Major League Baseball 2K8 Review: I bought this game a while back and enjoy the game play, but the graphics are not very good at all. I am not the type of guy who normally rates a game on graphics alone, but the ones on this game are pretty terrible. The controls in this game are also pretty shoty.

I also hate the fact that when you play 2 player mode the ball cursor is still visible so it makes it very easy to hit the ball and know where the ball is going. The best feature of the game is the commentary. Overall, the game is decent, but not great. I had high hopes for this game but was quite disappointed with it, but am happy I got a good deal on it.
Major League Baseball 2K8 Review: Save yourself some of the headache that I endured after returning the first disc of this game thinking it was defective since my wii never would read it and then trying a replacement and having it do the same thing I finally realized that my wii needed a system update in order to play why it couldn’t pop up a notification of that, I don’t know. Once I updated my the wii’s system firmware it read and played the disc just fine. Just thought I’d put this out there in case any one else is having the same problems.

Major League Baseball 2K8 Description: The boys of summer are back for 2008! The popular MLB 2K series is back with a completely retooled control system to give more user control of all aspects of the game. Super realistic graphics and top-to-bottom play create an immersive environment that is every baseball fan’s dream.

Run the front office or take the owner’s chair and control every facet of running a successful baseball team from setting ticket prices to calling up players from the minors. Monitor your players’ moods, keep track of stats, negotiate contracts and make trades with a simple trade finder which shows you how much interest there is in one of your players. Play a quick game or a whole season. Take on the manager challenge or take part in any of the five different home run derbies.

MLB 2K8 presents a revolutionary new control system which changes the way you bat, pitch, throw and field. Use the right analog joystick to control your throws with precision direction and power. Pitching is also now controlled via the analog joystick allowing you to control the speed, power and type of pitch by mimicking the motions of the pitcher’s arm. When you’re at bat, timing is everything with pitch location having more impact resulting in more realistic hitting.

Have your players dive or climb the walls to chase flies and an innovative new system will have you controlling your base runners with ease. Additional content is available for free from the Xbox Live Marketplace including the Minor League Stadium Pack, additional uniforms for each team and the Card Series 2 which unlocks the next set of packs for the card battle mode. Batter up!

Major League Baseball 2K8 Review: Baseball games have long been my favorite use of gaming consoles. From Super Baseball on the Atari 2600 to MVP Baseball 2005 on the Game Cube, I’ve played more innings than the average major leaguer does in his career.

Now I’ve got this game to round out my arsenal. I was a bit hesitant at first given the reluctance to move to 2K sports games by some MVP players, but I figured I’d give it a shot. I’ve been very satisfied with it and find the controls are the next best thing to playing the real deal.

If you’re expecting flat out real life hitting like you get on the Wii Sports game, you won’t find it here. However, you still have to swing the controller to hit the ball. It’s actually easier than it sounds although you will probably fare better if you play or used to play baseball. I caught on right away, since I am used to swinging bats in real life, but an opponent I played had never played baseball and had a lot of trouble with hitting at first.

Pitching, to me, was the harder of the two elements. Perhaps the same logic applies to pitching as it does to hitting I’m an infielder in real life and having experience helps. It took me about three games to get used to the style of pitching. Be warned that you will wind up having half your staff ejected for hitting everyone when you’re still getting used to the controls.

Two player mode is well done. Be aware that you can select the pitch by moving the analog stick the screen doesn’t display that but now that I examine it a bit more I realize that feature is intentional otherwise you’re essentially tipping pitches. Rosters can be managed and players can be created. Existing players can be modified.

Some have commented on graphics of this game. Keep in mind that this is the Wii, not the X-Box 360. I have no problems with the graphics and believe the face rendering is the best in any game you’ll find out there. I also have noticed the players have every move of their batting stance in the game, making it seem even more realistic.

Major League Baseball 2K8 Review: After all the hype and the wait, I was disappointed with MLB 2K8. I own all the previous MLB 2K’s for XBox and have loved them. 2K8 strikes out BIG time. Hitting is very glitchy and the check swing feature is a joke. Even when you try to check swing, the Umps call it a swing. Then it does a check swing when you really wanted to swing. Since it’s the Wii and graphics are not the best, it’s hard to pick up the pitch out of the pitchers hand. Get ready to strike out a bunch. After about 20 games you start to see release point and get the hang of it, but you will strike out at least 8 times a game.

Running is beyond awful. Drumming your arms to go faster works, but you can only control the lead runner. Switching to the back runner is difficult and can sometimes cause your lead runner to become stranded 1/2 way between a base.

Fielding is not so bad. Turning a double play is very hard due to slow reaction times of the fielders. Even when playing with the hated Yankees, Jeter and Cano couldn’t turn a double play on a hard hit 2 hopper. Trying to jump to catch a line drive/homerun will usually cause you to dive into a wall.

Pitching is horribly unrealistic. Using the control stick to choose a pitch and the aiming at the screen to choose a spot is ok. But the wind up and pitch is awful. You have to flick upwards to start wind up and then down to release when the bullseye is green. 80% of the time your pitch will not go where you want it to and the hitter will probably crush it. Do not throw where your catcher sets up. Even though you have all the players scouting reports, don’t listen to them. I followed them pitch for pitch for 7 innings and noticed that if you miss even by a fraction, the hitter is going to knock it out of the park.

Major League Baseball 2K8 Review: Last year I purchased the Bigs and was very impressed with the game. While it did not have a season mode, the game was thoroughly enjoyable and addictive. I purchased 2K8, who also made the Bigs, and could not have been more disappointed. While the announcers,Jon miller and Joe Morgan, blew me away with their detail and accuracy of what they said,the overall play was far inferior than The Bigs.

The facial features on the players were blank. When you batted there was not enough room between the pitcher and batter. Also the rosters were not up to date when the game was released. Santana was still on the Twins and not The Mets. I’d wait another year and get 2k9 so they can improve the game. For now if you want a great game and don’t care about the rosters get The Bigs.

Price: $19.99