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IGN Review of Major League Baseball 2K11
It feels like the MLB 2K series is taking the baby steps approach. After the poor showing over the last couple of years, 2K Sports has worked on improving the game incrementally. MLB 2K10 was playable, but definitely didn't compare to its rival, MLB: The Show. Non PS3 owners don't have much of a choice when it comes to baseball games, so it's nice to see Major League Baseball 2K11 making improvements. But know that these are still small steps. You've got a good baseball game here, but it's not a homerun.
Compared to its predecessor, there aren't many new things in MLB 2K11. The developer chose instead to improve and build on the modes already in the previous installment. My Player, a mode I enjoyed from last year, has been noticeably improved. You step into the role of one member of a team, playing only that character as he bats and fields. The ways your character can earn stat points has been increased, making it easier to build up your player over the course of a few seasons. It still has that problem of being a limited game mode, as you only get to play defense when it's a play that is hit to you. But honestly, if I had to stand in right field doing nothing for most of the game I would want to kill myself.
The Franchise mode has some added features, like allowing you to manage your minor league divisions, and making the injuries and trades more detailed. But ultimately the mode feels somewhat lackluster. It feels like playing in a vacuum a lot of the time. When I'm in a tight three team race for the NL West title, I'd like the game to recognize it.
During the games, there's a noticeable improvement in the character animations for pitchers and hitters. Players throw, swing, and approach the batter's box less like robots, and more like the players you know and love. The fielding animations look better too, but still don't string together very well. The game as a whole has a lot of aliasing issues, and the textures need a lot of work for many of the stadiums. It wouldn't be very noticeable were it not for all the close-ups, freeze frames, and slow motion replays the game has.
MLB 2K11 uses the same stick controls for pitching and hitting as last year. Rotating the right stick performs the various pitches, from simple up down flicks, to more complicated rotation moves. The pitching works well, and I really like the controls and timing, but it can get hard as hell. The AI batters seem to read the pitches better than actual baseball players do. The Umpire got a lot smarter this time around, so my cheating strategy of barely touching the strike zone is no longer a viable option. I had to learn how to actually pitch.
Hitting is still very difficult, but that's baseball. The sense of accomplishment when I smack a ball up the alley or manage to steal a base is something many other sports games don't manage to capture. 2K's automatic use of batter's eye to predict the pitch is more preferable to me than The Show's guessing the pitch mechanic, and it can make all the difference when you're down in the count.
There are a large variety of options to alter the difficulty in the game, and nearly all aspects of it can be changed, allowing you to fine tune your baseball experience. Thankfully most the Achievements are no longer locked to Pro mode, so you can still increase your gamer score even if you're not good enough for the big leagues.
Thankfully, MLB 2K11 has fixed a number of bugs and glitches from the last iteration, though a few new ones have managed to sneak in. The always annoying (and by this point expected) AI problems are still in the game to a degree. AI players will occasionally miss plays that shouldn't be too difficult. The problems weren't abundant, and I didn't experience the level of play altering bugs that 2K10 had, with one notable exception. There's a glitch where if a player jumps over a wall to rob a home run, the game will count it as both an out, and a home run. It happened multiple times, making me think I had gone crazy and that the MLB changed the rules of baseball.
The three man commentator team of Steve Phillips, Gary Thorne, and John Kruk is some of the best sports games have to offer. However, a lot of the dialogue is recycled from last year, and it doesn't take very long before it gets repetitive.
There's a noticeable improvement in the lag and glitch issues that plagued the online mode last year. There are still some slowdown moments, but overall the few games I played online worked pretty well. Keep in mind I didn't have time to play an online franchise, but intend to fully test that and write a follow-up that will also include fully testing 2K's dynamic player rating system that will adjust player levels during the actual baseball season.
©2011-03-15, IGN Entertainment, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Compared to its predecessor, there aren't many new things in MLB 2K11. The developer chose instead to improve and build on the modes already in the previous installment. My Player, a mode I enjoyed from last year, has been noticeably improved. You step into the role of one member of a team, playing only that character as he bats and fields. The ways your character can earn stat points has been increased, making it easier to build up your player over the course of a few seasons. It still has that problem of being a limited game mode, as you only get to play defense when it's a play that is hit to you. But honestly, if I had to stand in right field doing nothing for most of the game I would want to kill myself.
The Franchise mode has some added features, like allowing you to manage your minor league divisions, and making the injuries and trades more detailed. But ultimately the mode feels somewhat lackluster. It feels like playing in a vacuum a lot of the time. When I'm in a tight three team race for the NL West title, I'd like the game to recognize it.
During the games, there's a noticeable improvement in the character animations for pitchers and hitters. Players throw, swing, and approach the batter's box less like robots, and more like the players you know and love. The fielding animations look better too, but still don't string together very well. The game as a whole has a lot of aliasing issues, and the textures need a lot of work for many of the stadiums. It wouldn't be very noticeable were it not for all the close-ups, freeze frames, and slow motion replays the game has.
MLB 2K11 uses the same stick controls for pitching and hitting as last year. Rotating the right stick performs the various pitches, from simple up down flicks, to more complicated rotation moves. The pitching works well, and I really like the controls and timing, but it can get hard as hell. The AI batters seem to read the pitches better than actual baseball players do. The Umpire got a lot smarter this time around, so my cheating strategy of barely touching the strike zone is no longer a viable option. I had to learn how to actually pitch.
Hitting is still very difficult, but that's baseball. The sense of accomplishment when I smack a ball up the alley or manage to steal a base is something many other sports games don't manage to capture. 2K's automatic use of batter's eye to predict the pitch is more preferable to me than The Show's guessing the pitch mechanic, and it can make all the difference when you're down in the count.
There are a large variety of options to alter the difficulty in the game, and nearly all aspects of it can be changed, allowing you to fine tune your baseball experience. Thankfully most the Achievements are no longer locked to Pro mode, so you can still increase your gamer score even if you're not good enough for the big leagues.
Thankfully, MLB 2K11 has fixed a number of bugs and glitches from the last iteration, though a few new ones have managed to sneak in. The always annoying (and by this point expected) AI problems are still in the game to a degree. AI players will occasionally miss plays that shouldn't be too difficult. The problems weren't abundant, and I didn't experience the level of play altering bugs that 2K10 had, with one notable exception. There's a glitch where if a player jumps over a wall to rob a home run, the game will count it as both an out, and a home run. It happened multiple times, making me think I had gone crazy and that the MLB changed the rules of baseball.
The three man commentator team of Steve Phillips, Gary Thorne, and John Kruk is some of the best sports games have to offer. However, a lot of the dialogue is recycled from last year, and it doesn't take very long before it gets repetitive.
There's a noticeable improvement in the lag and glitch issues that plagued the online mode last year. There are still some slowdown moments, but overall the few games I played online worked pretty well. Keep in mind I didn't have time to play an online franchise, but intend to fully test that and write a follow-up that will also include fully testing 2K's dynamic player rating system that will adjust player levels during the actual baseball season.
©2011-03-15, IGN Entertainment, Inc. All Rights Reserved