Game Preview: 5 New Things You're Gonna Love About "MLB 2K11"

Image via Complex Original

Super (Player) Models

The experience of playing virtual baseball starts and ends with making the end user believe they're actual playing as some of the best players in the world. That means that the game’s graphics need to be as close to a simulation to the real thing as possible. 2K Sports heard that loud and clear, going back to the drawing board, literally, to bring Major League Baseball’s players to life. MLB 2K11 features uncanny reincarnations of your favorite players down to the hair on their chinny chin chin. No, really—check out cover athlete Roy Halladay’s before and after. It’s hair science!

Take To The Error

One of the most frustrating parts of last year’s game was the fielding—even the worst of defenders were human vacuum cleaners. It was as if the possibility of bobbling a ball didn't exist during the game's development. This year, prepare for a flippity floppity good time as the mechanics of executing a routine ground ball put-out have changed. When throwing to first base, for example, the power meter for each individual player (ranging from green for accurate to red for not-so-accurate) is much more sensitive to the player's ability as a thrower. Derek Jeter and Juan Uribe, who have strong fielding percentages, will have more strong accurate throws as their meters have a larger green area and a miniscule danger zone. But it’s still not easy being green.

Bloggers Acted As Consultants

Well, kind of. Last year, Kotaku’s Owen Good had the idea to tinker with MLB 2K10’s camera settings to mimic the broadcast angles of a baseball game in each stadium. The camera at Fenway Park, for example, is in dead center field, while broadcasts at Yankee Stadium are more tilted toward right. The developers loved that idea so much that they went ahead and built in authentic camera angles for every team in the league. Now, if they’d just include the optimal viewing angle of Minka Kelly during Derek Jeter’s at-bats, we’d be all set.

Super Flies

Along with making defense a bit more realistic, outfielders are also getting some love...or at least their lives are being made much harder. The art of snagging fly balls becomes that much more difficult with the new ball location feature: A pop-up or fly ball will show up as a large holographic baseball on the field to indicate the vicinity of where the ball will eventually fall. The worse the fielder, the larger the baseball to indicate their cluelessness. Depending on how well your man is at catching, the exact location of the ball will appear a few seconds before impact, enabling you to react in kind. It’s a welcome addition to the game and turns even the most routine of fly ball outs into an adventure.

It May Make You a Millionaire

2K Sports is bringing back its Million Dollar Perfect Game competition, which gives the first player to pitch a perfect game a seven-figure payday. Imagine getting rich beyond your wildest dreams by just popping in a game disc and playing a few games. That’s what last year’s winner, Alabama native Wade McGilberry, did after he did the unthinkable after only eight or nine games: He used the money to pay off his mortgage, buy a dog, and go all in a used car. We just hope that whoever wins this year’s prize buys him or herself something a little less...let's say "quotidian." STRIPPERS AND COCAINE, PEOPLE!