MLB 2K8 (Xbox 360)

2K Sports' latest pitch just misses the strike zone.
4/1/2008 12:00 AM | 0 Comments | Page 1 of 3

These days, it's not too tough to be an Xbox 360 owner. With games like BioShock and Mass Effect, and a superior version of The Orange Box, Xbox 360 owners have it all over their PlayStation3-playing brethren -- unless, of course, they want to step into the next-gen batter's box. Sony's PS3/PS2/PSP-exclusive hardball franchise, The Show, has been the way to take the field for the past few years. 2K Sports has seemingly rebuilt its baseball sim from the ground up this season with the hopes of giving Xbox 360 gamers another reason to gloat. Unfortunately, while some of the bold new tweaks are impressive in theory, when it comes to the practical application, a lot of this year's innovations miss the mark.

The biggest move this year is to make the game almost entirely playable with just the analog sticks. If you've played EA's Fight Night or Skate (or the greatly underappreciated Robot Alchemic Drive, which I will mention whenever given the opportunity until everyone in the universe has played it), you know how interesting a gaming experience can be when the face buttons are given a back-up role to the sticks. If your thumbs have been wired to take the field with the A, B, X and Y buttons, you'll need to do some unlearning and relearning.

The primary innovation is in the game's pitching. Interestingly enough, I think this year's version of Sony's game was influenced by the last two versions of 2K's game. This year in The Show, there's a far greater emphasis on figuring out how a pitch is going to break. Recent versions of 2K's game were all about control on the mound. It made for the deepest console take on the pitcher-batter match-up and I don't think this was lost on Sony's development team. This year, though, 2K has gone with what it's calling Total Pitch Control. No longer is getting the pitch across the plate simply a matter of figuring out the movement of the ball and properly timing your button pressing. This year, just like throwing a perfect hook punch in Fight Night or nailing an impressive 360 in Skate, you have to be pretty sharp with your right-sticking skills.

On the mound, pitches are broken into two "gestures." You generally pull the stick in one direction to start the pitch and then push it another direction as dictated by an on-screen timing meter. Fastballs, for example, are straightforward. Pull the stick down and then push it forward. Curves, sliders and change-ups call for you to do more complex sticking motions. It does take some getting used to and you will be tempted to revert back to the series' old pitching interface more than once. Once you do get the hang of things, though, you'll find it has its good points and its not-so-good points.

On the plus side, there's an incredible sense of satisfaction when you can hit your spot with a curve or a slider in a pressure situation. You have to not only nail the timing, but the precise movement of the right stick. On the negative side, there's a decent learning curve with which you have to deal to get to that point. Initially, you will be relying on your fastball more than you probably should. The down, then up movement of the right stick is a lot easier to finagle than some of the more complicated motions you'll need to master to throw funkier pitches. You'll be able to get away with it as long as you're playing with flamethrower on the mound, but if you playing through a season and you're starting a finesse corner-painter like Greg Maddux, throwing straight heat isn't a wonderful thing.