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Great Game!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 5 / 9
Date: March 04, 2008
Author: Amazon User

This game, while sometimes confusing with controls, is amazing. Graphics are great player movements are great, stadiums are great!!! If you love baseball you will love this game, go out there and buy it!

Another Terrible MLB 2K Series Addition

1 Rating: 1, Useful: 8 / 17
Date: March 05, 2008
Author: Amazon User

This game is terrible! The graphics are the same as before. The hitting is glitchy and absolutely horrendous. Players glitch and run through each other. You may see a ground rule double go into the stands and then, the next thing you know, you see the ball back on the warning track rolling! The motions are unrealistic and the players don't really look that great. The fielding is easier than last year but is still very glitchy. This game is not at all worth the money.

Good Game

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 8 / 12
Date: March 05, 2008
Author: Amazon User

It is a very good game. The new controls are nice but take a while to get used to. They are nice because you get more control of what your doing. Also it is kind of cool and pointless at the same time to play minor league games. Overall the game isn't that different than last years but the new features are nice. If you got the cash get it but if not just play last mlb2k7 cause it isn't that different

What the heck happened???

2 Rating: 2, Useful: 6 / 9
Date: March 07, 2008
Author: Amazon User

I rented this game and I'm glad I did. The graphics are big step backwards from MLB07. The text in the menu's are so tiny on standard TV you can't read them. The pitching and hitting systems are pretty nice, but this game does not look like a next-gen game. Very disappointed!!!

An overall genuine baseball experience

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 15 / 17
Date: March 08, 2008
Author: Amazon User

I'll admit that I was a bit wary before I purchased MLB 2K8 after witnessing a slew of Chicken Littles running around internet message boards, crying about frame rate and other issues, and watching a herd of self-proclaimed ex-fans of 2K Sports jumping ship to the PS3 and MLB: The Show. Nevertheless, as an avid follower of Major League Baseball and 360-owner I knew I would have to give the game a shot, and on a hunch that many of those shouting, "the sky is falling" were overreacting and/or trolls trying to start trouble, I bought the newest offering from 2K Sports and stuck it in my Xbox. After a bit of playing around I was able to confirm my suspicions. Don't listen to sheep--MLB 2K8 is a solid baseball experience, boasting several innovative gameplay features that outweigh the flaws.

2K8 introduces Precision Control Pitching, a system of pitching that allows players to imitate the movement of each pitch using the right control stick. Pitching is a three-step process: first, the player must choose a pitch by pointing the right control stick in one of five directions; second, the player slides the right control stick around in its axis for a breaking pitch or jolts the right control stick upwards or downwards for a fastball or change-up, respectively; third, the player releases the right control stick at the correct time to throw the pitch. This complicated procedure takes some getting used to and may turn off the more casual gamer, so thankfully 2K8 has included the option to use 2K7's more classic pitching technique. But those who are patient enough to figure out Precision Control will be rewarded with an authentic gaming experience that is also a lot of fun. When your in-game pitcher hangs a meat ball over the plate that is smashed against the centerfield wall, you'll know you legitimately screwed up the procedure instead of feeling as if you got jipped by crappy gameplay mechanics. On the other hand, when your pitcher drops a filthy 12-6 curve that retires the side, you'll have earned it.

Hitting has gone through some refurbishing in 2K8, resulting in the new and improved Swing Stick 2.0. Now, instead of pulling back on the right control stick and releasing to initiate a contact swing, and pushing the right control stick upward to initiate a power swing, the latter method is used for a contact swing; in fact, the power swing has been removed completely in order to reduce the amount of home runs from last year (in 2K7, big flies were more common than singles). Just like the pitching, the Swing Stick 2.0 requires some adjustment, so don't be surprised if you hit a lot of ground ball outs in your first game--timing is key. But after you get the timing down you should be pretty happy with the hitting in 2K8. It still has its issues, such as it being very difficult to discern whether an oncoming pitch is going to be a ball or a strike, but the movement of the right control stick in correlation with the gameplay is very accurate. And players who have trouble with the Swing Stick 2.0 can turn on the regular Swing Stick from 2K7 or "classic batting" (simply press `A' to swing) via the option menu.

The right control stick is also incorporated in fielding (surprise, surprise), as the player must hold the stick in the cardinal direction of a base (right for 1st base, up for 2nd base, etc.) and release to initiate the throw. But this too requires timing, as after the control stick is moved toward the direction of the base, a meter pops up by the fielder with the ball and quickly fills up. The meter will go from red to yellow to red again, and the most accurate throw will come in the yellow area. This makes fielding more fun and rewarding than simple button-mashing.

In terms of graphics, the character models are passable, although the faces for most players are badly-done and don't seem to fit with the rest of the body. Even if the faces are a bit off, the movements and quirks that each player brings to the plate or to the mound are captured brilliantly, helping the on-field action look and feel like a real game. 2K Sports worked hard to represent each stadium to great detail, and the aerial and inside views of the venues before the game are a nice touch.

Perhaps the biggest complaint by 2K8 critics is its choppy frame rate, which seems to affect only those playing on HD TV's. The game will often freeze momentarily and cause difficulties in gameplay. There are plans to release a patch in the near future that will fix this issue, and there are other unofficial methods of handling the problem in the mean time.

Online play is a disappointment for those with slow connections because lag throws off the timing and screws up the gameplay mechanics, so hopefully a patch will be released soon to fix that. The card system is a fun add-on for those looking for more than franchise mode, and it's always exciting to see which cards you earned after playing a game. I haven't toyed with the Player Beats or Stadium Beats yet, but as far as I know it allows the user to give walk-up songs to his in-game players, something that I've always wanted from a baseball game. The song choice for 2K8's menus is a bit odd; a lot of indie rock mixed with some more alternative stuff, but after an hour or two you'll be used to it.

All in all, 2K Sports did an excellent job with its third-party exclusivity this year, even if many critics will disagree. I have yet to play MLB 08: The Show, so I cannot say whether 2K8 is the better baseball game, but I can assure you that if you have the patience to figure out the new pitching, hitting and fielding mechanics and can look past the frame rate issues, you will be rewarded with a genuine baseball experience.

Don't Buy unless you love baseball or liked 2k7

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 10 / 12
Date: March 09, 2008
Author: Amazon User

Pros:

Only game of baseball for the 360
Roster updates
game modes are very good
options within the game moods are very good (40 game season etc.)
online play is good

Cons:

Load times
video glitches
hitting system
STRIKE ZONE IS MASSIVE
music is the worst in years
text is very small on standard tv (unreadable at times)
interface / layout is confusing and not easy to move around

A Steep Learning Curve, But Extremely Rewarding

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 8 / 11
Date: March 10, 2008
Author: Amazon User

I almost gave up on this game because the new pitching scheme was hard to master, so is the hitting with hit stick 2.0. I finally had them down pat. And with some tweak to the sliders to make AI pitching throw less strikes and AI batters take more pitches (because AI pitchers always predictably throw strikes 80% of the time and its hitters swing and connect at almost anything close to the strike zone, therefore the pitch count is out of wack - only 38 pitches thrown by the eigth inning!), I've never had a more engrossing baseball experience. For gamers who just want to pick up and play, this is not the game for you. You need to put time into it.

Last year was a double, this year they were caught stealing 3rd.

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 1 / 2
Date: March 12, 2008
Author: Amazon User

I owned mlb 2k7, i played about 90 games of the franchise but I just couldn't play anymore. I was giving up, and hitting way too many homeruns. Pro was too easy, All-Star was too hard, and adjusting the sliders last year was just damn annoying. So needless to say I was expecting much from MLB 2k8.

Game play is basically the same, only difference is that it feels more realistic. I personally couldn't understand the new pitching feature so I set it back to the face buttons. I am about 20 games into the franchise and I am having a blast. My record is 14-6, I have won a few games in extra innings, even lost a few in extra innings. Loosing doesn't bother me at all this year because I don't feel cheated out of the game. I would loose a game last year 5-3 with a total of 6 home runs being hit. That isn't the case this year.

Home runs aren't hard to hit, its just a realistic stat now. Game play is very satisfying win, or lose. For an example, i played back to back games on the same difficulty. Game#1 i faced Josh Becket. I only had 11 hits in 11 innings and lost on a RBI single from crisp. I wasn't unhappy at all, I was satisfied with the realistic game play. Game #2 was against the Baltimore orioles. I don't remember the pitchers name, but he was a 71 overall. I destroyed him winning the game 13-3. It made me smile that i couldn't get a hit off of Becket, but I could kill a no name starter. REALISTIC.

A few hiccups: Infielders would run right past ground balls thinking its infected with the black plague(like last year). Umpires have a WIDE strike zone. Pitches that barely scratch the plate are called for strikes. Hopefully they fix that with a patch, they HAVE to. It seems checked swings are a little fubar. I have looked at replays where they said i didn't go around, but I obviously did. Frame rate does tend to slow down at times. I just turned off needless things like replays and the such off.
For some reasons collecting cards is ridiculously fun. I don't know why but every game i hope to get a wild card pack just to see who I get this time. All in all I am very very happy i purchased MLB 2k8.

Still No Career Mode

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 1 / 1
Date: March 13, 2008
Author: Amazon User

I had the last two years' editions and this definitely as good as if not superior than last year's release. One of my only, and probably biggest, is there is no offering of a personal career mode as a player. This definitely has given the MLB series the edge in recent years I think. Overall, still a great game for most baseball fans. Oh, one last thing, managing minor league injuries also becomes kind of bothersome and costs you cap room to fix. Not a well thought out feature for the average player.

Very good but has a few bugs.

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 0 / 0
Date: March 21, 2008
Author: Amazon User

I bought this game the day it came out and I'm fairly happy with it. My only complaints with it are the letters and numbers are very small and I have a difficult time reading them at times. Also, the game has a tendency to freeze from time to time and I've spoken with several other people that have the game and it does it with them as well. So when you playing make sure you save as often as you can. Other than that, I'm very happy with it.

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