MLB 2K9 suffered from a large amount of issues. The game struggled in multiple areas including poor framerate, annoying bugs and lackluster game modes. With MLB 2K10, developer Visual Concepts is attempting to bring this franchise back to life. In this year’s title, gamers will experience the new Batter’s Eye system, a slightly tweaked pitching mechanic and franchise mode along the brand new MLB Today and My Player mode. From what I’ve seen, the new modes are very similar to those found in NBA 2K10 which worries me. Visual Concepts tried to add way too much to this year’s NBA title which left them little time to work out the numerous bugs. Let’s just hope that isn’t the case for MLB 2K10 because this year’s version is adding a lot of features 2K fans have been asking for.

All reports, from everyone who has played the title, seem to be indicating that the framerate issue has been fixed. I wouldn’t get your hopes up yet, since early builds of the game are missing some features here and there. Still, it’s a good sign that the issue was looked at. Poor framerate can ruin a baseball game, so let’s hope that it is actually fixed for the final product. Another complaint that gamers had about last year’s title was the exclusion of pre-loaded throws. In 2K10 you will be able to pre-load your throw to turn quick double plays or to quickly get the ball back from the outfield. This also makes the animation look smoother as you won’t see the players stand there for a split second before they throw the ball.

Pitching and Hitting has always been MLB 2K’s strong point and this year they aim to keep it similar to last year’s title with a few small changes. In 2K9, players would have to select a pitch by completing a gesture using the right stick which led to many issues of picking the wrong pitch. The pitching itself hasn’t gone away from the stick controls but in 2K10 you select your pitch using the face buttons and the new pitch analyzer will let you know exactly what went wrong with the pitch. This was done in an attempt to make the pitching more accessible which it definitely was not last year. I’m sure those new to the title will still struggle with the pitching but at least you will see exactly what you are doing wrong.

At the plate they have added a couple of new features. One of them is Batter’s Eye. Depending on the pitch type and the skill of the player, the pitch will flash above the batter’s box. The camera angle has been lowered just a bit which I don’t like but it was done so players can see the text and the pitch coming in. There’s also a defensive swing this year that can be pulled off by flicking the right stick left or right. The defensive swing and Batter’s Eye should give players a more realistic approach at the plate by having longer at bats and running the count full. Here is a 9 minute gameplay video that shows off some of these new features to MLB 2K10.

The two brand new modes to the game are MLB Today and My Player. These modes were in Visual Concept’s NBA title and now are making their debut in MLB. MLB Today is a mode in which users can play out the entire season based on what is happening in real life. The mode will display all the games that are being played on that day. It will also upload current stats and rosters to adjust the in the game rosters and player ratings. The menu screen will also display all the current box scores and stats in case you missed a game or two. I really enjoyed this feature in NBA 2K10 but I can’t help but wish they could take this mode and integrate it into a season or franchise mode instead of it being pretty much a quickplay mode.

My Player is a game mode that is just like the EA’s Be a Pro mode or like the rivals Road to The Show mode. You start by creating a player and picking a position. From there you will work your way through the minors to your ultimate goal of becoming a Major League superstar. You can choose to play any position including pitcher and even a catcher; though as catcher you aren’t asked to do very much. The first task as a minor leaguer is to perform in a clutch situation. As a batter you’ll be asked to drive home a run or get on base. As a pitcher you will be asked to not allow the tying run. If you are able to complete the challenge you will be awarded with skill points. These skill points are used to upgrade a particular attribute. They can be gained in a number of ways, through the various drills or through in-game actions. In-game skill points can earned for doing normal things in the course of the game. For instance getting a sac bunt down will net you 15 exp points, driving in a run or getting a putout will net you 25 exp points. You will also get goals for every at bat which will also get you more exp points if completed. As a pitcher it works the same way, getting exp points for things like strike outs, a shut out inning or getting a win or save. One of the issues with NBA’s My Player Mode was the fact that players can quickly upgrade their stats to become unstoppable but from what 2K is saying the skill points will be dynamic. If you are a power hitter you won’t continue to get points for bunting or things that a contact hitter would get.

The road to the Majors still seems a bit easy though. Every player will have a menu that will display goals you must complete to get the call to the majors. For hitters its things like batting average and having your contact at a certain rating but for pitchers it’s all about getting your pitches and stamina up to a rating of 60 or above. There are a minimum of games you must play in order to get the call but that’s only 5 starts for a pitcher and 15 games for a position player. This makes it seem like skilled players will find their created player in the majors pretty quick, which some people will like. I don’t like that because that’s not realistic at all. Even the most skilled players in the minors will most likely spend a year or at least half of the year there until September call ups. Although that is my goal to get to the Majors I want to take the realistic route. Of course it will all depend on the team you choose and injuries but we’ll see how long it actually takes in the final product.

A few changes have been made to presentation and franchise mode but those are very minor. Presentation wise they added the option to play Hurry Up Baseball, which skips all cut scenes and extra animations. This is said to cut down the play time by half. You can toggle this on and off during any point of a game. Franchise mode will see a 40-man roster in spring training and you will have to break that down to 25 before the season. You will also have the ability to control every team in the league to edit the franchise to mirror real life, which is nice to have but I’d rather have 2K do it for me instead of me having to do all the work. You can also seamlessly go online from franchise mode and have a friend play against your team. Seamless online integration was a new addition to most of the 2K sports games last year and makes its debut in this year’s MLB. In terms of online play, online leagues have been tweaked to give commissioners more options including the option to allow only strikes, which is interesting. There will also be a website to track your league stats and trades. Just like every multiplayer mode it’s only good if lag is not an issue, something that 2K Sports games have always dealt with.

MLB 2K10 is looking to bring a lot to the table especially after seeing the high scores their rival has gotten in the last two years. The problem is Visual Concept did the same thing with NBA 2K10 and that game was flooded with issues. Only time will tell if they learned from their mistakes or if they will once again release a game full of bugs. For now everything seems to be going in the right direction for the struggling franchise and gamers should be getting a look at what they have been working on when the demo releases this week. As always, stay tuned for our demo impressions later this week.

Tags: 2K, 2K Sports, MLB 2K10, Take-Two Interactive

This entry was posted on Tuesday, February 23rd, 2010 at 10:00 pm and is filed under PlayStation 3, Previews, Xbox 360. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.