Major League Baseball 2K8

"Disappointing is the word."

If you are like me, you enjoy a good Sports game. In this case, you were looking for a great baseball game to play. Last year, when MLB 2K7 came out, it was the talk of all baseball games. How it could give MLB: The Show a run for it's money, and how it is the baseball game of the future. 2k7 had it's flaws, but you could play it for hours at a time. With your friends, family, or girlfriend/boyfriend.

This year, the developers came out with 2K8. And there are a lot of things that you catch in the game that isn't as appealing as the previous versions. It seems like the developers thought it would be great to make the pitching, and throwing more complex by allowing the gamer to use the Analog sticks. Yes, it is very creative, but the overall game play is lacking. Now you can change your settings back to classic, which is all good. But they over did the thinking on how to improve the game. Sometimes, the little things is what makes a game great.

The Ratings for a sports game, believe it or not, are very important. You have to be as accurate as possible in order to please the stat boy fans. There were gamers who didn't buy the game because of the simple fact that the ratings were semi-bias. Cleveland Indians, for example tied the Boston Red Sox for best record in the MLB. Not just A.L., but the entire league. They get 4 stars for Offense, and Pitching. Yet 1 star for Defense and Speed. Ranked them 11 th in the league??? Bogus... And the player ratings are absolutely bias. It seems like the developers just watch ESPN, and make judgments from that bias network.

There are some good qualities about the game. The graphics are better than last year. The commentary is more realistic with Joe Morgan, and company.

One more thing, and it does include the new analog sticks. Online play is going to be down this year for this game. No way in God's Green Earth will users play online where they are forced to use the Analog sticks. I understand that gamers last year were complaining about how easy it was to do certain things online. And how some users, were playing with the swing stick, and others were using the classic batting style. But the developers should have known that you never change a format for online play just because some members don't like how people can use the classic controls.

To be honest, there might be some gamers who are picking up a baseball game for the first time. And if they want to play online, and they can't adapt the the new Stick controls. They should be allowed to use the classic controls for ranked matches.

This game could be better in a lot of ways. Just keeping it simple, and not making that many changes can keep a franchise going and growing..

Reviewer's Score: 5/10, Originally Posted: 03/07/08

Game Release: Major League Baseball 2K8 (US, 03/03/08)