S&S Review: MLB 2K12

Title: MLB 2K12

Format: PS3, Xbox 360

Release Date: March 6, 2012

Publisher: Take-Two Interactive

Developer: Visual Concepts

Price: $59.99

ESRB Rating: E

MLB 2K12 just might be on its last legs as a competitor in the baseball genre.  With MLB 12: The Show receiving high praise from just about every journalist out there, is 2K12 a worthy contender for the baseball crown?

Presentation:

The presentation in MLB 2K12 is solid, but not great.  When you have its direct competitor with The Show, you can't help but make comparisons.  Visual Concepts hopes at achieving realism and authenticity doesn't beat out San Diego Studio's attempt, but it stands on its own ground.  The little effects like blades of grass and intensified sunlight effects are great, but the sporadic amount of odd character animations are unwanted.  2K12 utilizes the same engine from 2K10, and the team has continued to polish it every year.  The framerate is still a little shaky at times, but overall it holds up quite nicely, which is a first in a while for the troubled series.  The commentary in 2K12 is some of the best I've heard in any sports game, just the level of statistical intelligence spoken by the team is unrivaled.  Other than that, everything else, including the menus, look exactly the same.  The team has done enough to keep the game fresh and well polished.

Core Gameplay/Multiplayer:
There have been loads of gameplay tweaks added for 2K12, mostly for the pitching aspects.  The batter's AI have gotten much smarter, you can't continuously sling fastballs across the plate and strike batter's out.  The batter will now catch on to your patterns and knock it out for a single.  Batting is tougher than ever, which it should be, and realistic hits are a reason for that.  There will be many balls popped up and ending up in a center-fielder's glove.  Fielders now have an improved pitching meter that incorporates many variables to affect your throw.  If your player is off balance, it'll be more difficult to get your throw in the green.  My Player mode and Franchise mode are pretty much exactly the same  as last year's.  This is a let down, My Player mode had a lot of requested improvements from the last game, and it seems like the team has completely ignored us. MLB Today Season is a new mode that lets you play alongside your favorite team.  Its a simple mode, that just adds to the subtle changes.  The online is very basic in the game, with some lag that hinders the game.  With baseball games, you need to have a smooth experience.

Final Thoughts:
MLB 2K!2 is a good baseball game, with some new improvements.  There are a few bugs in the game that I could do without, like the lousy hit and collision detection.  When you stack it up too its direct competitor, once again it falls short.

Final Score = 6.5/10

Email: sameo452009@gmail.com

Twitter: @iSamKulii

Apps: S&S Reviews on Apple and Android Stores

PSNID:sameo452008