High Heat Major League Baseball 2003

"A Great Baseball Game to Add to Your Collection"

Presentation: 5 - HH2K3's presentation is kind of weak. The box and manual are pretty standard stuff. There is no fancy opening movie, no fancy menus, and the layout is kind of drab. While it gets the job done, it could have been done better.

Graphics: 7 - HH has always gotten flack about its poor looking graphics. This year, 3DO valiantly tried to improve upon this. As a result, we were treated to the best looking HH game available yet. The stadiums are very nicely recreated, including all the little nuances that make each stadium unique. The textures and detail are nice to look at while the player models are fairly accurate. The thing that 3DO failed to fix though and is a major reason why people still complain about the graphics are the animations. The animations for the players are very stiff and the transitioning from animation to animation is poorly done. Still, 3DO is on the right path here and once they fix the animations, there should be nothing for people to complain about in this department.

SoundMusic: 7 - We'll start off with the music. I, for one, actually like the techno-rock music found in HH2K3. Music might not seem so important in a baseball game, but when you spend as much time as I do managing your team or looking through all the stats, it's important to have music that doesn't get on your nerves. As for the in-game sound, they are adequate at best. The commentary is decent, but they don't really delve into the game and are often behind on calls. While they're on the money most of the time on what's going on in the game, they could have been done better and included more phrases. The hecklers in the crowd are a nice addition and the crack of the bat is solid. 3DO did a good job in this department but they still have some improvements to make as well.

Gameplay: 9 - This is where HH makes up for its average graphics and sound. HH has always had great gameplay and 2K3 is no different. The stats produced by the game are realistic and are accurately generated for each individual player. The pitcherbatter interface is extremely simple yet EXTREMELY fun and effective. Pitching is also handled very well too. You don't have the pin-point control like you do with cursors. Some games a pitcher might be wild, some he might be dominating. You can actually work walks in this game off of the CPU. It's very realistic. The only gripe I have about the gameplay in HH are the types of hits produced in the game. Generally speaking, most of your hits are bloop singles that drop in between an infielder and outfielder. While this does happen in real life, it doesn't happen as often as it does in HH. You hardly ever get a hit off a ground ball unless it's up the middle or hit so hard that no one can react. In real life, there are a lot of ''seeing-eye'' ground balls that squeak through for hits. This can get annoying sometimes, but doesn't detract from the overall feel that HH produces.

Gameplay Modes: 6 - HH has your standard Quick Play, Exhibition, Season, All-Star, Batting Practice, and HR Derby modes. It also has a unique and fun 2 on 2 mode which can be extremely addictive if you get a bunch of friends together. However, it lacks a Franchise mode and although I don't think it's that big a deal, it is to some people and I have to take that into account. Nowadays, pretty much every sports game has a Franchise mode (even if it's a watered down version like in NBA2K2) and for HH to not have one does hurt it.

Customization: 9 - The various customization options in HH2K3 allows anybody to make the game play how they want it. The tuning sliders are a great addition making it possible to tweak what you feel needs to be. The multiple difficulty levels allows anybody to find a level that suits them. The multiple camera angles also allow the game to be played at the vantage point that each person feels comfortable with. You can control the speed of the game and the amount of innings you want to play. Perfect for the person who loves to play but doesn't always have all the time in the world. Overall, HH2K3 is as customizable as you can get with a sports game.

Replay Value: 8 - HH's a great baseball game that's fun to play. Sure it might lack the modes of ASB, but it's got the gameplay. I think you'll keep going back to this one until HH2K4 comes out.

Overall: 8 - I think it's a matter of taste. People who are easily annoyed by average graphics or want a lot of game modes won't like this game. However, thanks to HH's improved graphics, in-depth customization, and fantastic gameplay, HH2K3 is a game that no baseball fan should be without. However, I might suggest that if you haven't yet bought this game but are thinking about it, buy the PC version which comes out March 6th. It has extra modes that the PS2 version lacks and would be a better pick up.

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 02/28/02, Updated 02/28/02