High Heat Major League Baseball 2002
Score: 78% ESRB: Everyone Publisher: 3DO Developer: EA Games Media: DVD/1 Players: 1 - 2 Genre: Sports
Graphics & Sound: I've said this in the past, and I'll say it again: the overall visual and audio presentation is so very important to the success of any sports game. This is why I can safely say, High Heat Major League Baseball 2002 may not get many takers based on looks alone. Things are completely overdone in a bad way, like player models looking a bit choppy, and animations appearing jerky. Let's not forget the horrible collision detections between the players. Also, backgrounds were 2-dimensional, and had no real-time scoreboards, along with empty dugouts. Apparently, 3DO didn't realize the caliber the PlayStation 2 possesses when it comes to graphic capabilities. The only good I found was in the TV-like presentation of the game itself. Much like the graphics, the sounds for High Heat lacks at times. For instance, I enjoy the commentary, but it becomes repetitive every so often. However, I've heard far worse. It also says on the box that the crowd is intelligent to the game, but I'm still waiting to hear that come true. The highlight for me was the overdone sound effects, like the crack of the bat or the punch of the glove. These things were overdone, but in a successful way.
Gameplay: If you're able to get past the first category, you'll find that the gameplay itself of High Heat MLB 2002 is the most real of any other baseball game on the market today. Umpires will call check swings, managers come out of the dugout to consult with their pitchers - the little things are what got me impressed. The other thing that caught my eye was the disappearance of the batting cursor. So be aware that you'll have to guess pitches more often than you're probably used to. Also, the pitches may appear to be slower, but the timing has to be dead on for any true contact with the bat. While all this effort was put into a very impressive feel of the game, the amount of features lacks little depth, if any. You can play a regular exhibition game between you and your bud or you and the computer with Exhibition or in All-Star Game. Then the only other feature is the Season mode. The only good that comes out of all of this is how you can basically change up all of the options, like the number of games you play in the season itself, whether you want interleague play or not, things like that. But again, no Home Run Derby, no Spring Training - nothing.
Difficulty: I found it very difficult to get too upset with High Heat 2002, because every time I found something I didn't like, 3DO surprised me with a new feature that nobody else had done. For instance, I must say I've grown accustomed to three, or maybe even four levels of difficulty. This isn't the case for High Heat, which provides five separate levels of fun: Rookie, Pro, All Star, MVP, Hall of Famer. Throughout each one, the pitching gets a little tougher, along with batting. This may sound all the same, but remember the lack of a batting cursor, so advancing your runners into scoring position is much more crucial to getting a victory. Plus, the computer AI will find your likes and dislikes when it comes to pitching, so you have to mix up your deliveries.
Game Mechanics: This category is probably the only one that is the most similar to other games. The controller configuration is just like other baseball games, one button for one base. Pitching is a little different, but only when determining the direction. The batting is also different, since you can check swing - something we've lacked since RBI Baseball for Nintendo. The loading time is non-existent, but remember, the lack of graphics is the reason for this. Finally, you're memory card isn't affected too much, as only a little portion is used. So like I've been saying throughout the review, High Heat Major League Baseball 2002 isn't a bad game, it's just a bad looking game. If you're looking for something new and different, this may be the game for you, but only if you can get past the appearance first. If you're superficial and are only looking for graphics, this game isn't for you.
-Red Dawg, GameVortex Communications AKA Alex Redmann
NFL GameDay 2001 Hulk