Major League Baseball 2K8 (Sony Playstation 3, 2008)

The Franchise mode is the deepest and most satisfying I have ever played in my life of over 15 years of gaming.

Im all about having complete control of my team when I'm playing a "Franchise" mode since getting a taste of this around 4 years back.

Most current gen games offer nothing compared to this franchise mode. From MLB roster, 3 minor league teams (all which you are in control of especially their contracts), 4 lineup cards for right and left handed pitches w/ or w/o DH, pitching rotation (which does work properly by the way), setting ticket prices and making sure you keep your fans happy cuz if you don't they stop coming to games and you need to win them back (to make more $$ of course) by lowering ticket prices and winning some games, once you get the buzz meter back up you can try and raise the ticket prices to capitalize on it and bring more profit in for the year.

I did the 100 player fantasy draft and it was awesome, i made it through about 70 picks before I hit cpu auto draft and it was very fun knowing the later picks would be in the minors and you would try and get them to improce in order to make it to the MLB (by drafting players with high potential ratings that were still younger)

You can play a couple, sim a couple weeks and play again. or you can just manage a game where u tell ur hitters/pitchers what to do one at bat at a time (and this is suprisingly fun, I like to do it against division rivals when Im in the playoff race).

I honestly beleive that if you like just doing the above stuff you could be playing this game for 3-12 months....

AND THIS DOES NOT INCLUDE ACTUAL GAMEPLAY!!!

As for gameplay, it is top notch! Hitting is fun, yet simple and same with fielding for defence and pitching is where I have the most fun.

Pulling off the pitches is very easy after you practice for about 5 games and understand the training they provide (which can be a tiny bit confusing) but im telling you the pitching rules. Its so kool that your catcher gives u advice on where to throw the ball and what pitch to use based on what the hitters weaknesses are. Keep in mind not all catchers are equal at calling the game for the pitcher, you need to check this rating under their defence stats (Varitek is the best at this from what Ive seen).

And yes, now to the flaw youve all been talking about...

YES, SO WHAT!!! The game does get choppy!! but only when you hit the ball and the camera changes from batting/pitching camera to fielding camera. It does not effect gameplay one bit, it has never caused me to screw up anything and after 3 games I dont even barely notice it anymore!!!

NOT BUYING this game because of this would be RIDICULOUS!!

Card collecting is awesome, you get cards for having players on your team accomplish certain tasks that are based on their skillset. I have collected 15 cards and am getting close to completing a team, Ive got 4 gold cards which are kool cuz the salary to add that player to your team is like cut in half.

Stat tracking is amazing, menus are fantastic, im slighly addicted to the soundtrack! Hiring, firing and upgrading your staff and telling them what to work on to improve your players stats rules!!

All of this and I havent even gotten into online play or any other modes yet because Franchise mode is so friggin addicting!!

I own 3 games for my 360 and that's it because I don't waste ANY money on games that have no depth or replay value, a game has to offer months of enjoyment for me to spend my mone

The Game Is Good Ive Always Been A Fan Of The 2k Series But The MLB The Show Is Becomin The Better Franchise I Have Both Games & One Has What The Other Doesnt Have For 2K8 The Games Graphics Are Good The Thinhg Thats Better In MLB 2k8 Is The Batting & Pitching Stances Make It Feel Real The Show Looks To Made Up The Bad Thing Is Homeruns Are Way 2 Easy 2 Hit The Show Overall Is Better But I Play Both Oh Yea Franchise Is Better For 2K8 Though & I Think The Game Is Harder To Play If U Learn How To Bat N Pitch With The Analog Stick I But Overall Good Game But Doesnt Beat The Show

Although he is best known for his speed and base-stealing ability, the Mets' Jose Reyes is also one of the most well-rounded players in the game and is the first player in baseball history to have more than 63 steals, 120 runs, 192 hits, and 19 homers in a single season. Reyes led the Major League in 2006 with 17 triples and 64 stolen bases and set a new Mets club record with 104 hits at Shea Stadium. Also an avid video gamer and long time fan of 2K Sports’ products, All-Star Shortstop Jose Reyes is a natural fit as the official spokesperson for this year's edition of the critically acclaimed Major League Baseball 2K series. [2K Sports]
PUBLISHER: 2K Sports
DEVELOPER: 2K Los Angeles
GENRE(S): Sports, Baseball
PLAYERS: 2
ESRB RATING: E (Everyone)
RELEASE DATE: March 4, 2008

I had 2k7 last year and have 2k8 for this year, and I must say the game has improved but not a huge jump over last year.

Franchise mode is fun-lots of Minor League Players and its fun to build your team into a great one.

Pitching is tougher and takes a little playing to get down, but its more fun to pitch, than to hurry up so you can bat again. Fast balls and Changeup are easy to learn, it may take you a bit to learn breaking balls and sliders. For the most part the mechanics are accurate and the player does what you want them to do. Throwing is also controlled by the R Stick and is more like throwing in the Majors.

The Flaws---
Sometime your game will freeze, Save often in franchise mode
The fonts are too small on stats and menus...unless you have a huge TV
The graphics are Good at best. The crowd is not as detailed as 2k8 Basketball.
The annoucers/commentary is about the same as last year.
There is lots of talk about "the frame rate" of the game not being too good. (The camera may shutter a bit when throwing from third to first-or between batters) If you play a lot of games you'll probably notice this and it may bother you. If you don't play games too much, this is not an issue-you probably won't even notice.

Even with the flaws, if you like baseball you're probably going to enjoy playing the game. If you like playing on-line you may want to make sure the online is smooth and glitch free before you buy.

Overall Grade: B

If your a casual gamer, I think you will be able to look past the flaws in the game and gets lots of replay value from it. If you play and expect alot from games...you may want to skip this title.

MLB 2K8 seemed to be a promising game at first sight with good graphics and many styles of game play including a nice situations category in which players are posed with a certain scenario in which they must overcome. The problem with the game is that the instruction manual is written seemingly for people who have been playing MLB games for a long period of time. It assumes you already have the basic mechanics of the game, which in many cases, such as mine, this is simply not how it is. The game faulters on many different levels such as there not always being a cutoff man to through the ball to and when there is not the other players around the ball do nothing to help it get to the base you have thrown it to. Pitching is a problem as well. The instruction manual tells you nothing really as how to actually pitch a certain pitch. You are just meant to figure it out I suppose. The final problem of the game is the batting. There are five ways to hit the ball, but it seems that only a bunt and a power swing ever seem to really work.
Overall, I would only suggest buying this game if you have played previous versions and understood the way the game is played. If not, stay away for the instruction manual and in game control configuration will leave you wanting for more.
The highs of the game would be the vast player lists and the graphics, but they in no way overrun the many faults of this game.