The High Heat series has always been one of opposites. Each game in the series has played great, realistic baseball–but the graphics never look as good as the competition. High Heat games always hit the shelves before the competition’s games, but they’re always plagued with stability issues and other bugs. High Heat games are always the best baseball game of the year in terms of realism, but they always sell the worst. Each year hardcore baseball fans hope and pray that developer 3DO will get it right, and each year 3DO improves just enough to keep hope alive (the High Heat series is kind of like the Red Sox). The good news is that the 2004 edition of High Heat Baseball is no exception to the above. The bad news is that, on the PC at least, the 2004 edition is no exception to the above.
As usual High Heat Major League Baseball 2004 isnt quite as pretty as most of the competition, but the game does have a nostalgic look thats quite stylish–kind of like the difference between now-torn down County Stadium and the new Miller Park that replaced it in Milwaukee. A major area of improvement is in player animation. The players arent stiff anymore; they move like human beings. A bit of graphics sheen was applied to the stadiums too, and while not the best, High Heat is finally a good looking game. Unfortunately, audio is merely okay. The problem isnt limited to dry and dull commentary. High Heat 2004 pretty much has the same soundtrack as High Heat 2003 and, the music often does not match action on the field.
High Heat 2040 adds some 30 new pitches to the game, and the pitcher/batter interface so crucial to this games success (its the best in the business and it feels like real baseball) is still in place and looking good. High Heat plays a solid game of baseball that just feels right.–Andrew S. Bub
Pros:
- Good looks, great gameplay
- Best pitcher/batter duel available in a basebalThe High Heat series has always been one of opposites. Each game in the series has played great, realistic baseball–but the graphics never look as good as the competition. High Heat games always hit the shelves before the competition’s games, but they’re always plagued with stability issues and other bugs. High Heat games are always the best baseball game of the year in terms of realism, but they always sell the worst. Each year hardcore baseball fans hope and pray that developer 3DO will get it right, and each year 3DO improves just enough to keep hope alive (the High Heat series is kind of like the Red Sox). The good news is that the 2004 edition of High Heat Baseball is no exception to the above. The bad news is that, on the PC at least, the 2004 edition is no exception to the above.
As usual High Heat Major League Baseball 2004 isn’t quite as pretty as most of the competition, but the game does have a nostalgic look that’s quite stylish–kind of like the difference between now-torn down County Stadium and the new Miller Park that replaced it in Milwaukee. A major area of improvement is in player animation. The players aren’t stiff anymore; they move like human beings. A bit of graphics sheen was applied to the stadiums too, and while not the best, High Heat is finally a good looking game. Unfortunately, audio is merely okay. The problem isn’t limited to dry and dull commentary. High Heat 2004 pretty much has the same soundtrack as High Heat 2003 and, the music often does not match action on the field.
High Heat 2040 adds some 30 new pitches to the game, and the pitcher/batter interface so crucial to this game’s success (it’s the best in the business and it feels like real baseball) is still in place and looking good. High Heat plays a solid game of baseball that just feels right.–Andrew S. Bub
Pros:
- Good looks, great gameplay
- Best pitcher/batter duel available in a baseball game
Cons:
- Bad commentary
Whether you’re a casual fan or a hard-core baseball junkie, chances are High Heat Baseball 2004 is for you. You’ll notice the smooth new graphics and character animations, as well as an abundance of game modes and options. The new Career and Franchise modes let you take your team through an unlimited number of seasons. You can choose to manage team budgets and player contracts, or make other financial decisions. If you’re just anxious to play ball, dive right into the action with the Two-on-Two Showdown or Home-Run Derby modes.
Features
- Eleven game modes: Home-Run Derby, Fantasy Draft, Create-a-Player, Player Editor, Career, Franchise, Exhibition, All-Star Game, Playoffs, Two-on-Two Showdown, and Batting Practice
- Extra players list and roster customization
- Unrestricted multiseason play
Game Intelligence
- TruPlay AI improves the series’ batting, fielding, pitching, managing, and base running
- Multiplayer, unbalanced, and CPU player trading with advanced trade accept/deny logic
- Extensive tuning menu lets players adjust nearly every facet of the game to their liking
Graphics/Audio
- New graphics engine with enhanced stadium lighting
- Audio includes hecklers, vendors, stadium announcer, interactive crowds, and a two-man broadcast team
Authenticity
- 27 pitch types compiled from detailed scouting reports
- Comprehensive team financial aspect includes player contracts and a free-agent system
- Complete minor league system with rookie draft
Animation
- New animation system with hundreds of new animations, such as umpire arguments, player ejections, dropped third strikes, and catcher snap throws
- More signature pitcher and batter animations than in previous edition
- High Heat Major League Baseball 2004
- Hardware Platform: Playstation 2
- ESRB Age Rating: everyone
- ASIN: B00005BW6Z
List Price: $ 49.99
Price: $ 10.92
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Still near, if not at the top of PS2 Baseball games…,
High Heat 2004 did some nice additions to this year’s version. I purchased the version for the PS2. The biggest change is the franchise version, which allows you to play multiple seasons, sign free agents, manage your team as well as its budget, and have an A-AAA team, where you can promote and demote players.
The graphics are pretty good on the game, but I wish the players were more scaled to the actual bodies. The gameplay seems to be a little bit more cleaner than last year’s version.
I would recommend this game to all of the baseball fans out there. Obviously, I haven’t seen All-Star Baseball or MVP (Triple Play, whatever), but I can’t imagine them being a better overall game than High Heat 2004. From what I have seen MVP may be just as good, but the franchise mode on this game is beyond what I have ever seen on a baseball game before.
I don’t think you will be disappointed with your purchase if you decide to go with High Heat 2004.
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|HH 2004,
So I figure I’ll go out and buy HH 2004 being that I loved 2003 so much. I have only played a few games but I can tell already that this game will be the best on the market for a second straight year.
The graphics on the stadiums are incredible, every detail is rendered nearly to perfection. The grass looks beaautiful, I wanted to go out and buy baseball tickets seeing this.
The gameplay starts off as being too easy on offense….change your skill level and it will help, though usually you’ll just get pounded by the cpu. In that case you go to the gameplay sliders, as every aspect of the game is customizeable to varying degrees. For instance, by tuning the offense down a bit I was able to play a game using St Louis against Arizona with a 1-1 tie going into the eigth, 7 combined hits.
Thats the kind of game you get when two aces oppose each other. Even 2003 was too easy on the offense, and those sliders helped make a fun season incredibly realistic.
The crowd was supposed to have been overhauled, but I still didnt hear much of a difference. They started to get excited as the game went into extra innings and the home team was threatening, but not cheering uncontrollably like would happen in a MLB park. Maybe I’ll pay a bit more attention to it, as I did only play shortly.
Im guessing that EA and All Star Baseball will trail behind 3D0 once again. This is the game for the baseball purist, this is not Triple Play “arcade” baseball.
If I had to detract from the game at all, I would say that the menus are a bit tedious to navigate, and looking at “league leaders” only seems to give you the top 8 in the league, unless Im looking at something incorrectly. I’ll have to play with it more.
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|Baseball Fans Game,
If you want realisim it’s here. There is not “put the ball where you want to pitch it” and no batting cursor. You move the analog stick where you see the ball the better you get at identifing pitches the better you hit. The graphics are Good.. much better than HH2003, but still a bit lacking. The commantary is nil, and the stats are fantastic, but there are no real frills here, just like reading the paper, even most of the menus don’t have any music (this could be a plus or minus depending on your wants.) You can tell they released this game a bit early from some of the gliches..(i.e. the commentator will said he’s out on a called strike when you swing etc..) All and all this is probably the best baseball game out there, unless you are looking to play “arcade like (Triple Play style) hitting home runs 20 times in a game. HH2004 is not perfect but it is the best.
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