High Heat Major League Baseball 2004

"Great baseball sim"

I have been a big fan of the HH PC series since I can remember it being out. Until this year I have been disappointed in the console versions. This years version is a great game.

Game Modes
The franchise mode is great to have in a console baseball game. And High heat does it pretty good for the first time around. I'm glad to see all levels of minor leagues, but would like to see more others. The rule 5 draft and arbitration in other games would make the franchise mode much better. The draft could be better, but then again at least it is there. The contract system is kinda weak. It is based on points rather then money, and if you use custom limit numbers they usually will change back to default next time you turn off you console.
Fantasy Draft is rather weak also. To find where out should draft who you must scroll all the way to the right to find a number that says where they fit in the draft, but no overall type number.
Career mode is the same thing as the franchise mode but without the cap limit that the franchise mode has.
2 vs 2 is a good way to waste time with friends. Nothing else comes from it, and there is no real fun to it by yourself.

Game Play
The game play is the best I have seen since the creation of the playstation. When playing out your games you are likely to a 1-0 one game the a 22-5 the next. There is all sorts of games and scores. Just like the hit variations you can see anything you would see on ESPN highlights. There are the bugs that everybody and there dog has heard about, but they are rare. the realism is the best I have seen, and the sliders are great. They could make more sliders like computer contact ease. The computers pitchers can last more pitches then the human controlled pitchers even with the same pitchers. That is the only bad thing I have noticed.

Graphics and Audio
The down side to this game is the eye candy that it lacks compared to the other next gen baseball games. The flags always blow the same way and outfield scoreboards never change. Although it doesn't look good it is always fluid. The double play animations are great. 99% of the games I don't have the audio on so I can't say much about them.

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 03/09/03, Updated 03/09/03