I'm going to give the game a 7.75 because putting it in the "8" range seems a little too generous for a game that still has a ton of rough edges.  But having bought the game and spent a little time with it, I am confident enough that this will be a game I actually hold onto and start up a real franchise.  And, given that there's no baseball alternative on 360, I consider my 7.75 to be a pretty decent score.

Let's get this out of the way first: it does seem as if the two major bugs from last year (outfielders dropping routine flyballs and infielders completely neglecting to tag bases) are gone.  Really, had those two problems not been present in 2k9, I think that the overall reaction to that game would have been fairly positive.  This isn't to say that there are no glitches in 2k10...there's been some talk already about pitchers covering 1B on groundballs and not continuing through the bag, but I believe there are either workarounds for that problem, or they are at least tolerable.

The visuals are very much a mixed bag, but overall, I think most baseball fans will be very happy with them.  For example, the brand new Target Field in Minneapolis looks gorgeous in most spots, but portions of the sandstone facing and especially the skyline backdrop look like PS1 rendering, or as if you were playing on PC and turned background detail to "low."  But the player models and the majority of the visuals you actually notice are relatively strong, and on par with what you would see in The Show or other sports games.  The animations, while somewhat varied, could use some more work, as you see balls coming out of fielders' hands at weird angles.  But again, my overall impression of the visuals is that they are average to good.

The Swing Stick has been refined over three editions since 2k8, and really is working very smoothly now.  In the past, using the swing stick didn't give you enough time to identify "ball or strike" and THEN take your swing.  Now, you have ample time to see the pitch (a cue on the type of pitch flashes as it's being released) and use a defensive, contact, or power swing.  There isn't a "zone hitting" control in the sense that you're really "aiming" at where to hit the ball, but you do need to be selective about your pitches, and I believe the L stick can influence your effectiveness at hitting high/low or inside/outside pitches.

The commentary and feature sets rival not only The Show, but pretty much any other sports game I've played.  Gary Thorne and John Kruk will talk your ear off, but it's surprisingly non-repetitive, and they'll come up with endless statistics about how a guy has faired against a given pitcher over his lifetime.  Haven't played through a franchise yet to see how this information changes, but trust me when I tell you that the commentary is very well-done.  And, finally, one of my favorite aspects of all 2k Sports games is that they allow you to shorten the length of your games, all the simulated games played in your league, and the overall length of the season in franchise mode.  If you don't have time to play full 9 inning games or 162-game seasons, this feature is HUGE.  Also huge are in-game saves, which really should be in every sports game.

I can't guarantee that my score would be the same a month from now, but based on my impressions of this game, I think that I will be happy with the purchase.  It would be nice if we saw some patches to address check swings and some of the more prevalent A.I. and fielding hiccups.  But as it stands right now, it seems as if Visual Concepts has delivered the game that they were unable to deliver last year on their shortened development cycle.  Try the demo to see if you like the basic mechanics of the game, and if you feel good about it then, it may just finally be a 360 baseball game worth your purchase.