"Major League Baseball 2K11" Review

"MLB 2K11" stands strong at the plate. It has everything a baseball game should contain. Some of the problems were fixed from the previous version of the game, however, "MLB 2K11" is still not a bug free or perfect game. If you are a fan of the 2K baseball franchise then "MLB 2K11" should not disappoint, but it's also not the only baseball game in contention this year.Well spring is around the corner and that can only mean one thing, baseball. Of course if you are stuck inside and still want to get that springtime goodness, go pick yourself up a copy of "MLB 2K11" and I am sure you won’t feel too disappointed. I sat down and played "MLB 2K11" right after I had been playing "MLB 11: The Show." While many fans of sports games would tell me which was a better game right off of the bat I decided to keep my mind open and judge "MLB 2K11" for myself.

I’m not going to lie, "MLB 2K11" is a good baseball game. It has everything that a classic baseball game should have in it. However, comparing it to last year’s "MLB 2K10," not much has changed. It seems that year after year, game companies like to take small steps in improving sports games. I’m not saying that every year something revolutionary has to happen, I would just like to see a majority of the problems that the previous versions had, disappear.

I did like the game over all. It played much like "MLB 2K10" did. However, there were a couple of updates. The pitching is a lot less forgiving this time around. I found myself getting a little frustrated. The strike zone seemed to be very touchy. It wasn’t the pitching controls; it was the fact that the AI batters were all star batters. It seemed that if I threw a weak sauce ball, the batter would crush it. Then when it was my turn up to bat, I felt like an intoxicated hobo playing tee ball. Once you get the control scheme down though things go allot smoother.

The AI in the game was probably the most difficult thing to deal with. Not just the AI on the opposing team but the AI on my own team. There were numerous times that someone at bat would hit an easy out and my AI teammates would screw it up and keep giving bases away. Also if you are playing in the "My Player" mode, and you choose to be any position other than the pitcher, you could be facing an entire game of what seems like a bad Benny Hill episode as you sit around and wait for the ball to come your way.

I will say that I liked the homerun derby in "MLB 2K11" a lot more than I did in "MLB 11: The Show." The atmosphere during the homerun derby seemed to be more enthusiastic and more entertaining. I could hit more homeruns in "MLB 2K11" than in "MLB 11: The Show" which is a good thing when it comes to challenging your friends. I love feeling like a god and hitting homerun after homerun instead of being forced into the realm of "real life" constraints like those in "MLB 11:The Show."

All in all, "MLB 2K11" was a pretty good baseball simulation experience. There are a couple of things that were fixed since the previous version but not a whole lot different. Honestly, for PS3 owners there are a couple options for your baseball experience this year. If you are a diehard fan of the MLB 2K series then "MLB 2K11" is not a bad choice. However with "MLB 11: The Show" also on the shelves and exclusively on the PS3 it's going to be a tough series for "MLB: 2K11."

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