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I liked 2001 version more...

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 2 / 2
Date: July 25, 2002
Author: Amazon User

High Heat Baseball is my favorite PC game of all time. In this annual baseball series, my favorite is the 2001 edition, which I think got most everything just right for the fun factor (after the patches, of course). However, I must admit that the 2002 edition disappointed me. I hear the 2003 edition is just the same thing pretty much, so I would probably not like it, either. Why don't I like the 2002 version?

First, the graphics. The 2002 colors are much too gray/dusty (I couldn't believe how much more pleasant the 2001 edition looked after I returned to it; it is like a bright cheerful day compared to the fogginess of 2002. Plus, the players all look and MOVE like zombies, despite of or perhaps because of the higher polygon count. They are all tall and stiff; I hate that stiff-armed animated walk after a base on balls, I cringe at the batter animation when a foul ball is hit. The worst graphical horror is when the game is played on a "bright" day and the players wear the short sleeve uniforms; the arms look wrinkled and quite hideous, and coupled with the already stiff animation, definitely makes the players look like zombies. Don't believe me? Play 2001 and 2002 back-to-back, and you will see. Yeah, sure, the newer stadiums look cool and the billboards flash and some of the newer animations do look neat, but I still prefer the cleaner, more simplistic graphics of the 2001 edition overall.

Next, the batter interface. I hate it. I rarely strike-out more then 10 per game in 2001, but I don't understand the 2002 strike zone, and I rarely strike out LESS than 10. Balls which look much too low are called strikes. The pitching animation looks rather jerky/uneven/not so realistic. This makes judging the ball path harder. (I tried the batting practice session, too...the horror!! Pitching animation did NOT match at all where the ball was released; it was therefore impossible to figure out where the ball was coming from!) Grr. Plus, that dumb whoosh sound as the ball comes closer ALWAYS throws off my timing. The WORST thing, however, is the much increased difficulty in checking your swing. Once you start swinging, you better make sure you make contact because you are unlikely to check in time unless you have uncanny reflexes.

Next, the sound. Overall, it is better, and I like the rock soundtrack and the 2 commentators. BUT, they cut each other off a lot, especially if the stadium announcer is on, so a lot of times what they say doesn't make much sense and is way too choppy. And I hate the hecklers because sooner or later, the game locks on one heckler who will repeat the same taunt in an endless loop until you turn it off. Stupid bug. The patch didn't fix it, either.

Now, don't get me wrong, overall this is still a decent baseball game, but there are enough small details which frustrate me that I prefer the earlier edition. One last thing...2002 lets me upgrade my 2001 roster into the new version, so I did. Brought them into AAA league, which was where they came from in the 2001 version. And they proceeded to demolish the competition 96-2 in the first game. Hm. Barely struck out, despite being at bat, oh, 100+ times. But I struck out like mad in the pro league. Needless to say, the game is not too balanced moving from AAA to pro. But there you go...

The 2002 edition may have more glitz and glamour overall and more neat downloaded files, but I think I'll stick with my tried-and-loved 2001 edition of High Heat.

High Heat 2002-a close runner-up to 2003....

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 4 / 4
Date: June 18, 2002
Author: Amazon User

High Heat 2002 is, as far as I'm concerned, the second best pc game on the market.It's a very close second to HH2003. I love all the High Heat games, but 02 and 03 far outshine any of the Triple Play offerings. Triple Play is just OK,and their 2001 game gave me a lot of trouble. I still have it but I hardly ever bother playing it anymore. High Heat 2002 is definitely realistic and easy to play. I'm not a hardcore PC Gamer yet but I do know what the game of baseball is all about, having been a fan And a collector for about 45 years. This game is definitely a keeper.

High Heat Major League Baseball 2002

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 1 / 1
Date: June 13, 2002
Author: Amazon User

This is a cool game. There are alot of unique batting stances the players have and the pitching windups are cool. There are two problems though. One is if you have your gameplay on rookie, you can score like 50 points per game. Where's Ichiro? Where's
Albert Pujols? That is the problem about some of the rosters not updated. This is still a really fun game. I would recomend it to baseball fans only.

Greatest baseball game on the PC!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 0 / 0
Date: May 18, 2002
Author: Amazon User

This game is the best the year has for 2002 versions. It is so realistic, I can't believe it. The rosters aren't the 2002 season, but nevertheless the game is spectacular for lots of reasons. The season is so realistic with the trades, lineups, starting pitching rotations, and the schedules, rosters and just about everything else. The only part of this game that isn't worth five stars is the player editor. You can make players as good or as bad as you want.

A Great Baseball Game

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 4 / 4
Date: December 23, 2001
Author: Amazon User

That's the best way I can describe it, just a good solid game. As for the laundry list of problems described by one reviewer, I have to agree with the choppy play by play announcing. Something obviously is wrong with the game itself in that area, but I'm over it. As for the other problems he had, they seem computer related. This game DEMANDS a pretty decent operating system to work up to 100%. Im running Pentium 4 1.6 with a Geforce 3, and it works pretty well, but some effects just dont seem perfect.

The realistic graphics are a real attraction to this game. Also, the game play (hitting and pitching ) are simple, keeping the game fun. I pitched in NCAA Division I, and I can tell you the ball comes off the bat as real as I've ever seen in a video game. Overall, if your looking for a damn good baseball game for your computer, go for this one. Its also got "create your own players" capability which is always a good thing. Take care and enjoy.

High Heat 2002

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 2 / 2
Date: November 30, 2001
Author: Amazon User

As a Baseball Game fan since the microleague series, this is the only true baseball game on the market. Its shines in its realism, statistics, goods graphics, and ability to tailor your own baseball world. I rarely give any game 5 stars because of the fact that no videogame is without flaws and expecting perfection is misleading. I do only complain about the lack of crowd reactions to home team success, however this is minor and there is no other alternative on the market. The others are only arcade games for non baseball fans.

High Heat 2002

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 3 / 3
Date: October 30, 2001
Author: Amazon User

I think this game is the best baseball game every made. I almost didn't buy it because alot of people had problems with it. But i haven't had much problems at all. I have a PIII 600 with 192MB ram and a Voodoo 3500 and it works just fine.... The game plays alot like last years game but it is a little harder and the graphics look alot better. Plus i down loaded all the stadium updates and the sound updates to make it super cool. There are so many add-ons on the internet, you can customize the game to your likin... I love the game and play it all the time. Just hope it'll work on your computer.

Great gameplay, awful bugs...

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 7 / 7
Date: October 13, 2001
Author: Amazon User

Most of the reviews I've read say much the same thing, but I'm adding mine to re-inforce the point. I haven't had this for very long, but as far as gameplay is concerned, this absolutely destroys Triple Play. Incredibly realistic, seemingly true-to-life baseball action.

But of course this is my chance to gripe, so here goes...
1)Most importantly, about half the time, the game kicks me out to the desktop in the middle of a game, and this on a Dell Pentium III with a lot of features. Very annoying.
2)If you are playing with a Gravis Gamepad Pro, it won't work with driver v.4.4; I had to re-install back to driver v.4.3. More goofy than anything, but a gripe nonetheless.
3)Both the announcers (both play-by-play and stadium PA) and the music are choppy enough that I've had to turn them off, which is annoying because otherwise they seem very good.
4)The difference between the Triple AAA level and Pro level (the next toughest setting) is quite great when playing the computer. Even when I began playing on Triple AAA I could win 33-5 (when it didn't crash, of course), but on the Pro level it is a bit more difficult.
5)I have to turn off some of the graphic features; if I didn't, my bats, helmets, umpire faces, and a few other features were either solid white or grey. Strange.

A great game with too many problems to recommend totally; if they can give it a patch to keep from crashing so much, I'll give it five stars.

Very realistic baseball!!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 1 / 3
Date: August 20, 2001
Author: Amazon User

I have read a lot of reviews of how the game doesnt run on computers, but that is because they are older computers. i run my game on and AMD athalon 1.2gig, 256 mb ddr ram, and an ATI radeon 64mb video card and it runs great. i know what your thinking, well that computer is really good. my friend runs the game fine on his 333mhz pentium, with 64 mb of memory, and an ATI 32mb all in wonder card. even a slower computer can run the game. as for gamplay, some of the best i have seen. i used to play triple play, i am a high heat fan by far now. the game is the closet thing i have seen to real baseball yet. the tv style presentation could be better, but all in all this game is definitley worth it.

Could improve, yet still by far the best

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 2 / 3
Date: August 16, 2001
Author: Amazon User

HH2002 is still the best game overall out there when it comes to baseball games. I still feel they can do a lot more with the GM functions. Things like salaries, draft pick trades, and even arbitration would drastically improve the already best baseball game out there. In multi-play seasons once you have assembled a loaded team, there is nothing to stop you from winning 6 or 7 straight World Series which we all know doesn't happen(I know the Yankees are great, but bear with me). I didn't notice a major difference between HH2k1 and HH2k2 overall(I'm sure there might be) but the playable game is much more realistic and fun than playing the usual BB games that look more like a company softball game with a HR every AB from a teams best hitter. Overall still the best, but I hope they make some GM improvements.

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