GameOver Game Reviews - Sammy Sosa High Heat Baseball 2001 (c) 3DO, Reviewed by - Freddy Krueger

Game & Publisher Sammy Sosa High Heat Baseball 2001 (c) 3DO
System Requirements Pentium 233, 32MB Ram, 4x CD-ROM
Overall Rating 88%
Date Published , ,
Gamestop!


Divider Left By: Freddy Krueger Divider Right

Last year's edition of High Heat Baseball was a game baseball fans hated to love. It was by far the most authentic baseball title available for the PC yet it remained one of the buggiest titles of the year (perhaps second only to Ultima IX). I'm excited to report that 3DO has done a lot of work during the off-season to improve on their franchise. They signed Sammy Sosa to endorse the series, they improved the authenticity of the game, they added loads of new animations and most importantly, they eliminated many of the bugs that plagued High Heat Baseball 2000. I think it's fair to say that barring a complete shocker on the part of EA Sports or Microsoft (with their titles Triple Play and Microsoft Baseball respectively), Sammy Sosa High Heat Baseball 2001 is the best baseball game available for the PC.

If you're a veteran of High Heat Baseball 2000, you'll be familiar with many of the features in High Heat 2001. Besides a snazzy new opening and soundtrack, the foundation of the High Heat series remains in tact. The standard options remain the same in terms of modes available. Exhibition, Season, Career, Home Run Derby, Playoffs and Internet/LAN play are all available again with the addition of a Batting Practice mode. This new mode will give you the chance to learn how to hit sliders, change-ups and sinkers without looking like a fool during an actual game. A new difficulty level has been added for beginners who aren't quite up to speed with the inner workings of the High Heat series. You can also customize the league when you begin Season or Career modes, so you can eliminate certain teams if you wish to make the league smaller.

Graphically, the game doesn't look any different from High Heat 2000 but it certainly feels better. Once again the visuals follow the standard High Heat rule, which states that anything within the field of play will look great, but anything outside of those boundaries, look out! Hello Mr. 2D sprite. The dugout, oh my lord. The stars in the sky at night, who with the what now? You can't tell me thats what a fountain looks like, zoinks! Those quips aside, High Heat 2001 features a ton of new animations. Pitches and batters now feature more animations, so the one on one interaction in the batter's box is improved tremendously. Batters, at times, will fall down after swinging wildly at a pitch. When hit by a pitch, the batter will take a few steps out to the mound before making the better decision to trot down to first. Pitchers will pump their fists after striking out a batter. They've improved the models of the players as well, so you can actually tell one player from another. That's right, Ken Griffey Jr. no longer looks like Carlos Delgado, who looks like Mo Vaughn. Body types are also implemented so you can tell the difference between a skinny and a chubbier ball player. It doesn't stop there, animations have been added to the fielders so that they can actually tumble when attempting a diving catch. Infielders, after diving to stop a ground ball, will actually throw the ball from their knees rather than waiting to get up. Underhand and behind the back tosses have been added and even the first baseman steps off the bag after making the out at first base. Even little touches, like runners actually slowing down after running past first base, really make the difference between a good game and a great game.

High Heat Baseball 2001 really comes across more like a TV broadcast as well. Action cameras have been added in so you can see some of the big plays up close and personal. There are also a few new "in-between" camera angles added for fielding, pitching and batting, so if you didn't like any of the angles from High Heat 2000, you've got a few new options this time around. Player's now walk up to the batter's box and pictures of their faces are shown on the screen to go along with their stats for the season and the day. After an inning is completed, a little graphic pops up showing the first three batters for the next inning accompanied with their batting statistics so far that game. At the conclusion of each game, the usual stat sheet is presented and the option to view highlights has been added. That's right, you can view what the computer feels are some of the key plays of the game. The entire atmosphere of High Heat 2001 has been improved and it really comes off looking like a television broadcast.

The interface, while not a great improvement, has been spruced up in terms of presentation and particularly colour. Many of the screens are still presented in spreadsheet format but you can move from one screen to the next with relative ease now. For example, if you wish to edit your roster, you can switch from your starting rotation to your starting lineup without having to back up to the main menu again. In-game interface remains relatively the same but when you decide to make a pitching change, the screen will actually show you the next three batters you'll be facing so you can make the right decision in terms of bringing out a lefty or a righty. As I said before, it's these little touches that really distinguish a great game from an average game and High Heat Baseball 2001 is packed full of little touches.

The controls in High Heat Baseball 2001 are exactly the same as they were before. There are no new controls available at all. The pitch selection, fielding and batting all remain the same and are relatively easy to learn if you are a beginner or new to the series. In terms of audio, little has been changed in this respect either. You'll still hear the usual heckling, vendors, effects and ballpark music. The play-by-play remains relatively the same from last year as do the little murmurs from the batters and pitchers. Why a pitcher will shout "Woo-hoo!" when striking out a batter after allowing 4-5 runs is beyond me though. I'd think he'd be a little pissed myself. You aren't going to hear anything you didn't hear last year except for the soundtrack provided at the menus.

All highlights aside, where High Heat Baseball 2001 shines the most is realism. High Heat remains the most realistic baseball simulation out there. The engine's physics are incredible. When hit, balls will spray in any and all directions possible. They'll slice and pull down the lines, ricochet off walls, bounce hard or soft on the field and even spin when hit off the end of the bat. As mentioned before, fielders will actually throw the ball from their knees to get runners out. Over-the-shoulder catches have been added and there seems to be a myriad of ways a fielder will play a ball. The running game has been improved tremendously as you can finally steal bases without being caught 90% of the time. Runners will also advance a base when a ball is hit to the opposite side of the field, this was particular annoying when a runner on second base wouldn't advance to third on a ball hit to the second baseman. Cut-off men become extremely important now that centre fielders can't throw the ball a few hundred feet. Last year, they could throw the ball from the centre field fence all the way to the plate on one, maybe two bounces. This year, if they don't hit that cut-off man, those runners are going to take as many extra bases as they can.

With all the good stuff aside, High Heat Baseball 2001 isn't without its share of downsides. Last year I couldn't stand the rundowns, this year is the same story. Oh my lord! I can't believe that there's no such keys for straddle steps. Why my player can't change directions within two steps is absolutely ridiculous. If you're caught in a rundown and you change directions, it will literally take 5-6 steps before the player comes to a stop, turns around and starts running in the opposite direction, at which point it will take him another 5-6 steps to do the same again. Hello? I can stop on a dime in a rundown and so can many of the ballplayers in MLB. Not to mention when I'm in a rundown, I don't turn full steam in the opposite direction, I straddle step until I see the opportunity to make that dash. Get this fixed already! That major gripe aside, there are also a few bugs in the game that need to be fixed with a patch or two. You can't pull a double switch with your pitcher in the National League without the game freezing up. When viewing the stats page at the end of each game, some statistics will remarkably disappear or not be accounted for at all. After a game in which Ken Griffey Jr. hit 2 home runs and drove in 6 RBIs, he wasn't even on the score sheet at the end of the game. Computer opponents will sometimes take starters out of the game after only allowing a couple of runs and a few hits in two or three innings.

Opponents will also give up relatively early (6th or 7th inning) if losing by 5 or 6 runs by substituting their entire bench into the game. If they're up by that same margin, they'll also substitute their bench into the game, a move that looks extremely bad if you manage to pull a comeback. Finally, hitting the ball is suddenly the easiest thing in the world to do. I don't know if it's the added animations or the fact the pitcher's mound has been elevated slightly, but something has been altered. Playing at the highest difficulty setting, computer opponents are lucky if they strike out 2 or 3 of my guys the entire game. No matter if it's Pedro Martinez, Randy Johnson, they have no chance at all. I used to have a problem hitting certain pitching styles, but not anymore. Fast, slow, curving or splitting, it matters not it seems. Perhaps I've mastered the art of hitting in High Heat 2001, but the fact that's possible is a bad sign. Last year my batters would have maybe 20 walks all season and 100+ strikeouts. This year, the walks are up and the strikeouts just don't exist at all, not to mention 80% of my team is batting .300+. And finally, the management area continues to lack two very important elements in my opinion. The minor leagues are full of no name players, why not use the real farm teams? Also, why not bring finances into the game as well? Let's face it if you're the Montreal Expos or Minnesota Twins, you'll never be able to afford to trade for Ken Griffey Jr. For a game that prides itself on realism, the manager options are laughable. Allow me to give you a tip to finish things off. The Atlanta Braves waive Andres Galaraga the moment the season begins, so be on the lookout for that because he's great trade bait if you have no room on your team for a player with almost a perfect power rating. Yeah, that's intelligent managing.

So what's the verdict on High Heat Baseball 2001? If you're a baseball fan at all, this is THE game to get. The good news, it's by far the most realistic baseball simulation available for the PC. The bad news, you'll probably still hate to love this game.

Rating System
Graphics17/20
Sound12/15
Gameplay28/30
Funfactor18/20
Multiplayer4/5
Overall Impression9/10


Rating
88%
 
  

  
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