Product Description

It's 2008 and it's time to hit home runs as 2KG Major League Baseball 2K8 bringsyou your best season ever. Thrilling features have been added to make thisseason more exciting. Are you out or in? Joe Morgan is announcing 2K8! Playball!
Team play is more expansive as there are 90 minor-league teams added to thegame, including authentic uniforms, many authentic minor-league stadiums, and afew generic ones as well. 2K8 also features a new baseball-card system, in whichyou can earn players' cards by completing certain tasks. You can then sellduplicate cards for credits to buy new card packs, which consist of 10 cards andmay include a stadium or special team. But by far the coolest part of the cardsystem is the online card battles. When you have enough player cards to fulfillthe requirements of a full team, you can then combine your cards to create ateam and take head-to-head against other gamers' card teams online. An entirelynew and unique pitching interface which is unlike anything that's been donebefore. The main input comes from the right analog stick. The execution involvesmatching a gesture to throw the desired pitch. This enables a lot moregranularity from the input than a digital face-button approach.
Revolutionizing your control of the 5 tools in baseball are brand new pitching,fielding and base running controls and completely overhauled batting interface.Featuring a totally unique trading card mode, robust Minor League system,all-new Signature Style animations for 2008, and more! 90 Minor League teamsavailable in both Franchise and Exhibition modes Over 1 MILLION online gamers inthe 2K community for head-to-head games

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #3445 in Video Games
• Brand: 2K Sports
• Released on: 2008-03-04
• ESRB Rating: Everyone
• Platform: Xbox 360
• Number of items: 1
• Dimensions: .50" h x 5.50" w x 7.50" l, .26 pounds

Features

• New and improved player walk-ups, batting stances, waggles, home run celebrations, step-ins and step-outs bring each player to life
• Right stick motions and timing determine pitch type, speed and accuracy
• Intuitive and simplified baserunning controls
• 90 Minor League teams available in both Franchise and Exhibition modes
• Broadcast booth with Jon Miller and Hall of Famer Joe Morgan

Amazon.com
The Complete MLB Experience: Major League Baseball 2K8 returns to the diamond with the most complete MLB experience available. Revolutionizing your control of the 5 tools in baseball are brand new pitching, fielding and baserunning controls and a completely overhauled batting interface. Featuring a totally unique trading card mode, robust Minor League system, all-new Signature Style animations for 2008, and more, Major League Baseball 2K8 brings a new level of fun to the virtual baseball world.

Features:

• Swing Stick 2.0 - Unparalleled ball-to-bat contact, unlimited variety of hit types and more realistic at bats with deeper Inside Edge integration
• More Signature Style - New and improved player walk-ups, batting stances, waggles, home run celebrations, step-ins and step-outs bring each player to life in true, 2K Sports fashion
• Total Pitch Control - A revolutionary right analog stick pitching system. Right stick motions and timing determine pitch type, speed and accuracy.
• All-New Baserunning - Intuitive and simplified baserunning controls featuring overhauled AI now play a key role in offensive strategy
• Full Minor Leagues - 90 Minor League teams available in both Franchise and Exhibition modes, with over 20 authentic Minor League Stadiums and additional authentic Minor League Stadiums post ship via digital download
• 2K Cards - Earn them, collect them, share them,and trade them. The most in-depth card trading system ever, taking the MLB 2K community to a new level.
• 2K Sports Online - Over 1 million online gamers in the 2K community, go head-to-head against the best players on the planet
• Best Booth in the Business - 2K Sports proudly brings back the duo Jon Miller and Hall of Famer Joe Morgan to the broadcast booth, delivering the deepest commentary available

Customer Reviews

An overall genuine baseball experience
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.

Rent before you buy!
I have many complaints with this game.

First of all, it is pretty glitch heavy. It takes forever to load on several screens, and with no status bar that leaves the user wondering if the game has simply frozen.

Second of all, the learning curve is, as others have said, pretty damn steep. Pitching is insanely difficult. The slightest twitch in your thumb will frequently cause a wild pitch or the batter to slug a home run.

Third of all, the cut scenes during the game take way too long to load and are jerky. There is no smooth action to the gameplay. Even when I modified the settings to eliminate the cutscenes, the movement was still hesitant and jerky. During the fifth inning of one of my games during a batter change for the opposing team, the "End of Game" screen came up and announced that the game was over! I thought for a second, "Okay, cool. I'm winning," but when I got to the franchise screen it did not count that ball game as having been played.

Please rent before you buy. I'm glad I did. I almost shelled out $60 for this game until I remembered that I had a free rental coupon. There are far too many glitches in this game for me to find it entertaining.

Stunningly fun game after you learn controls
I have always hated this series and assumed I would hate this version as well. I downloaded the demo and did not like it at first. I then played quite a bit of the demo and began seeing the amazing features that are hidden in this game until you get the controls down. After buying the game and playing it for a week I can now say it is the best baseball game I have ever played. Like Fight Night did for boxing, this game has done for baseball. You will never again want to press a button to throw the ball to a base or pitch. Those who gave it a negative review simply have not given the game enough time. There is no way someone could pan this game if they truly understood the controls.