Initial impressions and videos from The Show’s demo

by pastapadre
Posted February 14th, 2008 at 6:43 pm

The demo for MLB 08: The Show was released for the PS3 earlier today. After having gotten to play through it a few times I’m already confident in saying that this has the potential to be the best baseball game to date. That comes from someone who still looks back at MVP 05 as still holding that title.

The demo features the Colorado Rockies @ Boston Red Sox with Jeff Francis and Josh Beckett on the mound. It loads into the start of the game bypassing the main menu. Go to the pause menu to change the team being controlled. By scrolling to the right in the pause menu it is possible to change all sorts of options including difficulty, pitching interface, indicators and displays, pitching/batting/fielding views, and gameplay sliders.

I’ve added some quick thoughts along with videos from a full play through broken down by inning. Check out the broken bat near the end of the 2nd and the double play turned just prior to that.

The graphics look great, an obvious improvement over 07 and given what had been shown from the game so far that doesn’t come as a surprise.

The game just feels really good both in terms of pacing and flow with no framerate issues encountered.

Noticed the variable umps. You’ll see in the videos how I wasn’t getting the calls on the outside.

It seemed much tougher to pinpoint pitches which is a good thing.

Good amount and variety of foul balls.

Some great stat overlays. When Matt Holiday first came up it showed the top hitters by average in day games.

Had a couple mishandled grounders by fielders which keeps me on my toes.

The guess pitch now raises on the hitter’s side of the screen and shows the pitches and corresponding buttons.

David Ortiz showed some emotion in the dugout after the game ended. Great touch.

MLB 08: The Show demo 1st inning from pastapadre on Vimeo.

MLB 08: The Show demo 2nd inning from pastapadre on Vimeo.

MLB 08: The Show demo 3rd inning from pastapadre on Vimeo.

Tags: Videos

jman

sweet im down loading the deme right now!
jman

sweet im down loading the deme right now!
tdoggy

i loved the demo. Pasta you should get in the SG league we’re trying to start up man. should be fun.
tdoggy

i loved the demo. Pasta you should get in the SG league we’re trying to start up man. should be fun.
http://www.pastapadre.com/ tyler

this looks like the greatist baseball game
http://www.pastapadre.com tyler

this looks like the greatist baseball game
http://www.pastapadre.com/ pastapadre

[quote comment="13420"]i loved the demo. Pasta you should get in the SG league we’re trying to start up man. should be fun.[/quote]

Yeah I’m interested, just want to see how the online shapes up this year. I didn’t realize things could be worse than some of the EA games performance wise online until I tried The Show and read up on all the problems it had there for 07.
http://www.pastapadre.com pastapadre

[quote comment="13420"]i loved the demo. Pasta you should get in the SG league we’re trying to start up man. should be fun.[/quote]

Yeah I’m interested, just want to see how the online shapes up this year. I didn’t realize things could be worse than some of the EA games performance wise online until I tried The Show and read up on all the problems it had there for 07.
regy

It looks like the throwing motions are in slo-mo 4 pitchers. I thought it was Wakefield on the rubber there…
regy

It looks like the throwing motions are in slo-mo 4 pitchers. I thought it was Wakefield on the rubber there…
Joe

The demo plays as great as it looks. I thought MVP 05 lost its crown last year to The Show and PYS4, but this is without question the greatest baseball game ever made – and we’re still just on the demo stage.
Joe

The demo plays as great as it looks. I thought MVP 05 lost its crown last year to The Show and PYS4, but this is without question the greatest baseball game ever made – and we’re still just on the demo stage.
BoSox5s

wow they really suck at signature motions and stances. Todd Helton for example, not even close. Same with Beckett’s motiom. Pedrioa doesn’t have a sig stance like in 2k. Yooks stance is respectable but they could do better. Ortiz’s stance is way off compared to 2k who has it perfectly. Manny’s stance is so off its unbelievable, it hasnt changed since like the mlb 05, same with Mike Lowell and JD Drew AND Jason Varitek AND Julio Lugo. graphics look very good though. Yet the players always look to small for the field. All of the animations are nice and the graphics great but my gripe with the show all these years has been theyve done a terrible job with signature windups and stances. for the most part it really takes away from the realism and it ends up feeling really generic. And there has been nothing 2K has done better so far than make it look like you are actually watching real players.
BoSox5s

wow they really suck at signature motions and stances. Todd Helton for example, not even close. Same with Beckett’s motiom. Pedrioa doesn’t have a sig stance like in 2k. Yooks stance is respectable but they could do better. Ortiz’s stance is way off compared to 2k who has it perfectly. Manny’s stance is so off its unbelievable, it hasnt changed since like the mlb 05, same with Mike Lowell and JD Drew AND Jason Varitek AND Julio Lugo. graphics look very good though. Yet the players always look to small for the field. All of the animations are nice and the graphics great but my gripe with the show all these years has been theyve done a terrible job with signature windups and stances. for the most part it really takes away from the realism and it ends up feeling really generic. And there has been nothing 2K has done better so far than make it look like you are actually watching real players.
TDR Supra

Ill take better everything of 2K’s signature crap.
TDR Supra

Ill take better everything of 2K’s signature crap.
Rico

game is sick
Rico

game is sick
MarinerFan

The coolest thing for me that I saw in the 5 minutes I played the game was when Josh Beckett took his ball cap off and then put it back on. No other baseball game has done anything like that. It was a minor detail but was very cool to see.
MarinerFan

The coolest thing for me that I saw in the 5 minutes I played the game was when Josh Beckett took his ball cap off and then put it back on. No other baseball game has done anything like that. It was a minor detail but was very cool to see.
william

hey.. i just played the demo a few times, the first time i played it everything was going along smoothly until my brother got a few base runners. he had manny on second and another player on first, he simply tried to return the players to their bases, and manny returned all the way to first base. im not sure why it happened, if anyone can clear that up for me that would be awesome. game looks pretty good so far though. i was disappointed with the replays of players getting hit in head by the pitch though. it changes the placement of the ball to the shoulder, probably just to avoid people like me from getting alot of laughs from seeing a cg player getting hit in the head many times. overall it seems to be enjoyable, i just have to learn the game better because ive never played the show

also pasta is this demo version the final build?
william

hey.. i just played the demo a few times, the first time i played it everything was going along smoothly until my brother got a few base runners. he had manny on second and another player on first, he simply tried to return the players to their bases, and manny returned all the way to first base. im not sure why it happened, if anyone can clear that up for me that would be awesome. game looks pretty good so far though. i was disappointed with the replays of players getting hit in head by the pitch though. it changes the placement of the ball to the shoulder, probably just to avoid people like me from getting alot of laughs from seeing a cg player getting hit in the head many times. overall it seems to be enjoyable, i just have to learn the game better because ive never played the show

also pasta is this demo version the final build?
william

[quote comment="13433"]hey.. i just played the demo a few times, the first time i played it everything was going along smoothly until my brother got a few base runners. he had manny on second and another player on first, he simply tried to return the players to their bases, and manny returned all the way to first base. im not sure why it happened, if anyone can clear that up for me that would be awesome. game looks pretty good so far though. i was disappointed with the replays of players getting hit in head by the pitch though. it changes the placement of the ball to the shoulder, probably just to avoid people like me from getting alot of laughs from seeing a cg player getting hit in the head many times. overall it seems to be enjoyable, i just have to learn the game better because ive never played the show

also pasta is this demo version the final build?[/quote]

using this as an edit kind of.. also i wanted to add that after manny returned to first he simply stood next to the other player and then my brother did a double steal, the one player went to second just fine but manny ran straight across the pitchers mound all the way to third. it was one of the funniest things ive ever seen from a video game. i hope this isnt a major problem.
william

[quote comment="13433"]hey.. i just played the demo a few times, the first time i played it everything was going along smoothly until my brother got a few base runners. he had manny on second and another player on first, he simply tried to return the players to their bases, and manny returned all the way to first base. im not sure why it happened, if anyone can clear that up for me that would be awesome. game looks pretty good so far though. i was disappointed with the replays of players getting hit in head by the pitch though. it changes the placement of the ball to the shoulder, probably just to avoid people like me from getting alot of laughs from seeing a cg player getting hit in the head many times. overall it seems to be enjoyable, i just have to learn the game better because ive never played the show

also pasta is this demo version the final build?[/quote]

using this as an edit kind of.. also i wanted to add that after manny returned to first he simply stood next to the other player and then my brother did a double steal, the one player went to second just fine but manny ran straight across the pitchers mound all the way to third. it was one of the funniest things ive ever seen from a video game. i hope this isnt a major problem.
http://www.pastapadre.com/ pastapadre

[quote comment="13433"]
also pasta is this demo version the final build?[/quote]

demos are generally at least a few weeks behind whatever the current build is considering how they have to be put together and then sent through the certification process. There should be some improvements seen in the final build vs the demo, but this will be pretty representative of what to expect.
http://www.pastapadre.com pastapadre

[quote comment="13433"]
also pasta is this demo version the final build?[/quote]

demos are generally at least a few weeks behind whatever the current build is considering how they have to be put together and then sent through the certification process. There should be some improvements seen in the final build vs the demo, but this will be pretty representative of what to expect.
Darren

Most realistic game of baseball to date. I really miss the swing stick though. Button pushing is lame.
Darren

Most realistic game of baseball to date. I really miss the swing stick though. Button pushing is lame.
Kmart2180

Wow I just played a 9 inning game with Beckett Throwing 126 pitches, and I had 11 k’s and there was a cutscene that showed 11 K ‘s on the wall. (SICK!!!) Only weird thing was no fans were in the seats where the K’s were.

Also I ended the game with a Walkoff HR by Varitek. The crowd was going nuts. Also he was jumping up and down putting his hands up in the air. The whole team came to home plate and smothered him.

Best reaction in a sports game ever IMO.
Kmart2180

Wow I just played a 9 inning game with Beckett Throwing 126 pitches, and I had 11 k’s and there was a cutscene that showed 11 K ‘s on the wall. (SICK!!!) Only weird thing was no fans were in the seats where the K’s were.

Also I ended the game with a Walkoff HR by Varitek. The crowd was going nuts. Also he was jumping up and down putting his hands up in the air. The whole team came to home plate and smothered him.

Best reaction in a sports game ever IMO.
Bumble14

Guys-

Is there a behind the pitcher view when pitching like in 2k this year? Can it be set to default?
Bumble14

Guys-

Is there a behind the pitcher view when pitching like in 2k this year? Can it be set to default?
pastapadre

[quote comment="13469"]Guys-

Is there a behind the pitcher view when pitching like in 2k this year? Can it be set to default?[/quote]

Yeah its one of the options. I’ll record a game from that view today. I didn’t know they had so many options available until after I had played this one.
pastapadre

[quote comment="13469"]Guys-

Is there a behind the pitcher view when pitching like in 2k this year? Can it be set to default?[/quote]

Yeah its one of the options. I’ll record a game from that view today. I didn’t know they had so many options available until after I had played this one.
Jon

Wow!! looks good!
Jon

Wow!! looks good!
HustlinOwl

These videos dont capture The Shows real beauty
[quote comment="13472"]Wow!! looks good![/quote]
HustlinOwl

These videos dont capture The Shows real beauty
[quote comment="13472"]Wow!! looks good![/quote]
http://www.pastapadre.com/ tyler

hey pasta could you be any other pitchers besides the staff aces
http://www.pastapadre.com tyler

hey pasta could you be any other pitchers besides the staff aces
Brad

Any videos from the Pitchers back?
Brad

Any videos from the Pitchers back?
http://www.pastapadre.com/ pastapadre

[quote comment="13480"]Any videos from the Pitchers back?[/quote]

coming later today…

[quote comment="13478"]hey pasta could you be any other pitchers besides the staff aces[/quote]

can’t change pitchers
http://www.pastapadre.com pastapadre

[quote comment="13480"]Any videos from the Pitchers back?[/quote]

coming later today…

[quote comment="13478"]hey pasta could you be any other pitchers besides the staff aces[/quote]

can’t change pitchers
Bumble14

I really do not understand how this game can not implement player tendencies/routines like the sign style in 2k. Game looks good- but really generic. I feel like I am watching RBI basball on my Genesis.
Bumble14

I really do not understand how this game can not implement player tendencies/routines like the sign style in 2k. Game looks good- but really generic. I feel like I am watching RBI basball on my Genesis.
Eski

I am getting both after I convince my wife to let me buy another PS3 (traded my first in back in May).

2K on the 360 and The Show on the PS3…..My life is over….
Eski

I am getting both after I convince my wife to let me buy another PS3 (traded my first in back in May).

2K on the 360 and The Show on the PS3…..My life is over….
Eski

Are the scoreboards real-time and is the hand-operated scoreboard functional and accurate?
Eski

Are the scoreboards real-time and is the hand-operated scoreboard functional and accurate?