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MMChrisS · 03-10-2011, 03:57 PM

We recently changed our review process. Read all about how we do our reviews now.

Day One: Initial Impressions

Outside of the traditional 2K online league functionality and ranked/custom matches, there isn’t a whole lot to discuss when it comes to MLB 2K11 -- at least in terms of new elements. So consider this writeup more of a quick impressions piece about how the game plays online rather than an in-depth look at the online game modes and features.

That being said, in the five or so games I managed to play online, MLB 2K11 played a more stable game of baseball than it did offline. Gone were many of the graphical freezes when a ball was put into play, and lag was at a minimum aside from a very slight swing delay. As I found myself trying to mentally comprehend how this could be, I immediately realized that MLB 2K11 online is essentially MLB 2K11 offline minus the presentation.

Yes, there is no in-game presentation when playing the game online. No pregame introductions, no stat overlays when a player comes up to bat, no instant replays of big plays, no between innings highlights/box score, and worst of all, no in-game notification of what player is at bat.

Read More - MLB 2K11 Online Impressions

notoriouzwun · 03-10-2011, 06:38 PM

I thought the online was worse than offline personally. The outfielders hiccup and sometimes delay before actually chasing the ball, the swing still has a bad enough delay that it can throw you off when determining pitch location. All the little cheesy things are still in the game, holding back on power swings instead of actually having to time the swing. Bunting guys around the bags like its nothing even when playing the bunt or holding runners on. The online is the worst part of the game still. nothing ever changes for 2K in the online department. Honestly I feel like I bought 2K10 with minor changes.

misterkrabz · 03-11-2011, 12:03 PM

I tried mentioning your complaint (I have the same complaint) about your confusion about who is at bat, who is in the hole, who is hot and who is not by suggesting that some on screen stat boxes would be nice and I got flamed in these forums. I agree with you 100% and I made the exact same analogy about old school NES games doing a better job of this yet everyone here thougt I was stupid, that the screen was "too cluttered" already, and I was told to hit pause and find out...so maybe the reason we don't have this information handy (or on screen) is that maybe you and I are the only ones who care? IMO with all the on screen real estate (lower right and left hand corners fo the screen) there's no reason they shouldn't have this information available.

BA2929 · 03-11-2011, 04:25 PM

I'd rather finish an online game in 30-35 minutes with MLB 2k11-lite, then sit there for 2 hours because the guy I'm playing wants to watch every single cut scene in its entirety. If there's minimal lag, I can deal with kind of not knowing who's up to bat 100% of the time.

Fiddy · 03-11-2011, 06:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BA2929


	I'd rather finish an online game in 30-35 minutes with MLB 2k11-lite, then sit there for 2 hours because the guy I'm playing wants to watch every single cut scene in its entirety. If there's minimal lag, I can deal with kind of not knowing who's up to bat 100% of the time.

yup.. i agree!!

i have played the show online the past 3 years.. even though we used fast play, it still took about an hour or so.

dont get me wrong, i love my baseball stats, overlays, replays etc.. but if i want that stuff, i play offline.. when i play online i want to get games played in 30 mins or less!! im glad its 2k11 lite online..

ghm125 · 03-12-2011, 05:47 PM

baseball in my opinion is meant to enjoy the cut scene and all the stuff that goes along with the game of baseball...thus the show is my choice,I can see guys who want to get a quick head to head game too,but the 2k is just too plain....loved the offline part with commentary,and there cut scenes...and to not at least have the option to turn ON all the bells and whistles online..is sad....

Fiddy · 03-12-2011, 06:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ghm125


	baseball in my opinion is meant to enjoy the cut scene and all the stuff that goes along with the game of baseball...thus the show is my choice,I can see guys who want to get a quick head to head game too,but the 2k is just too plain....loved the offline part with commentary,and there cut scenes...and to not at least have the option to turn ON all the bells and whistles online..is sad....

agree.. they def needed to add that as an option for say unranked games at the least.

Smokez4DAyz · 03-13-2011, 03:45 AM

This guy complains they dont know whos in the game, guess you dont know baseball players. I recognized my whole yankees roster. If you bring up the substitution menu it shows whos up to bat, so.scratch that paragraph of bad review, you are forcing yourself to bitch and gripe about things you would never comment about in the show.

Celtic34 · 03-13-2011, 11:16 AM

Are you talking about the stadium announcer or the announcer. I Was playing online the other night and they were talking about McCutchen at the plate and were announcing everyone that came up. I didn't even notice and knew who was up. I didn't notice if the background stadium announcer was there or not though. I didn't have any issues with determining who was at the plate though because the announcers each time were definately announcing it.

All the necessary stuff was there like pitch counts and the batters contact and power ratings so i'm not sure what you are talking about there. It didn't seem stripped down too much to me. I didn't even notice it.

Yeah they got rid of replays it seems like and the swing analyzer and help stuff doesnt pop up but who cares. Taht stuff is annoying anyways.

Online I'd think you'd want more smooth transitions and a smoother playing game wouldn't you?

I'm still kind of baffled by these critiques. This is the best baseball game I've played in years.

Why not write an article and totally pan Madden because Snickers pops up every 5 seconds and concentrate your review on that? Or is EA all too powerful to say such a thing. Madden 11 got a great score and this game is getting really nitpicked? Kind of strange. So you are being hard on 2k and demand perfection from it and that's a good thing but giving Madden a free pass isn't?

I'd be more inclined to buy this stuff if you were consistant. Most people here if they critique madden like you are would have been banned a long time ago. But yes constructive criticism. Please go on.

So Madden is good because it has all this unnecessary clutter and is somehow more sim?

WaddupCouzin · 03-13-2011, 11:27 AM

Maybe the time thing is a generational or the I'm in a different stage in my life thing, because I'm with the guys preferring the stripped down version of the game! I don't have an hour to spend with every signal nuance of the game. Online, I simply want a plug and play version of the game, (for me) no bells or whistles needed.

When my I played my friend over Xbox Live, the game was buttery smooth! No lag or anything.

03-13-2011, 11:16 AM	#9
Celtic34 Banned OVR: 0 Join Date: Mar 2011 Blog Entries: 1	Re: MLB 2K11 Online Impressions Are you talking about the stadium announcer or the announcer. I Was playing online the other night and they were talking about McCutchen at the plate and were announcing everyone that came up. I didn't even notice and knew who was up. I didn't notice if the background stadium announcer was there or not though. I didn't have any issues with determining who was at the plate though because the announcers each time were definately announcing it. All the necessary stuff was there like pitch counts and the batters contact and power ratings so i'm not sure what you are talking about there. It didn't seem stripped down too much to me. I didn't even notice it. Yeah they got rid of replays it seems like and the swing analyzer and help stuff doesnt pop up but who cares. Taht stuff is annoying anyways. Online I'd think you'd want more smooth transitions and a smoother playing game wouldn't you? I'm still kind of baffled by these critiques. This is the best baseball game I've played in years. Why not write an article and totally pan Madden because Snickers pops up every 5 seconds and concentrate your review on that? Or is EA all too powerful to say such a thing. Madden 11 got a great score and this game is getting really nitpicked? Kind of strange. So you are being hard on 2k and demand perfection from it and that's a good thing but giving Madden a free pass isn't? I'd be more inclined to buy this stuff if you were consistant. Most people here if they critique madden like you are would have been banned a long time ago. But yes constructive criticism. Please go on. So Madden is good because it has all this unnecessary clutter and is somehow more sim? Last edited by Celtic34; 03-13-2011 at 11:35 AM.

03-13-2011, 11:27 AM	#10
WaddupCouzin MVP OVR: 11 Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: Tampa, Fl	Re: MLB 2K11 Online Impressions Maybe the time thing is a generational or the I'm in a different stage in my life thing, because I'm with the guys preferring the stripped down version of the game! I don't have an hour to spend with every signal nuance of the game. Online, I simply want a plug and play version of the game, (for me) no bells or whistles needed. When my I played my friend over Xbox Live, the game was buttery smooth! No lag or anything. __________________ http://community.2ksports.com/commun...?blogid=353294 Blogging my 2k Laker Franchise

03-10-2011, 06:38 PM	#2
notoriouzwun Rookie OVR: 14 Join Date: Jul 2008 Blog Entries: 2	I thought the online was worse than offline personally. The outfielders hiccup and sometimes delay before actually chasing the ball, the swing still has a bad enough delay that it can throw you off when determining pitch location. All the little cheesy things are still in the game, holding back on power swings instead of actually having to time the swing. Bunting guys around the bags like its nothing even when playing the bunt or holding runners on. The online is the worst part of the game still. nothing ever changes for 2K in the online department. Honestly I feel like I bought 2K10 with minor changes.

03-11-2011, 12:03 PM	#3
misterkrabz Rookie OVR: 2 Join Date: Feb 2011	I tried mentioning your complaint (I have the same complaint) about your confusion about who is at bat, who is in the hole, who is hot and who is not by suggesting that some on screen stat boxes would be nice and I got flamed in these forums. I agree with you 100% and I made the exact same analogy about old school NES games doing a better job of this yet everyone here thougt I was stupid, that the screen was "too cluttered" already, and I was told to hit pause and find out...so maybe the reason we don't have this information handy (or on screen) is that maybe you and I are the only ones who care? IMO with all the on screen real estate (lower right and left hand corners fo the screen) there's no reason they shouldn't have this information available.

03-11-2011, 04:25 PM	#4
BA2929 MVP OVR: 20 Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: Kansas Blog Entries: 2	I'd rather finish an online game in 30-35 minutes with MLB 2k11-lite, then sit there for 2 hours because the guy I'm playing wants to watch every single cut scene in its entirety. If there's minimal lag, I can deal with kind of not knowing who's up to bat 100% of the time.

03-12-2011, 05:47 PM	#6
ghm125 john14:6 OVR: 30 Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: Cincinnati,Ohio Posts: 3,781 Blog Entries: 3	baseball in my opinion is meant to enjoy the cut scene and all the stuff that goes along with the game of baseball...thus the show is my choice,I can see guys who want to get a quick head to head game too,but the 2k is just too plain....loved the offline part with commentary,and there cut scenes...and to not at least have the option to turn ON all the bells and whistles online..is sad....

03-13-2011, 03:45 AM	#8
Smokez4DAyz Banned OVR: 11 Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: brooklyn, nyc Blog Entries: 1	This guy complains they dont know whos in the game, guess you dont know baseball players. I recognized my whole yankees roster. If you bring up the substitution menu it shows whos up to bat, so.scratch that paragraph of bad review, you are forcing yourself to bitch and gripe about things you would never comment about in the show.