High Heat Baseball 2000 (PlayStation)

Though last year's High Heat Baseball lacked the spit-and-polish 3D graphics that most of us have come to expect from a top-level sports game, High Heat offered something that none of the other games could: realism. A game of baseball in High Heat often provided all the drama, the strategy, and the excitement of a real Major League Baseball game. This time around, with High Heat Baseball 2000, 3DO has taken a solid foundation and crafted an even better, more impressive game. At the time of this review, High Heat Baseball 2000 still had its share of problems, but it was also clearly the best action baseball game on the market.

Unlike last year's version, High Heat 2000 now has full licensing from Major League Baseball, so you no longer have to play with teams like Chicago-N and New York-A. An even more substantial change from the original release, however, is the new 3D graphics engine. Dismissed by many last year because of the 2D graphics, High Heat now sports a decent 3D engine that has enough bells and whistles to keep the game looking modern. True, the player models are still rather poor, and the batter's swing is still pretty weak looking, but at least the game offers a feeling of depth now. Also, High Heat is chock-full of some rather impressive player animations, such as pitchers throwing up their arms when a ball is called, teammates rushing to the aid of an injured player, and a fairly comical "where's the ball?" act when a player makes an error.

Gameplay is largely unchanged from last year's version. You still have the option to play in exhibition, season, home run derby, or play-off modes. A manage-only mode is available, and multiplayer support is provided for Internet, LAN, serial, and modem play (for exhibition games only). For season play, you can choose short, medium, or long seasons (16, 81, or 162 games). The home run derby is still as uninspiring (read: easy and repetitive) as last year's, but the rest of the game is as good or better than the original.

You can customize most facets of the game, including the designated-hitter rule, errors, wind, pitcher warm-ups, and a variable umpire setting, which is a great feature that re-creates the inconsistent strike zone we all see in the real MLB. The included player editor lets you modify every player's attributes and appearance. Also, even when you control your team in the field, you can have the computer handle batting, pitching, baserunning, throwing, fielding, and/or defensive alignment. To be honest, automatic defensive alignment is the most helpful of the bunch, since the task of constantly switching your infield depth and outfield shift can be a bit tiresome for nonmicromanagers.