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Summary

For years, Major League 2k games have never got close to perfect, flaws would interfere with the games. Not until Major League Baseball 2K10 came out. This game is perfect and I would never think a baseball game could ever be this perfect. The best part of the game is My Player mode. You take your rookie from Double AA Baseball all the way to the Majors and try to make yourself a Major League Baseball Hall Of Fame member.. It is similar to MLB The Show's Road To The Show, but My Player Mode seems more fun and addicting. You get challenges during the game and get points to boost up your stats. My Player is very fun and lasts a very long time. Then there is MLB Today, where it keeps up with the Major League Baseball schedule and you can play it each game on the schedule. There are other game modes such as Franchise, Postseason, Home Run Derby, and practice drills, All of those modes are fun and makes the game last a lot longer. The graphics look better such as the ball parks and players. The gameplay is perfect and has the best baseball game controls ever. Pitching is better than ever and a lot more responsive. You press a button on the controller and do a gesture with the right stick. This is excellent and pitching may be difficult at first but you get used to it after a few innings. Fielding is the same as last year but a lot better considering that there a lot less flaws in fielding. Hitting is a lot more advanced now that you can do defensive swings and it's easier to hit. Online has improved and contains a lot less lagging. You still can collect cards which still is challenging yet fun. Overall this is the best baseball game ever. Every single baseball fan will enjoy this game. I certainly enjoyed this game. Finally 2K sports made a perfect game.

Summary

When I had the chance to pick up this game, I was happy to see that it is much better than the Show in terms of pitcher-batter interface, and that is what makes or breaks a baseball game IMHO. The Show makes you serve up a fat one when you have an 0-2 count on the batter, and if you make a pitch an inch out of the strike zone the batter never swings at it to protect the plate. Not so in 2K10. Of course, this game is not the graphics A+ that the Show is, and the graphics here can't be rated as more than adequate.
For example, when you hit a home run, the image of the batter making contact often looks like a pop up. Don't expect to see the kind of detail in 2K10 like you do in the Show. You will not see fans falling out of the stands to reach a ground foul ball, etc. I do like the pace of 2K10. Somehow the games are never boring, and watching part of the game on computer vs. computer mode is actually enjoyable if you have a chore to do and need to stop playing while you take a phone call, but want the game to move along.
The commentators on 2K10 are very good, compared to pathetic on the other game. The 2K10 guys do make an occassional goof, but on the whole they do a great job. In fairness, I confess I am a pick up and play user, and I do not play careers, I just cheat my creditors out of an hour every day by playing games. So, don't count on my advice on the career mode.

Summary

I like many other people didnt initially buy this game based on the bad reviews its received on multiple websites (including this one) and instead went with MLB 10 the Show.

After many frustrating hours playing the Show I decided to give 2k10 a try and i have to say i was pleasantly surprised.

2k10 doesnt have the best graphics, but the game play IMHO is much better than the Show.

The pitcher and batter interfaces give you a lot more control in this game. The Show has the same type of interface as the defunct EA MVP baseball series and the old High Heat series. 2k10 makes you control pitches with the right analog stick where you have to make directional moves to actually make a pitch. Its feels a lot more 'intuitive' and makes you feel like you have a lot more control over the game where are are actually playing the game not just calling pitches and watching the results. When you are in pressure situations the aim icon starts to 'shake' representing nerves/being rattled etc.

The fielding is the same way. There arent a ton of menus to go thru to adjust your fielding positions on the fly during the game. You just use the d-pad to move infield in/out or shift your outfielders etc.

Batting controls allow you to actually aim hits in a direction, and you can reach down out of the zone and hit balls that arent strikes. In the Show if you swing at a pitch out of the zone your batter flails clumsily and just misses. This is far more realistic as there are many excellent hitters that actually often hit pitches that arent strikes. (Vladimir Guerrero for example.) Also, in 2k10 your players have stats to recognize pitches based on their real-life eye. If a batter has a good eye he will see the pitch as its being delivered and know what kind of pitch it is, which is realistic. In the The Show, you just randomly guess at what pitch is coming next if you guess right, it gives you a better chance to get a hit.

I also liked the PACE of this game. Its fast-paced and plays like a video game should. One of the biggest drawbacks of the Show was that unless you adjust the game sliders, the games take FOREVER.

First of all there are far, far, FAR too many foul balls in the Show. I'm trying to play a video game not play a real life 3 hour baseball game with 20 pitches to each batter. In 2k10 the pitching and batting was quick and the ball is in play often. The AI will actually swing at pitches that arent strikes.

Second, the hitting and fielding are more realistic from a gameplay perspective in 2k10 than the Show. In the Show balls are hit with pinpoint accuracy that are almost impossible to make real plays on that would be possible in real life. Because of this the Show has extremely low scoring and no action. Either the ball is hit directly to a fielder or its in a position where the batter gets extra bases that he shouldnt on that type of hit.

2k10 actually has hits like a real baseball game-- bloop singles, doubles up the gap, infield singles up the middle or thru the holes at 1st and third. The hits are playable and require actual skill to stretch into extra bases. Stealing is also far more accurate in 2k10, in the Show anyone with speed has an almost garaunteed steal unless you pitchout. In 2k10, its like real life even fast guys get thrown out and bases are hard to steal.

While 2k10 doesnt have some of the cooler features that exist in the Show like the catcher camera/catcher gamecalling or all the extensive eye-candy, from an actually gameplay perspective 2k10 is the superior game by far. When you play 2k10 you actually feel like you are making the plays and the pitches.

If you actually know baseball you will find 2k10 more enjoyable as an actual game you can pick up, play and interact with not just manage and watch eyecandy.

Summary

Oh baseball. America's (read Japan's) past time has experienced a bit of resurgence in my life. I love to watch pitchers battle hitters with wicked-nasty pitches like 100mph 4-seamers and 70 mph Knucklers.
So when the opportunity comes around to try something new and fresh, especially after one straight year of playing the Show, I dove right in.
And what I saw was...MEH.

Yes, 2k10 is a serviceable game. It has all the basics down, and for all intents and purposes should be a great game of baseball. But digging into the game you feel a little empty. Like there is something missing.

This was alarming. What could it be? Maybe it's the pitches. The pitches don't move with any great speed and seem to be lazy. Pitches also don't seem to move realistically or with purpose. Take Wakefield's knuckleball...you're told it dances all over the place but it just seems to move in a straight arc at the plate.
But, honestly, that really cannot be it.
Maybe it's the player models...I though we had moved past doll faced players years ago, but nay, they are here again.
But that cannot be it.
Perhaps what this boils down to is MLB 2k10 is a decent baseball video game, and while it does not attempt to be a simulation, it also misses some the basics of the game.

I really cannot say what it is about this game...it feels like an empty experience. A baseball game that is missing some of the game.
If you want to pick this one up, check it out first and really make sure this is what you are looking for.

Summary

Let's start with the basics here. This game is cheap(ish) but that doesn't really show. Playing the game for the first time was as easy as pie, anyone with any experience of multi-player shooters can easily ace their very first game.

There are no complicated "features" in this game, it's pretty much like every other shooter out there. Game modes are all fairly similar to those found in MW2, the graphics are good but not spectacular.

So... why bother? Well it's a nice game, it's well made and runs smoothly and at least until Red Dead Redemption is released it's a welcome change in scenery to the shooter genre. Classes are a simple choice of 4 types of characters each with their own special abilities, one of my favourites being "Trapper" with whom you can lay a bear trap for an unsuspecting opponent to get caught in while you gain a vantage point to snipe them once caught.

Games can vary depending on your team mates and opponents. I have found that despite being team based a lot of players would rather run around on their own, making it difficult in some matches such as the "Capture The Flag" style Greed match, in which your team steals gold from the enemy and returns it to your base.

All in all however this is a good online game and with a few of your own friends gathered is really really fun. It's only real let down is the amount of competition out there.