Could be, should be better...

User Rating: 6.5 | Major League Baseball 2K8 X360
Lack of competition has made 2K Sports careless...and that shows in this years MLB 2K8.

I'll start with the graphics.

Though not much different from last years, and arguably worse, the graphics are nonetheless pretty good. Player faces aren't great, but they aren't bobble doll bad either. On the other hand, the stadiums look very good. Batter walkups, and box step-outs in between pitches add quite a bit of realism to the game, but nature ruins this as wind physics seem to only apply to the midsection of players' jerseys. Though this isn't that big of a deal, it DEFINITELY stands out, and helps to pull you out of the whole sim experience that the game is supposed to bring.

Replays are often a pain to watch as the framerate is so bad they will sometimes end in you restarting your system.

Gameplay is done pretty well...

Hitting is the best gameplay mechanic in the game as Swing Stick 2.0 is a nice improvement over last years mechanic. It is far more realistic, relying a great deal on timing, and requiring a bit of skill. However, timing your swing can be a problem with the Signature Styles because different pitchers can have VERY differing deliveries, and the game does a poor job of letting you know where you went wrong...if you're eyes aren't fast enough you'll miss your step and swing feedback at the top of the screen. And the CPU's inability to throw balls helps to further suck the realism out of this game. Another issue is, since you use your right thumb to hit, it's harder to hit with right handed hitters because the thumb movement required for hitting with righties is unnatural, and takes a bit of getting used to.

Then there's pitching...

I would like to first commend 2K on trying to improve upon MVP 07s pitching mechanic, but it's implementation was poor (and it wasn't necessary). I should not be able to locate every pitch perfectly, it doesn't happen in reality and shouldn't happen in a baseball sim. However, when I do miss, which the sensitivity of the pitching mechanic allows a lot of, not even Albert Pujols would turn every mistake into a homerun because not every mistake is necessarily bad. And often times, you'll find yourself throwing one pitch though you made the motion, or tried to make the motion, for another pitch. With practice, however, pitching does become easier.
Also, being a baseball player myself I feel I should note, despite what anyone says, with the exception of the fastball, this new pitching mechanic does not mimic an actual pitching motion. Unless of course you're a pitcher that wants to ruin your arm/wrist.

But even more frustrating is fielding...

The use of the right thumbstick to throw to bases instead of face buttons is implemented pretty well, but sadly the instruction manual doesn't correspond with the actual controls. And framerate (noticeably mostly prior to the patch release), can hamper not only the experience, but also the ability to make some plays. But the framerate isn't the only enemy to your fielding woes--seemingly routine plays will become "in-field hits" because fielders, even the best of them defensively, have an uncanny ability to fumble every other groundball, drop pop ups, or just simply let slow grounders roll between their legs. Computer fielders seem to be immune to this particular disease (most of the time), and infielders make/attempt a riduculous amount of diving stops, which, in reality, is like asking to be placed on the DL. And if you hit a home run and you don't go to batter view, there's a chance you will be robbed of a homerun, by even the worse vertical leapers in all of baseball - this is a rather minor and rare issue, but irritating nonetheless.

More...

Online play is a nightmare in itself, as framerates come up again, and combined with lag, kill any hope of playing a solid game of baseball. The card collecting aspect is a pretty cool idea, but I personally didn't get too involved with it due to the difficulty to earn enough credits to purchase packs to build your collection or team, and 2K's deception...I thought there was supposed to be a rare card in every pack!!

Sound...

John Miller and Joe Morgan, who used to be highly insightful, and sometimes entertaining, are now often innacurate, extremely repetitive, and rather boring. Then there's Steve Physioc who loves calling inside the park homeruns, even though the ball clearly cleared the wall, and sometimes the pre-game commentary is absolutely absurd (they like to belittle pitchers for having an 0-0 record, and every other game seems to be introduced with the same commentary). And the music is horrible, like most 2K Sports games...

Miscellaneous...

There are other minor problems, for example the CPU generated lineups being completely out of wack. I once played a franchise game where Derek Jeter hit cleanup, and Mike Napoli led off for the opposing team...weird...and they just love to screw around with the rotations, which has been a problem since 2K5...
There is also an annoying issue where late/mid game heroics can occur with two outs and a mediocre batter up against your star closer. Even when your pitching is phenomenal or at least close enough.

However, at the end of the day, this is a game that, if given a chance, can grow on you, and you'll learn to put up with some of the nagging issues. Although, after delivering a quality effort with 2K7, this years release is a rather big disappointment. The creativity is there, but the effort seems to be lacking...