9:52 PM
The Game Peddler
Pitching a perfect game depends on a lot of factors. Sure, the pitcher needs to hit his spots, mix up the speed of his pitches, and stay cool under mounting pressure, but no pitcher is solely responsible for keeping 27 batters off the bases. The catcher has to call a smart game, the fielders have to make a few great plays, and the hitters have to make a few mistakes.
In last year's MLB 2K10, this really wasn't the case -- all that mattered was how well you threw the rock. MLB 2K11 takes a step forward and attempts to get the other elements right.
Baseball games often suffer with creating realistic fielding, because the fielders all look and act similarly. Sure, Ichiro might have a better Arm rating and therefore throw more accurately than someone like Coco Crisp, but often it's just a behind-the-scenes stat. And when it comes to tracking down balls every outfielder is limited only by their speed. I've never found a game that really made your defensive unit matter much. I only played 2K11 for about an hour, but the fielding changes show some real promise.
Every fielder has a Fielding rating. When a ball is hit into the outfield, a white circle appears under the fielder that gives a general sense of where the ball might land. The better the Fielding rating, the smaller the circle (and therefore the easier it is to tell exactly where the ball is heading). It's a smart change that can really change up play in the outfield. For once, I actually had to wonder if I shouldn't pull a poor defensive outfielder and swap in someone with less pop in their bat, but more range.
EA's MVP Baseball had the best throwing meter and 2K11 hasn't topped it, but it has a similar application. When you throw, you charge up a meter with a green "sweet spot" and a red "oh crap" zone. The better a player's Arm rating, the longer that sweet spot. But beyond that, hitting in the red doesn't mean you automatically make an error. Say you have Vlad Guerrero, who has a solid arm. Red might just mean he pulls the third basemen off the bag, where Pablo Sandoval would probably launch the ball into the cheap seats.
With such limited time with MLB 2K11, I can't say how well this plays out across the Majors, but it's definitely a step in the right direction. The fielders are also a little sharper than in the past. They know when a fly ball is the third out and will toss the ball aside and jog to the dugout. An easy grounder to the shortstop is casually scooped up, rather than having him run two feet in a full sprint animation. Those little details certainly matter.
While the fielding has changed a great deal, the core of the pitching (MLB 2K10's strength) remains fairly untouched. If you skipped last year's game, here's the easy gist of it -- every pitch has a unique motion on the right thumbstick and your timing and accuracy with this motion helps determine the success of your pitch. It worked well in 2010 and it works well in 2011.
But there is something on the other side of the plate that's been added that affects pitching. There's now a stat for how many pitches a batter averages on a plate appearance. Basically, 2K11 knows if a batter tends to extend an at-bat by taking a lot of pitches (or fouling a lot of them off). If balanced right, this little detail could add an extra layer of realism to the pitcher-batter duels.
The tough thing about making a baseball game is getting the details right, including the close relationship between pitching, batting, and fielding. In real baseball, the batter's tendencies, the pitch you throw, and its intended location can lead the fielders to subtly shift their position. A perfect game isn't just about the pitches you chuck, but where your fielders stand and how they anticipate the ball off the bat. Can MLB 2K11 pull all of that off?
I'd be a fool to say yes or no without spending a dozen hours pitching games. What I can say is that it feels a lot closer than 2K's baseball games have felt since the switch to the MLB 2K name. I saw a lot of little inconsistencies (players facing the wall for easy pop-ups, the audio delivering a wrong cue), but these are the kind of small things that can be fixed in the few weeks leading to a game's release. It may not end up being a leap forward, but it's certainly a step forward. And that's promising.
In last year's MLB 2K10, this really wasn't the case -- all that mattered was how well you threw the rock. MLB 2K11 takes a step forward and attempts to get the other elements right.
Baseball games often suffer with creating realistic fielding, because the fielders all look and act similarly. Sure, Ichiro might have a better Arm rating and therefore throw more accurately than someone like Coco Crisp, but often it's just a behind-the-scenes stat. And when it comes to tracking down balls every outfielder is limited only by their speed. I've never found a game that really made your defensive unit matter much. I only played 2K11 for about an hour, but the fielding changes show some real promise.
Every fielder has a Fielding rating. When a ball is hit into the outfield, a white circle appears under the fielder that gives a general sense of where the ball might land. The better the Fielding rating, the smaller the circle (and therefore the easier it is to tell exactly where the ball is heading). It's a smart change that can really change up play in the outfield. For once, I actually had to wonder if I shouldn't pull a poor defensive outfielder and swap in someone with less pop in their bat, but more range.
EA's MVP Baseball had the best throwing meter and 2K11 hasn't topped it, but it has a similar application. When you throw, you charge up a meter with a green "sweet spot" and a red "oh crap" zone. The better a player's Arm rating, the longer that sweet spot. But beyond that, hitting in the red doesn't mean you automatically make an error. Say you have Vlad Guerrero, who has a solid arm. Red might just mean he pulls the third basemen off the bag, where Pablo Sandoval would probably launch the ball into the cheap seats.
With such limited time with MLB 2K11, I can't say how well this plays out across the Majors, but it's definitely a step in the right direction. The fielders are also a little sharper than in the past. They know when a fly ball is the third out and will toss the ball aside and jog to the dugout. An easy grounder to the shortstop is casually scooped up, rather than having him run two feet in a full sprint animation. Those little details certainly matter.
While the fielding has changed a great deal, the core of the pitching (MLB 2K10's strength) remains fairly untouched. If you skipped last year's game, here's the easy gist of it -- every pitch has a unique motion on the right thumbstick and your timing and accuracy with this motion helps determine the success of your pitch. It worked well in 2010 and it works well in 2011.
But there is something on the other side of the plate that's been added that affects pitching. There's now a stat for how many pitches a batter averages on a plate appearance. Basically, 2K11 knows if a batter tends to extend an at-bat by taking a lot of pitches (or fouling a lot of them off). If balanced right, this little detail could add an extra layer of realism to the pitcher-batter duels.
Will you be perfect?
I'd be a fool to say yes or no without spending a dozen hours pitching games. What I can say is that it feels a lot closer than 2K's baseball games have felt since the switch to the MLB 2K name. I saw a lot of little inconsistencies (players facing the wall for easy pop-ups, the audio delivering a wrong cue), but these are the kind of small things that can be fixed in the few weeks leading to a game's release. It may not end up being a leap forward, but it's certainly a step forward. And that's promising.
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