MLB 2K8, first impressions… It might be, It could be, It is!!!

Two thumbs up for a great MLB experience. 2K Sports has really put some great ideas and thought into how baseball should be played. If you don’t already know, 2K Sports has the exclusive third-party rights to produce Major League Baseball games and I am always skeptical of how good the game will be because of the Madden genre. It seems all Madden games just copy last years game and add new players and some minor changes. (evil capitalism bastards) Well MLB 2K8 is much improved, especially with the new controls. It makes the game more technical so you control more of how you hit, pitch and field which makes for a much more realistic experience.

I would recommend, however, that you start playing with the new controls on an easy level. (maybe even customized) The controls do take a bit of practice and getting used to, but I assure you, once you learn them, you will have more fun playing. (and even if you don’t you can go back to using the old controls via setup) As you start getting the hang of it, increase the difficulty so that your not winning the games 15-2. (unless you just can’t get enough of crushing balls out of the park… Guilty!!)

*A note on hitting with the new controls… It took me a little bit to get the hang of this, but once you do, it’s a lot of fun. The idea behind the new controls is that batters take a step into their hit before they swing. This is captured by pulling back on the analog stick, but timing is critical. Make sure you only pull back on the analog stick right before the pitcher is at the end of his windup. Right before he releases the ball. The better timing you have with this, the better you will hit the ball. The tips on how to hit in the game will help with this also.

So if I had to be a critic, (cause I’m not all lollipops and eatable underwear) I would complain about some of the fluidity of the players. After they make a play in the field, they just kind of stand there looking for a way out of their pixelated cage. Another gripe would be the quality of some of the graphics. (Xbox360) They seam a little cheesy i.e. the fireworks. And players don’t look like their real selves.Criticism aside, this game scores a 7.5 out of 10 for me. Fun to play, decent graphics, great controls and the sound track/background sounds are pretty good. I have only had this game for one day and I can’t wait to play again. Hopefully this review will help you decide if you want to fork out the 60 bones.If you have any other criticism or praise about the game, please feel free to comment.

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