Alright so I know this isn't our usual type of post, at least as of late. I wanted to cater to some of our male readers and those that don't wear make-up. So I thought why not do a review on the new thing taking up my free time lately.
Now I'm not going to compare this to other MLB games out on the market because I haven't played any other MLB game. Since EA stopped producing an MLB game because they didn't re-sign and lost the right to the MLB label, I have been playing 2K Sports titles. I liked what they offered and haven't had a desire to try anything but 2K once I got into the game. My main draw to the game originally was that they offered it in the PC format. Since at the time I didn't have a gaming system of course this was a big reason for buying the game. Not to mention the PC version is a lot cheaper than it is for a gaming system.
Anyway I have purchased MLB 2K12 for PS3 and just like the previous years I love this game. You have different type of games you can choose from. You can play the dynasty which you take your team and play season after season while controlling your minor leagues, drafts and free agency. This is by far my favorite as it is many others because it more realistic. You have to sign players, resign players when their contracts run out, draft players for the future, know when they're ready to be moved up to the next level in your organization, hire and fire your coaches and training staff, and a lot more. At the moment you can only play games as your major league team and AAA team. Your AA and A games are all simulated. I kind of wish you could had the choice to control the games of all of your farm system, but it's good the way it is for now.
Another game you can choose from is Player Mode. This is where you can create a player and modify him to however you want him to look, and you options include everything you could think of from elbow pads to eye black, etc. You can pick the organization you want to play for and have to work your way up to the big leagues. Depending on the organization you are given different goals and expectations, and depending on how you perform in games and training depends on how many skill points you have to improve your player. Let's not forget you have clutch moments in games and depending on how well you perform during that clutch moment defines how clutch your player is.
Let me get into the new things they have added to the game this year. I have to say they are pretty awesome.
This isn't new but something that is a huge plus to me is that every time you turn the game on it's looking for the newest download with the newest and most up to date rosters. This is big and another reason I loved the games on the PC. Before if you played on the PC you had to wait until someone created the most up to date roster and post it to download.
The first improvement is MLB Today Season Mode. Here you can play along with the real-life MLB season as it plays out. You can take control of your favorite MLB team however they stand as of that day and play the remainder of the season.
The next improvement and this is a pretty big one. This has to do with the Dynamic Tendency System. What's that? Well if you're playing baseball in real life and your facing a pitcher who has the tendency to always throw you a fastball on the first pitch, your going to expect that pitch every first pitch. Knowing this you know you can swing for the fences because you know for sure what's coming. The same thing if your pitching to a batter and they swing at everything or always swing at the first pitch no matter what. This system brings more of the real-life adjustments you need to make as a ball player into the game. It makes it much more strategic.
Another thing is your looking at more varied and realistic hits, from line drives in the gap to slow tappers down the line. Based on the physics of the game, including pitch location & speed and swing timing & accuracy. This is frustrating but in a good way. I want my game more realistic and with this it is. I get frustrated because I'm the one messing up swinging at the wrong pitch and popping out when the bases are loaded.
There's a new revamped throwing system with this game. Before if you field and throw it to second you couldn't cut off the throw before it gets to the base and try to get the slow guy now trying to score. Now, say you're throwing to first base and as your guy is winding up to throw the ball you notice the guy from third takes off for home. In the middle of your throw you can change your mind and throw home. Also before you catch the ball you can tell your player to throw to the cut off man or throw to a base. Here's the thing depending on our that players abilities you have more of a risk of throwing it away because his feet aren't set to make the throw. Little things like this make me happy because again it's more realistic.
Lastly as with any new release you're going to see improved AI (artificial intelligence). The only thing I would like to see more is more of the computers base runners take some kind of lead. Unless the guy is fast they only seem to take one step off the base. This may be something under options and I just haven't found it yet.
All in all I love this game. Everything 2K Sports has done in building this game and the improvements they made to make this as realistic as possible is a winner in my opinion. I highly recommend it to any sports loving gamer.
Here's a look at a screenshot from the game.
Disclaimer: All products were purchased by me and reviewed by me and my experience using this product. I am not affiliated with the company nor was I paid for my review. All opinions are my own personal opinions.
*Photo's were taken from 2K Sports
