Xbox 360 Review: Major League Baseball 2K8

Major League Baseball 2K8

Xbox 360 Review
Developer: Kush Games
Publisher: 2K Sports
Release: March 3, 2008
Players: 1-2

Xbox 360 owners are well aware that they are yet to receive a quality baseball game on their next-gen console. The previous two releases of the MLB 2K series have been disappointing to say the least. Kush Games has gone back to the drawing board though and come out with something special this year, and something which will make baseball fans smile. Major League Baseball 2K8 is here, and finally, the Xbox 360 has a great game of baseball!

The game honestly feels like an entire new game of baseball compared to last year’s offering. There have been many changes, many tweaks, and some things which are totally new to the franchise.

The first new big addition is the Total Pitch Control. This introduces pitching that can be controlled using only the analog sticks. You will trace movements on the screen similar to how you take a swing in Tiger Woods. For example, if you want to throw a fastball, it shows you the motion. So you will go up with the analog stick, wait for the circle to expand, then at the right time go down with it. You will then let the circle close, letting go of the analog stick at the proper time to get the best result. Total Pitch Control works fairly well, but to be honest can be quite sensitive at times. If you make the slightest move with the analog stick your pitch will be way off. I was losing 15-1 and 13-1 in my first two games.

Once you get the learning curve down though it gets a little better. This is a nice addition which can be refined for next year. Personally though the face-button pitching, Precision Pitching, may still be the best way to go.

On the other side of things, the batting, we are introduced to Swing Stick 2.0 this year. What this does is instead of having you pull back and let go for a contact swing, and pull back and follow through for a power swing like last year, it is now all one motion. This new control set-up works fairly well, with the only problem being that you really have no control over how hard you are hitting the ball.

You can aim where you are hitting with the right analog stick by following-through in certain directions. Pull back and then go right and you will try to drive the ball to right field down the right, go to the top right and you will hit a fly to the right, etc. My big issue with this is that you have no control over other aspects of hitting. If you are up with David Ortiz and you just want to make contact to try to get a single to center field, it really is not all that possible unless you mess up with the timing. Next year there needs to be more variety in how powerful your hits are, maybe do it based on how quickly you flick the analog stick or something of that nature.

Fielding has received quite an overhaul as well with the new Precision Throw Control. This places all of the throwing to bases in the right analog stick. You will have meters popping up every time you throw to one base, similar to how it used to work in MVP Baseball. You hold it to the right for first base, and a meter starts, let it go based on how hard you want to throw the ball. The new throwing mechanic works very well, adding a lot of realism to the game and is my favorite addition this year.

Even controlling the fielders has received a major boost this year, as it is honestly a great game to play if you are a baseball fan who loves to turn double-plays and such. The new animations make it a joy to snag fly balls and dive for grounders. My only complaint is that with certain fly balls the game almost runs into a stalled animation to delay the fielder from getting under the ball until it immediately drops.

Running the bases is far easier this year as you have full control using the face buttons. You choose which runner you want to control by highlighting them with the analog stick. If you are running down to third and you want to go home, highlight the runner and hit the A button. This is simple and highly-effective. Stealing bases works in a similar manner as you point to highlight the runner with the analog stick and then pick the base to steal. Tapping the base once will make him go when the ball leaves the pitcher’s glove, tapping it twice will make the runner go off of his first movement. If you tap twice though, make sure the pitcher isn’t going to try and pick you off!

The graphics have seen an improvement over last year, as many of the player-specific animations are intact and highly authentic. Red Sox fans will love to see Dice-K shaking his hips before every pitch, and other minute details. The animations have been improved as well with many new things being added into pitching and fielding to make the game run more fluid. Stadium details are well-done, and textures are improved as well.

Things are completely perfect though with the visuals of MLB 2K8 as some improvement needs to be made on the actual presentation-style of the game. You are still greeted before every game with some horrid-looking fans, as well as some camera-angles during throws from third-to-first which simply do not make sense. As I stated above things get jerky when you are going to snag fly balls at times as well.

Everything is in place for next season, it is just a matter of putting it altogether for a more TV-style presentation.

The audio is well-done as you will hear quite a few comments from the proverbial peanut gallery, as well as all of the proper cracks of the bat and slides into bases. The announcing team featuring Jon Miller and Joe Morgan do a decent job of staying with the action, but are not all that entertaining.

In terms of game modes, all of the big guns have returned from last year, with the biggest addition being the full listing of all 90 minor-league teams. For baseball aficionados this will be like a dream, but for many, you may not really care all that much unfortunately.

The big game mode is the franchise mode, and it is pretty much all that we have seen in the past. The addition of the player cards can get quite addictive for those who love that sort of stuff. For the casual baseball fans though many will likely not get deep enough into it to fully enjoy what they have to offer. Online play is also very similar from last year.

Next year it would be great of the series put forth a Superstar mode similar to what Madden offers, and its PS3 counterpart, MLB ’08 The Show with the Road To The Show Mode, allowing you to build a superstar from the ground up.

It is clear that Kush Games wanted to focus most of their attention this year on the actual gameplay elements of MLB 2K8, and they have succeeded in that regard. They have the foundation now to build out with new game modes and offerings for baseball fans. The game plays better than it ever has before and is easily the best baseball offering on the Xbox 360 to date. Baseball fans will not be disappointed, but they may still want more.

Graphics: 8.0 A solid looking baseball title with improved animations, player models, etc. A more TV-style presentation will help next year.

Audio: 7.5 Decent commentary, with great sound effects. Nothing to truly amaze though.

Gameplay: 8.0 A very enjoyable game of baseball as many aspects of the game have been improved. Next year though, the pitching needs some work.

Replay Value: 8.2 The series is dying for some new game modes, but the player cards, franchise, and online modes will still keep baseball fanatics more than entertained.

Final Score: 8.0

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Interested in picking up this release? Head over to Amazon at the link here - Major League Baseball 2K8