Major League Baseball 2K8
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| Major League Baseball 2K8 | |
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| Developer(s) | Kush Games |
| Publisher(s) | 2K Sports |
| Platform(s) | PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3, PlayStation Portable, Wii, Xbox 360 |
| Release date | NA March 4, 2008 AUS August 26, 2008[1] |
| Genre(s) | Sports |
| Mode(s) | Single player, multiplayer |
| Rating(s) | ESRB: E |
Major League Baseball 2K8 or in shorter terms, MLB 2K8, is a MLB licensed baseball simulation video game developed by Kush Games and published by 2K Sports for the PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3, PlayStation Portable, Wii, and Xbox 360.[1] It was released on March 4, 2008. A demo was released on Xbox Live Marketplace the next day on March 5 for Canada, United States and Asian markets.
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[edit] New features
Ben Brinkman, in a January 18, 2008 KOXM podcast, revealed the following new features to debut in 2K8:[2]
- 90 playable real-life minor league baseball teams and players (restricted to players who have had major league experience), including 20 authentic minor league stadiums.
- 2K Cards, unlockable trading cards
- New pitching system in which the pitch type is determined by analog stick movement
- Swing Stick 2.0, a revamped analog batting system which allows an increased variety of batted balls (Baltimore Chops, bloops, dribblers, etc.)
- New ball-throwing system which is also determined by analog stick movement
- More realistic fielding tweaks, and a revamp of double play animation and gameplay.
The official site also included these additional new and updated features:[1]
- Downloadable minor league stadiums
- Revamped baserunning, with more intuitive controls and smarter baserunning AI
- Additional Signature Style animations
- Downloadable content (Xbox 360)
- The new features are not available on the PS2 version of the game.
[edit] Cover athlete
New York Mets shortstop Jose Reyes was announced as the cover athlete on December 6, 2007, taking over for crosstown New York Yankees counterpart Derek Jeter.[3]
[edit] Announcers
Announcers Jon Miller and Joe Morgan once again resume game announcing duties, while Steve Physioc and Jeanne Zelasko continue reporting duties.
[edit] Downloadable content
- March 6, 2008: The first round of downloadable content was released on Xbox Live Marketplace for free, which included The Minor League Stadium Pack, which featured Durham Bulls Athletic Park, Hadlock Field and Legends Field (now called "George M. Steinbrenner Field"), a Majestic Cool Base Uniforms pack, which added one new uniform for each Major League team, and the Card Series 2 download which unlocked the next set of packs for use in the game's card battle mode.
[edit] DS spinoff
A more "baseball-lite" version of MLB 2K8 was released for the Nintendo DS called Major League Baseball 2K8 Fantasy All-Stars, which extensively utilizes the DS touchscreen, and features fantasy elements such as power ups and fantasy stadiums.
[edit] Development and history
MLB 2K8 represents the third seventh generation console baseball game of the 2K Sports Major League Baseball series, and the second lead developed by Ben Brinkman for Kush. In Brinkman's 1UP.com log, he revealed that MLB 2K8 represents the middle act of a planned three year development cycle for 2K's baseball series for next gen systems, with MLB 2K7 being the first stage.[4] According to Brinkman, "At the same time we set out a three year plan for the MLB franchise so that once 2K7 ended we could get right to work on 2K8 and have a set of goals and features to accomplish." From an interview in an IGN article, "MLB 2K7 was the first step in a long process of reinventing the 2K Sports baseball brand and the MLB franchise. 2K7 was year one of that, and a lot of that was just getting back onto stable ground -- getting back with the people who play our game and putting something out there that they're happy with, they have a blast playing and that they can play for an extended period of time. I think we delivered upon that, especially given the short timeline with which we had to create that game."
[edit] Reception
Critical response to MLB 2K8 has been somewhat mixed. Both the PS3 and Xbox 360 versions have been cited as lacking fluidity and thus seem to lag. Critics have been quick to point out that the new Swing Stick is difficult to grasp and time. While the new pitching system has been touted as very realistic, it has also been criticized as being too difficult. The Batter's Eye has also not been functioning properly in many of the copies. IGN scored the Xbox 360 version 7.4, while the PS3 version received a score of 7.2. On the other end, Game Informer gave it an 8.5 on both the Xbox 360 and the PS3, while EGM gave it a B. The reaction to the Wii version has also been somewhat negative. While the pitching control has been highly praised, the graphics and overall gameplay have been criticized. Its lack of dualshock has also been a reason for low scores though it is possible that a patch will later be released enabling dualshock compatibility although it was announced as out a while back, but still no patch.
[edit] Soundtrack
The following songs appear in the soundtrack:[5]
| Band | Song |
|---|---|
| Battles | Atlas |
| Black Rebel Motorcycle Club | Need Some Air |
| Blitzen Trapper | Wild Mountain Nation |
| The Cars | Moving in Stereo |
| The Cool Kids | 88 |
| The Cure | Never Enough |
| Dinosaur Jr | Almost Ready |
| The Flaming Lips | The W.A.N.D. (The Will Always Negates Defeat) |
| The Hold Steady | Stuck Between Stations |
| Jay Reatard | My Shadow |
| Kasabian | Reason Is Treason |
| LCD Soundsystem | Watch the Tapes |
| Modest Mouse | Dashboard |
| Peter Bjorn and John | The Chills |
| The Presidents of the United States of America | Cleveland Rocks |
| The Revolution Fox Experiment | Hyper Charlie |
| The Strokes | Someday |
[edit] See also
[edit] References
[edit] External links
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