Can you believe it, another baseball game for PS2?  Well, you'd better because it's true!  Surprisingly though, 3DO™'s newest release, "High Heat Major League Baseball 2002" is not just your run-of-the-mill baseball game.  In fact, it's a very fun game to play, despite its unpolished appearance.

Many other companies seem to be developing baseball games in attempt to compete with the popular EA Sports™ "Triple Play" baseball series.  Well, judging on the game quality of "Triple Play" for PS2, they have a significant chance of stealing away many gamers who typically would buy EA Sports™' games.  "High Heat MLB 2002" is a great example of this phenomenon and with good reason.  Although it may not be the ultimate baseball game, it's significantly better than EA Sports' latest PS2 baseball release.

This game has most of the typical elements that you'd expect of a modern baseball game.  The rosters are all up to date with your favorite players and all MLB teams are accounted for, including the all-star teams.  You are able to take any of the teams through a full season and you can also make trades along the way.  You also have the ability to manage your team by changing various aspects, such as the starting lineup and pitching rotation.  All the stadiums are available to choose from, and they are all fairly realistic.

Although this title doesn't have any unique modes of game play (exhibition and season mode are your only options), which is a bit disappointing, the traditional game mode is extremely well done.  This attention to game play quality makes it a very fun baseball game overall (assuming you're not looking for an innovative mode of play).

Some of the controls are a bit unorthodox and admittedly they take a bit of getting used to.  Though once you get them down, you'll never want to play any other way.

When pitching you first simply choose the type of pitch that you'd like to throw (the pitches available vary from pitcher to pitcher).  Here's a complete list of the choices: the change-up, knuckleball, curve, splitter, forkball, sinker, slider, screwball, and of course the fastball - so there's quite a variety!  Next you choose either a strike or a ball and then move the d-pad where you want the pitch to be thrown - it's simple!.  Luckily there's no ridiculous pitcher-batter interface like there is in "Triple Play," as that concept makes for horrible game play.  You do have the option of showing the 3D strike zone or a pitch preview, so that you can more easily see where a pitch is headed, which can both be helpful.

Batting is just as straightforward as pitching in "High Heat MLB 2002."  To hit the ball you simply move the d-pad in the direction that you think the pitch is headed and press the X button (or triangle to bunt).  The only other option applies if you play with "guess the pitch" on, which increases your chances of getting a good hit.  Basically, the batter is allowed to attempt to guess what type of pitch will be thrown and if the guess is right a better hit should result.  You have the ability to disable this function if you don't like it, which I appreciate.

If you're the fielding team and a ball is hit you will be shown a tracking outline that shows where the ball is going to land.  This tracking outline is nothing compared to the tracking graphic in "Triple Play," but it serves its purpose well.  Once you obtain the ball, you can throw it to a base by pressing the corresponding button on the controller (not the d-pad), which is not like most other games.  This control setup allows for quick double plays and other realistic fielding sequences.

The base running controls take the most getting used to, but they're definitely well thought out.  The square button advances all players on base, while the circle button makes the runners retreat.  If you want to advance a specific runner, you simply press the respective button and the correct direction on the d-pad.

I was playing this game with some other gamers who were complaining about the lack of a turbo/speed-burst button and a power throw button.  Well, you should note that they are simply EA droids who expect all other publishers to use the same controls.  Although I do have to admit that a turbo button does make me feel pretty good about myself.

I don't know about you, but I can't stand games that don't allow me to change very many settings.  This isn't the case with "High Heat MLB 2002," as it can be customized to your liking.  Team settings allow camera angles to be changed, controllers to be setup differently, and much more.  In the game options menu you can choose how many innings you'd like to play, the game pace, the variable umpire option can be toggled, and more.

Although the game play is currently second to none, the same cannot be said about the graphics.  While they aren't horrible, they could definitely use a lot of refinement.  Textures aren't nearly as smooth as they could be and the models often have a somewhat jagged look to them.  Players can be differentiated from one another by their facial details (and often their signature moves), but they aren't as detailed as I've come to expect in sports games.  The ballparks could use some work along the same lines, as they typically present a flat and jagged environment.  Although, if you zoom in on the crowd it's pretty amazing to see that many of them are moving their legs, crossing their arms, and moving around in various ways - this is quite innovative.  If the presentation were a little more realistic, I think this game would attract a significantly larger crowd, as the graphical quality is the game's major downfall.

Most aspects of the sound were well done, but some things could also use a bit of refinement.  There are some catchy tunes that can be heard at the beginning of the game, but music is absent during game play, and this is an option that I'd prefer to have control over.  All the sound effects are well done, including the calls by the umps.  There is play-by-play announcing and color commentary, which are typical of any baseball game.  The only problem is that the announcers seem to have an extremely limited vocabulary and because of this you may hear phrases like "Here comes the always dangerous Sammy Sosa" immediately followed by "Here comes the always dangerous Mike Piazza."  It gets annoying to say the least and some additional phrases would definitely be beneficial to the quality of the game.

Overall, "High Heat Major League Baseball 2002" is a very solid game.  While it doesn't offer much to distinguish itself from a typical baseball game by means of new modes of game play, etc, it seems to be the best baseball title currently available for PS2.  If the graphics are polished up by the next release of "High Heat," I think it will have a good chance of dominating the baseball game market.

This game requires 1500KB (wow!) on a PS2 memory card and is rated "E" for everyone.

 Gameplay: 9.5
Very fun to play, and there are many options that you can change to your personal liking.

Graphics: 7.0
Textures are a bit jagged and overall the game lacks detail.  This is the game's major downfall.

Sound: 8.0
Decent music and realistic sound effect, but the commentators could use some more phrases!

Difficulty: 8.5
This game isn't too difficult to learn, and the CPU will undoubtedly offer you a challenge.

Concept: 8.5
It's straightforward baseball, but very well done.

Multiplayer: 9.5
This game's multiplayer mode is very entertaining and luckily isn't plagued by a horrible pitcher-batter interface like a certain other game happens to be.

Overall: 8.5