Photo courtesy of sportvideogames.net

“MLB 2K9,â€Â not unlike its most immediate predecessor, has issues.

The default calibration between runner and fielder speed is all over the map. Pokey fielder animations turn even simple double plays into uncertainties, but stretching singles into should-be doubles is similarly dicey.

Then again, the computer̢۪s A.I. occasionally likes to nap on base and in the field. Even completely misplaying a ball doesn̢۪t ensure your opponent will take proper advantage.

A host of rare but unexplainable glitches _ be it an infielder throwing the ball to no one in particular or an outfielder literally vanishing with the ball and yielding an automatic inside-the-park homers dent any illusions of realism. Ditto for many of the player likenesses, which look completely unlike their real-like counterparts and sometimes are just plain ghastly by any standard.

Most distressingly, the game crashed three times, all between late innings.

Were “2K9’sâ€Â problems limited to the occasional crash or bug, one might be able to forgive it and hope such occurrences are isolated issues 2K Sports recognizes and can rectify.

But the biggest problem from last year̢۪s game pitching remains a killer this year. Simply put, it̢۪s entirely too inaccessible.

“2K9â€Â offers two methods of pitching. But the preferred method, which uses right stick gestures for pitch selection and delivery, is unacceptably fickle. Attempted curveballs become sliders and vice versa, and if you just plain slip on the stick, expect the opposing hitter to punish you for it. A more traditional, button-based style also is available, but it’s even worse: The difference between a good and terrible pitch is minute, and the comically vague meter gives you no indication where you stand on that scale.

The pitching stands in strange contrast to the rest of the game, which some needlessly complicated but learnable baserunning controls aside is pretty easy to pick up and play. “2K9â€Â offers two ways to hit as well, but both make sense. Fielding is even easier to figure out.

To its credit, “2K9â€Â also lets you customize every last difficulty detail, from A.I. hitter discipline to the speed of your runners and fielders, to recalibrate the game to your own personal satisfaction. If you don’t mind some major trial and error, you eventually can tune even the pitching to minimize its fickleness. That, along with the usual bounty of feature additions including a fantastic overhaul to the commentary and the perpetual availability of “liveâ€Â roster updates makes it hard to argue that “2K9â€Â isn’t a complete package.

That said, it would be immensely beneficial to have the game in top form without having to coax it there yourself. That wasn̢۪t the case last year, and it appears 2K hasn̢۪t really learned any lessons in the interim.

By Billy O̢۪Keefe / McClatchy Tribune