High Heat Baseball 2004

List Price: $39.99 Discount Price: $35.74

Accessories:
PC Gamer (1-year)	Games for Windows: The Official Magazine

Customer Reviews:

Not The Best I Have Seen [Posted on 2003-07-30]
When I tried High Heat Baseball 2004, it did not have very good stuff. The faces were unrealistic, commentary was bad, and the picture quality was bad. When I tried it with Windows XP, it was perfect. Faces were real, commentary was good, and picture quality was good. The bad things are that is there is no mouse support, no multiplayer mode, and if you accidentally go back to the team select screen after you set the roster or if you decide to play with the same two teams again, the rosters don't get saved. You do have more than 11 different game modes to choose from. I don't recommend this game for Windows 98 users. It's best used with Windows XP.

Absolutely terrible [Posted on 2003-11-16]
I had heard nothing but great things about the High Heat series and though I read that the interface was poor, I thought it wouldn't matter since I had never played before. Well, I was wrong. I played probably 4 games and gave up. This game is absolutely terrible and if 3DO doesn't fix things for next year, they're going to be in a mess of trouble. This is just sad.

Trying not to be harsh....butttt..... [Posted on 2003-12-26]
Well here it is the Newest version of the High Heat series 2004. If I say I liked it better than the previous year I would be lying. I don't mind that the mouse isn't included...but everything has changed and it can be a maze to someone without a gamepad. The graphics are alright...but I think the movement is much more limited. In short...the 2003 edition is cheaper and much more efficient because the game setup is much less tedious. I recommend the 2004 edition if you are used to playing playstation 2 games and a gamepad is a must have! Alrighty I hope this is helpful..I am sorry to the High Heat folks but I believe the 2003 edition is much better.

So So [Posted on 2004-01-18]
I loved HH 2003. I played it for hours. I wanted new rosters, so I purchased HH 2004. Immediately, the gameplay felt awkward. I tried playing a few more games, but the entire game seemed so awkward compared to HH 2003. I guess the graphics look a little better in 2004, for example there seems to be more transparency etc... If you like HH baseball, and you don't care about the rosters, keep using HH 2003.

Overall, quite good [Posted on 2006-02-13]
After being thoroughly impressed by HHB 2003, I decided to try this version. Overall, I think HHB 2004 is great. The developer did make a few big mistakes in porting this game from the console version, but the gameplay is better than before, at least on the field.

Gameplay: This is the best version of the game yet, at least on the diamond. The new graphics look wonderful: players appear more realistic and move in convincing ways and the stadiums are more alive with better textures and moving fans. There are now almost 30 pitches available. The computer opponent plays well and makes intelligent decisions for the most part. The batter-pitcher duels are as intense as ever, and the game just feels right when played with a gamepad.

There are, however, other noticeable changes made in the 2004 version, some of which are not good. For example, there are no mound visits allowed anymore, although two pitchers can now warm up in the bullpen simultaneously. You can't design your own custom league, although you can create/edit players and tweak a lot of different things. The biggest flaws in gameplay involve the off-the-field experience. There is no mouse support, which would not be a bad thing if the menus were better organized. Instead, you will spend much of your initial time with the game trying to figure out how to access certain options and information. It's needlessly frustrating since the developer has already demonstrated with the 2003 version that they could do good menus with clean interfaces (along with mouse support). These flaws are not deal-breakers, since this version of the game still has about all of the options and information as earlier versions. However, for those who are really into the statistical and managerial sides of the game, it's going to be rough going until you figure out how to access certain screens.

Graphics: The game looks great. It's a huge leap forward visually. The stadiums seem massive and most have an actual video screen on a billboard which televises all of the action. The players move in more realistic ways, and they resemble their real-life counterparts more. The fans are no longer colored blotches on a flat surface, but instead look like people and can move (although they are two dimensional). If this version of the game had not received such a thorough facelift, I could not recommend it to anyone who has the 2003 version. However, the graphics update alone almost makes it worth the cost.

Sound: The game's audio is nice. The same play-by-play announcers are back with most of the same lines, but there is none of the annoying audio stutter from the 2003 version. There are a few new music tracks as well. All of the ballpark sounds fit perfectly.

Replayability/Technical issues: Being a sports game, HHB 2004 has huge replay value. There are several modes of play, such as exhibitions, franchise, and homerun derby, but no multiplayer. There are a number of mods posted on internet sites such as http://files.simcentral.net/index/ that allow for some nice customization of the gameplay and visuals. Technically, the game has been very stable on my machine, and I haven't noticed any outright bugs.

In sum, if you are a baseball fan, I highly recommend this game. If you already have the 2003 version and graphics don't matter to you, then I would not rush out to get this one. However, if you don't have the 2003 game, definitely take a look at this one.

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