Major League Baseball 2K12

2K Sports has put a lot of effort into making this one a far greater effort than before, and despite a few hiccups and lack of new content for My Player or Franchise, it's still quite the run around the diamond. Play ball!

The series' best effort yet. Though many little issues remain, its fundamentals are strong throughout, forming the foundation for a largely stellar baseball experience. [Apr 2012, p.84]

A ton of options, but very few improvements.

There really isn't much more to say about MLB 2K12. It is basically last year's version of the game albeit with a few minor improvements.

Even though MLB 2K12 improves the pitching feedback and the throwing mechanic is a nice feature, the game doesn't really make a convincing argument for investing another $60 if you bought the game last year, or the year before.

In trying to capture the inherently difficult nature of baseball (it has been said that hitting a baseball is the hardest thing to do in any sport), 2K has failed to grasp the fundamentals of making a video game. Sure it can be hard, but people beyond a hardened fanbase should be able to play it. Otherwise you'll always be just second best.

MLB 2K12 doesn't step far enough ahead of its predecessor to warrant a great change in the series, but its small polishes represent more distance traveled on the path towards the perfect game.

This game's better than last year's, but it's not necessarily worth going out and getting if you have the last couple outings.

Visual Concepts has fixed most of the problems that made last year's game such a horrendous experience, and appears to be in a good position for next season (if 2K signs another contract with Major League Baseball). The game is still rough around the edges and can be infuriating at times, but it is a passable baseball experience for 360 players that need their fix. PlayStation 3 owners should stick with The Show.

Major League Baseball 2K12 could desperately use a new engine and some more polish to smooth out the rough edges, as the batter-pitcher interface, commentary, and MLB Today mode are all solid. There are simply not enough changes or fixes to make it worth paying full price this year, though. It seems that each time this series appears to be heading towards home, it trips on third base and stumbles to the ground.

PS3 owners should rightly gravitate toward the MLB: The Show franchise, while Xbox owners may as well sit out this year entirely.

Too many quirks and glitches still exist in the gameplay for me to fully immerse myself into the sport. 2K12 makes pitching more challenging and stands out as the most polished aspect of the gameplay. Very little has been added in the way of game modes this season, but the standards still play true to form.

Despite its many issues, MLB 2K12 packs a significant punch when it comes to the nuts-and-bolts of big league baseball. We're excited about taking a couple of teams through the season. Unfortunately, it's just too ordinary-looking and choppy-playing to appeal to a wider audience. For all its good points, a game of this stature should be more polished at this stage of the franchise's existence.

Like messy upper lip hair, MLB 2K12 is so bad at times that it's good. Learning to play along with its imperfections reflects the sport well, but that doesn't excuse its rough patches. This year's edition doesn't do enough to truly stand out from past games in the series, save for the welcome added strategy in pitching.

As I said initially, I'm not the biggest baseball fan in the world, but I definitely know enough about baseball to know why Major League Baseball 2K12 falls short. This game is passable at best, and for those on a Xbox 360, it's their only option.

MLB 2K12 has made some strong strides to improve the overall product. Pitching, as one would expect with the Million Dollar Challenge, is the strongest aspect of this game, and it can be fun if a player enjoys just doing that. The hitting system has taken great strides, but a lackluster My Player mode and many little glitches and graphical blunders take away from an overall product. Improvement still needs to be there in order to get to the big leagues of gaming.

So long 2K, nice effort, but as close as you came to making it big, you may end up being remembered mostly for being that team that always fell second fiddle to Sony's MLB franchise, which is a shame as no one can touch you in the NBA department. If you put as much effort in this sport as you do the NBA 2K series, we could be talking a completely different story instead of about the last 2K developed MLB title.