Ok, it's the 2nd inning & of course it's the (s)C(r)ubs vs the White Sox. I'm at the Cell and it looks gorgeous in HD. Jake is pitching a beauty, no hits, 4 punch outs to start the game. We got to Ryan Dempster in the 2nd innning by first hitting a single back up the box by Paulie. Adam Dunn hit a right field line shot just over the wall to put us up 2-0 & then Carlos hit a solo shot right after him. Alexei is up at bat now, and that's where it stands so far.
Aesthetics wise the game is a small step up graphics wise than 10. The faces are better as usual & the field green has more grain and the dirt in the infield looks more realistic. The jerseys are pretty much the same. When I hit the home runs there were fireworks though, glad they re-incorporated that.
The play by play is pretty much the same besides the addition of the new guy. Can't recall has name right now (and I don't feel like googling
) but he sounds a little dry through his first 4 calls. Not as animated as the other two but it's only the beginning so he may or may not liven up.
The new swing system definitely takes some getting used to but as you can see I got it down for the most part. The swings are tailored to each player so if you have a fast swinger you have to adjust your time, if you have a power swinger you have to do the same.
Other than that there isn't much else to comment on. I haven't played the new Road to the Show yet & I'm not sure if there are any new features in Franchise Mode either. I'll update it after I finish the game.
1.
UPDATE: Gio Soto hit a solo shot much like Adam's. First mistake I've made all game, left a running fast ball up in the zone.
UPDATE 2: First try out with a power swing and it goes well. Jaun lines out to second, Gordon gets a 4 pitch walk, & then Alex hits a double off of the left field wall. Paulie comes up, I use the power swing and BANG! Off of the top of the foul pole.
A clubhouse celebration showed that the players celebrating actually have the real name on their jerseys instead of them being blank (which I think I recall from 10, or 09, can't remember which).
Up 6-1 now with Adam back up
UPDATE 3: There isn't a ball marker when fielding, probably because I'm on the experienced settings but I like it. Makes fielding more interesting.
UPDATE 4: Damnit Fonsy
*sigh* they've got another on the board. Hung a slider...
UPDATE 5: Jake's about at the end of his run. 9k's, 5 hits on 102 pitches. I've got Sergio Santos warming up in the bullpen. Good outing for Jake. It's the 7th.
The time progression is about the same, though the shadows play a larger role around twilight time (which it is now). I'm having a little trouble picking up the ball when fielding but hey that just makes the game even better.
UPDATE 6: Jake tired out in the 7th, I got his 10th k and sat him down.
Finished the game, and I love how loud the crowd got as the ninth wound down. Beat the Scrubs 8-2.
Gameplay I give a 10/10. Love absolutely everything about it from the enhanced pick off moves to the balks.
