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Sports games can be a real mixed bag. I know that going into any game based on any sport, but MLB 2K8 was an experience in frustration that I wasn’t quite ready for.  I admit that baseball isn’t one of my favourite sports, but I always enjoyed playing it in real-life and in a video game. For a myriad of reasons, I had a hard time getting into this game, not least of which was the bland atmosphere and so-so graphics.   The atmosphere is boring because there isn’t much to differentiate this year’s game from what’s been offered in previous years. The play-by-play duo of Jon Miller and Joe Morgan are the best in the business but they don’t have anything new to say this year. Their commentary comes off as repetitive, especially when the same two teams play each other. I played a home-and-home between the Blue Jays and the Red Sox and heard some of the same comments in the exact same innings. But I won’t pin this entirely on that because the visuals don’t really make the cut, either. For a next-gen game, the PS3 version just didn’t look crisp, and had even less flow. Players moved in a strange jerked motion that made it seem like they had spasms. The fans were so coordinated (from a distance) that they probably could’ve pulled off one of those mass synchronized pictures seen in the stands at Asian soccer games. Generally speaking, there are framerate issues at almost every turn. A batter won’t step up to the plate after a pitch, he’ll take one step and then slide into place. An infielder will stutter before actually fielding the ball. Others are tiny by comparison, but they become noticeable simply by association. And don’t expect to escape all this by playing online. The glitches are numerous, and the overall lag can make a game terribly slow. The screen will jitter at inopportune times, players stutter even more and batting can be problematic when your swing doesn’t jive with the proper speed of a pitch. Like I said earlier, I was frustrated playing this game. But at least I could appreciate the new pitching mechanic called Total Pitch Control. Basically, you have to move the right analog stick in a specific motion to throw a certain pitch. A curveball, for example, would require that you flick the stick back and then in a counter-clockwise semi-circle. The key is in your timing and delivery. Get it wrong and you can be badly exposed by batters. To me, this was like a mini-game within MLB 2K8. It’s not exactly something you’ll figure out in the first inning because the margin for error is more realistic. If you’re off by just a little bit, it can mean the difference between painting the corner for a strike and barely missing it for a ball. In a big game-changing situation, you actually feel the pressure to throw a good pitch that the batter will either stare or whiff at. It’s by far the best part of this game, and arguably the best pitching method for any baseball video game. It frustrated me a bit, I admit, but I felt a lot of satisfaction when I pulled off a great high fastball and caught a batter swinging at air. I was facing runners on second and third with two outs in a close game, so I knew how much I needed to get a good one over the plate. I found home runs a little too common over the course of a game. I don’t doubt that Jorge Posada is a good hitter, but how can he hit three homers in his first three at-bats — twice? I also wasn’t the biggest fan of using the right analog stick to make plays. I once tried to throw the ball from the outfield to the relay man, but instead it trickled to home plate, turning a double into a triple. The MLB 2K8 website did say that a patch is in the works to fix the hiccups in the game, but I’m not sure that will solve everything here. There’s definitely a glimmer of hope with the pitching mechanic, but that needs to be augmented by better batting and more fluidity in the gameplay itself.   MLB 2K8 Format: PS3 Publisher: 2K Games Developer: Kush Games ESRB Rating: E for Everyone Official Site: http://www.2Ksports.com/games/mlb2k8 Rating: 5 / 10

 

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