Why Do I ALWAYS Fall for the Hype?!
First let me say that I was not down on 2k11; as a matter of fact, I was pleasantly surprised at the improvements made in last year's version, although it still fell short of the mark (whatever the mark is: The Show, MVP05, Baseball Stars??.)
So, I read every developer diary, blog, preview, etc with excited anticipation for possibly the best version of XBOX baseball in seven looooong years.
I had my trade-ins all cleaned up & in the bag ready to go at 10am today. I popped the shiny new game in and lo and behold....everything looks the same, feels the same, sounds the same, and plays the same.
The much ballyhooed pitching improvements are okay & do force you to adjust your pitching style a bit. The "improved" hit variety is all but invisible and the commentary has some new nuggets. I even find the new throwing meter to be more challenging - which is good.
BUT...the framerate issues are all over the place - mostly on foul balls, but not always. The graphics, specifically the player models, are downright scary. It almost appears that a baseball game broke out during a casting call for Night of the Living Dead. And, the one that gets me, the outfield control issues of 2k10 are back. On more than one occasion, my fielder thought it might be fun to play a little duck-duck-goose while the ball flew over his head. ARRRGGGHHH!!
Granted, I've only played a game of MLB Today, which will likely be where I spend most of my time, and one game of My Player. However, there is nothing about this game that makes me say "wow!" It feels stale, unimaginitave, and "mailed-in."
I'm HOPING that EA takes this franchise back & gives us something to be excited about next year...MVP13 maybe? Once again, I'll take the bait and wind up flopping around on the deck wishing I had ignored the bright shiny promises....as usual...