MLB 2K8 Yankees vs Mets

MLB 2K8 Yankees vs Mets Any sports videogame fanatic knows that the right analog stick has been infiltrating the likes of Madden, NHL, Fight Night and even EA's skate to create a more immersive gaming experience. Now MLB 2K8 is following suit with a revamped gameplay system that employs the right analog stick for just about every action in the sport of baseball. You throw to bases with it, you bat with it, you slide with it, and you even pitch by making a sequence of motions with the right analog stick. Tossing to the bases used to be as simple as holding a face button and releasing it at a proper point. While the process is still a hold and release affair, it's much more geared to the accuracy of the throw. You can now release the ball too early and send it over your teammate's head or you can hold it too late and short-hop the base. Not only do you have to worry about releasing the right analog stick just so, but you also need to be mindful of the direction that you're pointing. MLB 2K8 places a lot of importance on nailing the cardinal direction and if you don't, that's when you'll see some errant throws. If you're semi-close to being dead-on then the person covering the base will be able to make adjustments, just be sure not to pull them off the bag by too much. While the throwing mechanic is new, it still harkens back to the old method of holding a button and timing your release. The pitching mechanic is completely new and different from anything that baseball has seen prior. It's a three-step process. After deciding which pitch you're going to throw (the catcher will always call a sign but you don't have to follow his advice) it's time to start your motion. The first right analog movement starts the expanding circle that fans of 2K7 will recognize. The longer you hold the stick in that position, the harder it will be to hit your spot with the pitch. Cut it short and your pitch won't have much on it (either movement or speed, depending on what you're throwing). The second motion is where things can get tricky. A fastball is obviously a straight back, then straight forward motion, but when throwing curveballs and sliders you get into half and three-quarter circle motions that need to be timed just right. The third part of the pitching process is the release. After the aforementioned circle expands to its desired circumference and you've made the second motion you'll need to time the release of the right stick with the circle which will be contracting back down to the center. Stop it when it's small and you'll have made the perfect pitch, but stop it too late or too early and you'll throw up a fat meatball. There's no question that the new right analog movements with both throwing and pitching take some getting used to, but if you can power through the early stages you'll find that the new mechanic works pretty well. There are moments of inaccuracy but hopefully those will be cleaned up by the time the game ships on March 3. If nothing else, the feeling of winding up a pitch and unleashing it is a vast improvement in terms of immersion from what we've seen in the past