up and pull, while you definitely won't crush every pitch, I still had 10 hits through 5 innings. I only one homer, but it was definitely offensive friendly.

- I personally think zone hitting is the way to go this year. You're DEFINITELY going to have to slow pitch speed down (or increase human hitting contact) because on default All-Star or Legend, I was missing everything. I lowered pitch speed to 50 and through 3 innings, I had 3 hits and got K'd twice, definitely played a better game.

- I tried lowering all IE sliders for Human and CPU. Doesn't matter. I got the CPU to take a combined 2 called strikes. Legend difficulty is not the way to go if you want realistic pitch counts. Furthermore, the AI offense is jacked up on Legend default. Slider tweaks WILL be needed on any level you play (actually AllStar seemed ok for CPU offense, just pitch speed still seemed a bit high and the CPU still swung WAY too often).

Slak, did you already try the demo?

Yeah, I tried it. It was cool looking, but based on all these asinine reviews I don't know...I may just pick up The Show for the PS2.

The thing I was most encouraged by in the demo was the hit variety, which has traditionally sucked.  You definitely can't go wrong with The Show, but got dayum I really hope 2K doesn't suck balls this year.  I'm not working tomorrow, so I'll try to jump on here and answer questions while you chumps are bored at your boring jobs.

[Kermit, B.]

DPD.  One of the mods at O.S. had this to say:

Guys, I have a good feeling that at least the AI batting issue will be fixed sooner than later. That's all I can say about it. Please don't ask where I got the info.

CRYPTIC.

[*In a Nutsack]

I'm definitely getting it tomorrow.  After all, it is my only choice.  Unless I want to drop Benjamins on a PS3 and The Show, which I suspect is entirely worth it.

[Kermit, B.]

Here's my first impressions post, which I'm linking here to intentionally drive people away from Desipio.  Take THAT, Dolan!  To make a long post short, it's about 100 times better than 2K8, and I don't know what a lot of people are complaining about, and I played the game BEFORE the patch came out.

[Weebs]

I just picked up my copy and have been playing around a bit.  Kerm, just to let you know, when you go to Play Now, as the game is loading, you can hit Start and adjust your lineup/starter.  I'm finding the Zone Hitting really hard to use so far.  I'm trying to figure out if you turn off the actual option for it, if the system itself will still work but that damn bat won't show up.  It's making it really hard to judge pitch location and I'm swinging late on everything.  I'd rather have the system still there, but just remove the bat.

[Kermit, B.]

I just picked up my copy and have been playing around a bit.  Kerm, just to let you know, when you go to Play Now, as the game is loading, you can hit Start and adjust your lineup/starter.  I'm finding the Zone Hitting really hard to use so far.  I'm trying to figure out if you turn off the actual option for it, if the system itself will still work but that damn bat won't show up.  It's making it really hard to judge pitch location and I'm swinging late on everything.  I'd rather have the system still there, but just remove the bat.

Yeah, I'm late on everything, too.  I'm getting pretty much exclusively opposite-field hits.  In Play Now, can you change the CPU's lineup, though?  I don't think you can.