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.
17/20
12/15
28/30
18/20
4/5
9/10