SportsGamer had a chance to sit down with 2K representatives and check out the latest rendition of their major league baseball title. There were a lot of changes so today we are going to look specifically at the mechanics and controls in MLB 2K8. You can also check out GameSpot’s preview in case you would like to learn more about the game.
Pitching
Some aspects of MLB 2K7’s pitching system have been preserved in MLB 2K8 while others have seen significant overhauls.
Pitch placement works the same way that it has in years past. The pitcher selects the point where the pitch will go prior to any inherent break, not actually where the pitch will end up. For example, if the pitch is a slider, the aim should be corrected in the opposite direction of the break to compensate. This is pretty much a standard in baseball games nowadays. The catcher will set up and position his mitt where he suggests the pitch should go but will reposition himself prior to the pitch if his recommendation isn’t to the pitcher’s liking.
Once pitch placement is complete, the pitcher must select which pitch to throw. The way in which this works in MLB 2K8 has been entirely redone. Gone is the button-driven pitch selection from MLB 2K7. In its place, MLB 2K8 introduces its new right analog pitch selection and delivery mechanics, with each pitch having its own unique delivery motion. Here are the eighteen pitches that will debut in the game along with their corresponding right analog triggers…
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The first motion of the right analog (denoted by the ‘1’ in the images above) signifies the windup. This must be held until the pitcher finishes his windup motion (designated by an expanding circle). This windup motion is unique to every pitcher but fortunately, in contrast to last year, a pair of large rings denotes the optimal windup range, making it easy to adjust to a new pitcher’s windup motion(no more waiting for the rumble). Once the windup circle falls within the pitcher’s optimal windup range, the second right analog movement must be executed and held until the circle shrinks back down to the optimal release point. A release too early will result in a pitch sailing higher than intended while a late release will likely find the dirt (and possibly the backstop). The speed at which the circle shrinks and a pitcher’s optimal release point is the same for every pitcher in the game. Again, this alleviates the need to memorize a pitcher’s unique delivery timing. The more precise the right analog movements and releases are, the greater the speed and control of the pitch.
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Instead of the typical highlighting of the desired pitch, the catcher will use hand gestures unique to denote which pitch the pitcher should throw. Again, listening to the catcher’s calls is entirely optional and he will make the necessary adjustments if the pitcher checks off.
Each pitch in pitcher’s arsenal has its own pitch rating displayed next to the pitching motion. This, coupled with the fatigue of the pitcher, determines the difficulty of hitting both the optimal windup and release points of any pitch. The higher the pitch rating and the lower the fatigue of the pitcher, the larger these optimal zones will be. Pitch rating values for each pitch will only fluctuate up or down based on the pitcher’s success with that particular pitch in pay-off situations (any clutch situation in which the pitcher has two strikes on the batter). In pay-off pitch situations, the catcher will display a specific location on the plate where the pitch must be delivered. If the location is hit, the pitch thrown will receive a boost in pitch rating and vice versa.
Fatigue is another aspect that has been revisited by the 2K team. Pitchers will tire faster or slower based on the type of pitches they are throwing. For example, a screwball will be more taxing on a pitcher’s arm than a four-seam fastball. This is especially important for starting pitchers as pitch selection will dramatically impact their performance in later innings.
One other aspect of MLB 2K8’s pitching worth mentioning is the umpire specific game calling. Pitchers may have to throw out ‘feelers’ in the early innings in order to ascertain how the umpire is calling the game. Once the umpire’s tendencies are known, the pitcher can become more aggressive in painting these corners in later innings.
Batting
The 2K team also had a chance to revisit batting mechanics for MLB 2K8. This probably shouldn’t come as any surprise to anyone who played last year’s game as it was routine to see players hitting 6+ home runs per game online. Most of this was due to the separation of contact and power hitting (basically everyone just hit for power).
Like last year, batting controls still involve pulling back on the right analog stick before pushing forward to swing. In MLB 2K8, however, this motion is consistent for both contact and power hitting and the choice has been taken out of the gamer’s control. Instead, the player’s intrinsic batting style is used to dictate the type of balls he hits. For example, Ichiro won’t be belting 450ft homers left and right regardless of how perfect the timing of his swing. David Ortiz, on the other hand, may have a tendency to pop a lot of balls up in the air. The end result is a more realistic game where strategy and small-ball play much bigger factors.
Batters still have the choice of aiming their shots. During the forward motion of the right analog stick during a swing, the batter can push the stick slightly to the right to direct the ball in that direction and vice versa. Although somewhat effective to attack gaps in the defense, other factors such as pitch location and timing of the swing will also have an impact on the direction of the ball once it leaves the bat.
As in last year’s game, the batter has a ‘batter’s eye’ circle about the diameter of three baseballs. The batter must direct this circle with the left analog stick during his swing in order to make proper contact with the ball. Aiming too low will result in pop flys and too high will result in ground balls; all pretty much what you would expect.
Fielding
The have been some important improvements made to MLB 2K8’s fielding system since last year. First, the issue with wall jumping has been reworked since the follies of 2K7. Instead of requiring a precisely timed button press to scale the wall, MLB 2K8 will automatically initiate a wall jump provided that a fielder is taking the proper angle to head off the baseball. This should eliminate the frustrating experience of diving face first into the wall common in 2K7.
Second, a fielder’s ability to judge a fly ball’s landing position will only display when the fielder is facing the ball. When a fielder turns to chase down a long fly ball, the display will disappear making such plays far from automatic. Although not ground breaking by any means, it does add another dimension to the challenge and realism of fielding in the game.
Lastly, throwing has been reworked in MLB 2K8. When a fielder is about to throw the ball, a meter will display over the player’s head with a small bar in the middle denoting the fielder’s optimal release. By pressing and holding the throw button (A on Xbox 360, X on PS3) this meter will fill up. The accuracy of the throw is based on how close the throw button is released to the player’s optimal release (the power of the throw is determined solely on the individual’s throwing power attribute). In addition to the meter’s impact on accuracy, how closely the left analog stick is directed toward the appropriate cardinal direction (to select a base) will also impact the location of the throw. Although your teammates will attempt to compensate for errant throws, some of the animations in doing so will result in missed opportunities and errors. This is clearly an attempt to add an aspect of skill to fielding that usually involves a simple button push.
Base Running
Base running in the past has led to some frustrating experiences for gamers. Most of this results from players not doing what we intended them to do, not necessarily from the result itself. This was especially the case when multiple players were on base and there was a need to direct each of the base runners individually.
MLB 2K8 tries to address this issue using a tandem of the left analog stick and the face buttons. By default, the lead runner is always selected so if my intention is to send him to 3rd base, it would just be a matter of pressing the left face button. If however, there are multiple base runners, the left analog stick is used to select the trailing player. Once selected, this player directed individually in the same way as the lead runner (through the face buttons). It takes some getting used to issue these commands quickly but they are intuitive. Alternatively, players will still have the option of using the left and right triggers to advance and retreat all base runners.
Overall, it is clear that the 2K team wanted to bring more elements of realism and skill into MLB 2K8. The analog pitch selection gives a more authentic feel to a breaking ball than simply pressing a button and the optimal windup rings offset the difficulties in adjusting to an individual pitcher’s throwing motion. The changes in batting, while not as significant from a control aspect, should have a dramatic impact on how the game is played and limit the reliance on the long ball. Even fielding and base running have been reworked adding elements of skill and greater control. If you are interested in reading more about MLB 2K8, you can check out GameSpot’s preview here.
Also, if you have any other questions that you don’t feel we addressed, post them as a comment at the bottom of this page. We will be doing an interview with MLB 2K8’s lead developer Ben Brinkman in the near future and will try to get these questions answered.
