User Reviews (1 - 11 of 46)

Show these reviews first:

Highest Rated
Lowest Rated Newest
Oldest Most Helpful
Least Helpful

The Best Sport at its Best.

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 0 / 0
Date: February 21, 2003
Author: Amazon User

It has some tough competion coming into this year but High Heat 2004 has steped up to the plate and hit a stand up triple off the top of the wall.

It can be played and tuned to your wants.

Do you want a real as can be MLB, thinking about every pitch, simulation ? You got it.

Do you want a pick up and play for a kid in the Little Leagues ? You got that to.

IT IS THE BEST BASEBALL GAME ANYWAY YOU PLAY IT.

Very buggy, not much of an upgrade

1 Rating: 1, Useful: 2 / 6
Date: February 22, 2003
Author: Amazon User

This game has really disappointed me. I've been a fan of High Heat for the past 3 years, and couldn't wait for the new version. It was touted as having all new graphics, great gameplay, and improved AI. All I can say is I don't feel it delivered.

Within an hour of getting the game home, it crashed during a season sim. This has happened in other games, so I didn't get too upset. I then decided to play an exhibition game (hopefully a 2003 World Series preview) between the Yankees and the Phillies. In the bottom of the 10th inning, with a runner on 3rd and 2 outs, the computer popped the ball up. I caught it, but to my surprise, the runner on 3rd crossed home plate before the ball hit the mitt and the Yankees won the game! Anyone who knows baseball rules knows that the run would not count.

The graphics are improved, but they still aren't as realistic as the other games on the market. The "improved" animations still pop, which sometimes has a direct effect on the outcome of the gameplay (close plays at bases and popping tag animations where your runner gets called out).

The sim engine is still full of High Heat goodness, but I can't justify keeping the game if I'm not going to do anything with it except sim games.

Still near, if not at the top of PS2 Baseball games...

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 12 / 13
Date: February 24, 2003
Author: Amazon User

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.

Best Baseball Game, Ever!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 2 / 3
Date: February 25, 2003
Author: Amazon User

To be fair I have not played a game outside of the high heat series in quite some time but that is because I have not felt the need to. The only real setback to this franchise over the years has been the subpar graphics, but this year that is no longer a problem. The gameplay is 100% right on, it is more accurate to describe high heat as a baseball simuation. Everything from fielding, baserunning, hitting and pitching is exactly as you'd expect real baseball to be. If you enjoy real baseball this is the game for you, I can't imagine anything getting better.

Don't Bother

2 Rating: 2, Useful: 2 / 3
Date: February 25, 2003
Author: Amazon User

As much as I hate to say it, don't bother with this game. It is a sad, sad disappointment. 3DO boasts that they have completely overhauled the graphics for 2004. But have they? The answer is yes and no. Much of the game looks and feels exactly like it did last year, except for the players, who now bear absolutely no resemblance to their real life counterparts. I mean none. The faces are simply awful; much, much worse than in 2003, and that's saying something. Did they change the animations? Yes. For the better? Well . . . that depends. They are different from last year, but still kind of herky-jerky and often unrealistic. You will see the shortstop make a jump-throw to first base, but without any apparent reason to do so. He just flutters up in the air like a wounded butterfly in a stray gust of wind. The batting animations are very similar to last year, except the ball now flies off the bat at near warp speed, reaching the wall in a second or two. Homeruns are still the same bland, vanishing seeds, presented from the same dull, uninspiring camera angles. The pitchers' motions look more life-like, and that's nice. The stadiums look okay, too, but not different enough from last year to warrant spending fifty bucks.
3DO also claims they've improved the announcer commentary. Well, the same tired phrases do sound a lot cleaner and crisper, but I don't know if that's a good thing and I've yet to hear any new phrases. The sound effects (crowds, vendors, hecklers, etc.,) are supposed to have been improved, but I really didn't notice. The game just looks so shoddy, you don't care about the sound.
Does the game play well? Yeah, it seems to. I haven't played long enough to determine if it's significantly different than 2003. And that's not really the point. I loved the game play in H H 2003, but I expected its visual deficiencies to be addressed in 2004 and they were not; in fact, in some areas, they actually declined No matter how you care to cut the cake, good graphics enhance the feeling of realism. If this were not true, and statistical accuracy was the only important factor, we would all be satisfied with a good board game like Strat-O-Matic Baseball.
I'm sure I will find things to enjoy about playing H H 2004. I've only had it for a few hours and these are just my first impressions. But to be honest, I don't think I'll bother buying next year's version. 3DO appears to be either incapable or unwilling to institute the improvements necessary to keep this franchise in competition with its rivals, All-Star Baseball and World Series Baseball. Those two titles seem intent on keeping their product fresh and interesting each year by making the necessary tweaks and upgrades. Sadly, the same cannot be said for High Heat Baseball. And that's too bad. It was once the best game out there.

Terrible, Terrible, Terrible

1 Rating: 1, Useful: 0 / 4
Date: February 27, 2003
Author: Amazon User

This is by far the worst baseball game in years. I had high hopes after reading a recommendation in this site, but I should have known better than to believe a review written about a game one month before it was even released.

I have yet to find anything I like about this game. The graphics are very average. I remember baseball games with better graphics on my Sega gamesystem many years ago. The gameplay is very choppy and too "cartoonish." Curveballs start way above the hitters heads and drop down into teh strike zone.

The game is way too easy to play and unrealistic. The first game I played I was the KC Royals and lit Randy Johnson up for 12 runs in the first two innings. Yeah, that's realistic. The other thing that upset me was that they brought in the closer to relieve in the 3rd Inning.

If you are just looking for a game that you can score a lot of runs and maybe have a little fun, this is the game for you. If you want a game that is somewhat realistic, don't even waste your time.

As for me, tomorrow I go out and sell this game and buy All Star Baseball 2004 on February 28 and hope for better results.

Good, but not Great

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 1 / 1
Date: February 28, 2003
Author: Amazon User

I am the type of person that is loyal to his game brand. For instance, I only by EA Sports games for all of my sporting needs on Playstation 2, and only Sega Sports games during my Dreamcast days (like there was really anything else). So, after playing Triple Play last year, I figured it was time for something new. I pitty anybody that got that game.

I must say that my fist venture out of the EA titles has been a little disappointing as well. The game play is good, but a little boring...and my is it long!! The franchise mode is ok. Two on two challenge isn't all it's cracked up to be.

An upside to the game is the realism. Your pitcher isn't going to hit for the cycle, Pokey Reese isn't going to hit 50 homers, and Elmer Dessens won't throw a perfect game. Fielding is pretty smooth, double plays look real nice, but they are hard to pull off. Don't try to steal a base, you'll either get picked off or gunned down.

All in all, this is a good game for actual game play. If you are into the franchise system, it is just ok. When will the baseball and basketball games take the hint from the football games and make a nice in depth franchise mode??!!!

HH 2004

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 6 / 7
Date: March 02, 2003
Author: Amazon User

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.

Super game

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 3 / 3
Date: March 02, 2003
Author: Amazon User

This year's version has much better graphics than HH 2003 as well as more realistic fielding. The tuning menus allow you to change even more options such as how fast the fielders move, how hard the cathers throw, all the way to how difficult or easy it is for you to make contact. The basic gameplay is the same which is great because HH 2003 was already an ausome game. But this year, the fielding is cooler, for example....if you're running towards the line with your right fielder to chase a base hit, he has to spin around and make the throw, which allows you to take extra bases with fast runners. The fielding is very realistic and pitchers don't tire as quickly as last year. But you can also tune pitchers to last longer if you wanted to anyway. The producers kept all the great things about HH 2003 and added much more behind the scenes stuff like full minor league rosters and disabled lists. This game is super and 3DO has really out done themselves. My only complaint would be after one game ended, befor the stats could come up the game froze...but it hasn';t happened since so big deal.

high heat at it's best

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 3 / 9
Date: March 03, 2003
Author: Amazon User

this years version has got excellent graphics. And the catchers for the cpu can actually throw you out trying to steal unlike all star baseball. The double plays look realistic too. In all star baseball your 2 baseman just stands their and does not even jump to turn the double play and gets hit in the leg for not jumping and it is really annoying. I also remember from all star baseball they have batters with fielding gloves on!!!!! High heat may have some bugs but their not that bad. You usually don't even notice them at least I don't. They have real batting stances it's a great buy. I just got the last copy at the store i went too. I also like how you can change your innings to whatever you want. Unlike in all star baseball. IF YOU LIKE BASEBALL BUY THIS GAME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Review Page: 1 2 3 4 5 Next 

Actions