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NEW Videos of MLB2K7 in action from CES!


Fatalah

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Well then you can hae another year of playing whatever the hell you guys play.

You guys are too picky. I for one thought it lookes great. I was most imprssed with David Wrights batting stance and Motas pitching. It lookes so realistic. Giambi had a great batting stance too.

Seriously, I know its 360, but they had what, less than the normal amount of time to make a 360 game, and transformed a crappy game that isnt good enough to **** on into this!

It's great and I'm going to buy it. Gameplay looks fluid and the graphics are tremendous.

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Well if you have 360 you can just download them.

but not the guys in Single-A that are the future of baseball. sure, i get to play a season with matt cain - but lincecum, burris, etc...you can't develop them and live the future now. which is why i'll just stick with MVP 07 and it's superior roster sets and live with the average graphics.

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your really have to cry about this? The Minor leaguers has some of there names. The mod at the 2K7 board says if the minor league played one game in the MLB he will be in the game(sucks Phillip Hughes didnt play 1 game but yea i wouldnt care i dont even play more then 1 season in franchise mode so i dont even care about the minor league

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First real hands-on impressions of MLB2K7 final build.

As regular readers of this site are aware, I write a weekly column for Xbox.com that focuses primarily on sports titles. In order to provide gamers with helpful pointers and strategies for any given game, it requires much more than just reading the manual - it requires hours upon hours of time with the game, learning its nuances and becoming familiar with each and every one of it’s features. Much like a film critic, one becomes accustomed to certain styles of direction and game design, and certain designers in particular, making it easier to get to the heart of a game as one gains experience in analyzing them.

After foregoing sleep and healthy food in order to keep playing the final version of MLB 2K7 this week, it’s obvious that Ben Brinkman is one of those designers - one of the rare ones that can save a product from mediocrity with an unwavering focus on his goal - in this case, sharing his love of baseball in all it’s nuanced glory.

I’ve met Brinkman personally on a few occasions - most recently in Burnaby, British Columbia, when he was the lead designer for EA Sports’ excellent MVP Baseball series, which arose like a phoenix from the ashes of the doomed Triple Play Baseball series. After 2K Sports acquired the Major League Baseball license, Brinkman jumped ship and joined the 2K Sports team, filling the same role for 2K’s MLB 2K series. Last year’s iteration, MLB 2K6, was all but a disaster; a buggy mess whose even bigger sin was that it played a poor game of baseball. Enter Brinkman, and exit last year’s debacle.

MLB 2K7 might be as improved a product in a single year as I’ve seen in the sports genre in a very long time.

While this isn’t a “review†in any way, I’ll touch upon the good and the bad that I’ve seen lately, in an effort to help you get ready when baseball season starts on the Xbox 360 this Feb. 26th, and you can expect more details at Xbox.com soon.

First and foremost, the gameplay is much improved. At the plate, no longer does it seem that hits randomly fly around the park; your swing timing and the pitch’s location play a bigger role then ever before. Dare I say it? It feels almost MVP-like. The “Swing Stick†right-analog functionality is improved, though you’ll still have to decide to swing a bit sooner than you would if you were using the Classic controls (and you can select either in the game’s options); where a press of the A button triggers a swing. This may dissuade certain users from sticking with it. The “Swing Stick†feels rewarding, however, and while the learning curve is rather steep, I prefer to play with it - if only due to the increased interactivity and challenge that it provides. When you rip a double into the gap with the “Swing Stickâ€, you feel like you’ve earned it - and that’s a good thing.

The “Batter’s Eye†is a wonderful way to simulate a batter’s real thought process while at the plate. Instead of using “zones†to swing into, you’ll maneuver your “Batter’s Eye†into place - a semi-transparent white circle that’s larger or smaller depending on the hitter’s relative skill. If the pitch is coming into that area, the hitter will “see†it, and your timing and power will improve. But if not, there’s no penalty other than having to read the pitch more quickly. This is akin to real life, where hitters look up-and-in, for example, but can still cover the plate even if it wasn’t where they expected it. Moreover, the “Swing Stick†allows for defensive swings - a quick flick upwards, if timed correctly, fouls the pitch off Wade Boggs-style, keeping you alive at the plate.

From the batter’s perspective, the battle of wits between hitter and pitcher is well-represented. Fortunately, it’s even better on the mound.

The “Payoff Pitching†mechanic works much better, due to a better interface and more responsive controls. Your catcher will call for every pitch, though you can throw what you want at any time, of course. It seems as though the catcher’s skill comes into play here, as well. The Tigers’ All-Star Ivan Rodriguez calls a better game than say, rookie Chris Iannetta of the Rockies, and you’ll notice that you’ll question “Pudge’s†decision-making much less while playing the game. The pitching mechanic itself makes it easy to distinguish the different skills of your pitchers by feel alone. You can softly paint the corners with the Mets’ Tom Glavine, while his teammate Oliver Perez can be much more difficult to use consistently. Most importantly, MLB 2K7 forces you to think like a pitcher. Someone like Glavine isn’t going to toss his best heater very often; instead, you’re better using his off-speed pitches to baffle hitters with movement and location, saving your strength and stamina for the big guns in the opposing lineup. The game’s fatigue system is spot-on; throw as hard as you can on every pitch, and your starter will be lucky to go five innings. The wise pitcher conserves his energy and uses his entire repertoire accordingly.

Fielding is simple enough, keeping with the traditional face-buttons-for-bases scheme and right-stick-to-dive interface. It’s nothing special, but it generally gets the job done. The game can be set to auto-switch your defensive players when chasing certain balls, but I’d strongly recommend against using it, as it switches instantly without alerting you, usually making things worse instead of better. Outfielders still seem to have noticeably stronger arms than they should, but it’s not so bad that you’ll be gunning down players at the plate with rag-armed Juan Pierre like last year’s game. The main concern with fielding is the camera angle - as there’s only one, and it’s somewhat dynamic, meaning that you may occasionally run right by a rolling ball in the more-distant outfield; turning a single into a triple and raising your blood pressure in the process.

The game’s presentation is simply lights-out. While the game’s announcing is somewhere between adequate and good, the game’s sounds are spectacular - especially with a good surround sound setup (hearing the umpire call out the count behind you when hitting is a treat).

A myriad of cut-scenes highlight big moments in the game, recalling previous at-bats or great defensive plays, and there are a wide variety of creative statistical overlays displayed at appropriate moments to keep things fresh and exciting. Sometimes, these come after 1-to-2 second “Loading†messages in the middle of the screen; a distraction to be sure, but usually forgivable after enjoying the replays of your first-sacker’s two bleacher-rattling blasts from earlier in the contest. The player models are first-rate, with many individual players instantly recognizable. A clever “hand-written†lineup-card manager’s menu (accessed with the left bumper button) adds both flavor and functionality to the mix. Animations are solid throughout and sometimes jaw-dropping. At one point, I fielded a ball with my first baseman and then took it to the bag myself instead of tossing it to the ready-and-waiting pitcher covering it. I ended up plowing into the pitcher, getting the out, but knocking my hurler over in a painful animation that was made even more painful after realizing that he injured his knee in the collision and was out for the game.

On the whole, MLB 2K7 is becoming more entertaining with every game instead of less, usually the hallmark of a good game. While certain parts of the game can’t be judged at this stage (online play and leagues, for example), and I haven’t had time to delve deeply into the Franchise mode, the on-field game play is undoubtedly engrossing, and at this stage, I’d have to think that MLB 2K7 may have come from the low minors to nabbing a seat in a major-league dugout in only one year - an impressive achievement that bodes well for the future of this series.

Sometimes, a new skipper can make all the difference.

Source: http://www.5w-g.com/

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gotta throw out a couple MAJOR complaints in this game that i really hoped would have been corrected, especially with all the effort put into "remaking" this title.

Can someone please tell me if they have ever heard the crack of the bat actually sound like Thors Thunder bolt cracking? Why do they do this? Its like something out of really early baseball games where they even made sound effects for the pitched ball. 2K...go to a game, and listen to what a bat connecting with a ball sound like....it is one of the most cherished parts of a baseball fans enjoyment of being at the park.

and....my god....how could they not get rid of those AWFUL swing/contact animations??? They all look like little leaguers, pulling their heads, rotating around their bodies and dropping the bats.....even if they square the ball out of the park. its painful

other than that...looks good :)

oh yeah...

can they PLEASE get Riveras delivery correct?? hes only the best closer in the history of baseball.

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The more I look at these videos the less impressive they seem. Most of the animations look aweful espcially when players run or swing the bat. The stuff in between pitches looks spectacular, but the animations when making plays is not as good, there's not much left.

Please bring back MVP!! MLB has stated that if 2k's next production (this game) is not up to par that they will handle accordingly, which could mean taking the license away from 2k.

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Hou guys are being little bitches. STFU and don't buy it. If you all want to be little girls and not buy the game because the crack of the bat sounds off then your just retarted. ITS A GAME, NOT REAL LIFE.

This guy (BB) does a great job on reworking a crappy game into this, and this is what you guys do? You complain and complain. You guys all sound like little spoiled brats that just don't want 2k to succeed. Grow up.

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Reworking a crappy game into what? A less crappy game? The gameplay looks to be the exact same as 2k6, which sucked worse than any game I've ever played. The graphics are obviously better, but if that makes or breaks your game experience, you're in the minority there.

Te animations are terrible, the gameplay sucks, and the rosters are inexcusable. I, like many, will pass on this atrocity of a game.

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Hou guys are being little bitches. STFU and don't buy it. If you all want to be little girls and not buy the game because the crack of the bat sounds off then your just retarted. ITS A GAME, NOT REAL LIFE.

This guy (BB) does a great job on reworking a crappy game into this, and this is what you guys do? You complain and complain. You guys all sound like little spoiled brats that just don't want 2k to succeed. Grow up.

NYM, of all people you should never call anyone a ***** or tell someone to STFU. Just know that. You're normally on the receiving end of this.

EDIT: You also said one of the better modders on the site was "retarted." Wow. Seeing as how you never mod much for the site, you have a lot of guts calling a modder "retarted." Try spelling the word right before you use it as an insult, retard.

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If you complain about the Rosters then thats just dumb. You should knwo that they are not allowed to have every player do to license. Thats why they can never have a good Minor League system since most of them never played a game in the MLB. EA would have had to do the same if they were able to make MVP 08 or 07

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Ill end up buying this 2K and The Show, just like I did last year.

I cant help myself.

I played 2K6 for a day then traded it in. Played 06 The Show for a week before trading it in.

I was going to let someone else buy 2k7 or rent it first but I figured it's the only baseball game coming out so might as well enjoy it bad or good. It looks decent this year so I'll just buy it Tuesday and enjoy it as much as i can.

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And what happens when you're not able to mod this game? It will lose it's sexiness after 1 season, just like most sports games, except most sports games don't have the awful MLB 2K6 as the predecessor. Plus, it's not for the PC, so this game shouldn't be very successful at all.

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Are you guys even aware that Brinkman said it would take 3 years to really create a solid 2K baseball title? Look at NBA 2K for example, or better yet take a look at MVP 2003 to 2005 and look at the changes done to those games. I'm surprised in 2002 you all didn't call for Brent Nielsen's head after MVP 2003 left a lot to be desired.

Sure, the jump from 2K6 to 2K7 looks miniscule but after 2K6, anything is an upgrade. Based on the reviews for this title, it's a step in the right direction. Enjoy it for what it's worth, I'm pretty sure Brinkman did a good enough job than any other 2K baseball developer has ever done with the previous games.

I consider 2K7 the game that will clean up 2K Baseball as a franchise for good. No, it's not exactly the be all end all of baseball games, because of 07: The Show, but you can't say it isn't a friggin' step in the damn right direction for a failing franchise, especially when they have the exclusive third party license.

If you don't like this title, fine, you are not entitled to purchase it. Go buy MLB 07: The Show, or buy Pro Yakyuu Spirits 4.

I don't get where this anger comes from towards this game.

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