PlayStation 2
Released in 2003 by 3DO
Grade: B
High Heat Major League Baseball 2004 has the type of junky graphics, lack of detail, and gameplay limitations that would normally make me scream, “Just another lousy baseball game!” And yet, the stupid thing is a lot of fun. It’s very user-friendly and can move along swiftly.
Where it falls in the series
High Heat is actually best known for its PC games, but has six console installments, three on PS1, three on PS2. This is the last one, and it’s the only one also available on Xbox.
Praises and gripes
You can put a lot of spices and toppings onto a dish, but it’s no good without high-quality, basic ingredients. That’s how I think of baseball video games. To me, the key ingredient is a good batting viewpoint, with pitches that come naturally to the plate (no pun intended), and a responsive swing of the bat.
In High Heat 2004, the default behind-the-plate view is comfortable, and there are no messy icons cluttering the screen. Other than a “guess the pitch” feature that I regularly ignore, hitting is simple. See the ball, aim, swing.
On the pitcher’s mound, you can forget about the “move a cursor wherever you want” control that became standard around this time. Instead, you choose your pitch, point toward a section of the strike zone, and press X or Circle for a strike or a ball. There’s no control for power or accuracy. Just throw, and whatever variant you get depends on your pitcher’s attributes, momentum, and fatigue. You can choose to throw a strike and end up throwing a ball, or vice versa.
I don’t usually like this kind of system, but somehow it works in this game. It makes pitching quick. The options offer five pacing choices, and if you turn off replays and batter walk-ups, the game moves along very fast, which I love. For once, playing nine innings won’t test your patience.
The rest of the game works fine, with simple controls taking priority over hard-nosed realism and visual polish. Your fielders can snag the ball without being in the exact right spot, and throws are easy and responsive. Baserunning controls are fine, although a bit more AI assistance would be helpful.
You also might notice some missing pieces of realism. There aren’t a lot of foul balls, and there are probably too many home runs. The CPU probably won’t orchestrate a hit-and-run, nor will you encounter in-between plays, such as an infield bouncer that barely allows the runner to beat out the throw. You don’t even need to warm up pitchers in the bullpen before bringing them in. The game doesn’t feel unrealistic, but it’s not necessarily realistic either.
The graphics aren’t impressive. As a matter of fact, they’re laughable at times. Players’ faces are scary looking. There aren’t any nifty animations, and the collision detection is way off. If you play with the lighthearted attitude this game deserves, you’ll laugh, not whine, when you see a fielder “tag” a runner without moving an inch, or a batter miss by a mile, followed by the words “Foul Tip” flashing on the screen. Again, I stress that the most important visual aspect of a baseball game is how it feels to be at the plate, keeping your eye on the ball, and that part works fine. The pitching and hitting animations are nice and smooth too.
The options seem light, but they offer what matters. There are deep game tuning settings to help you customize the experience to your skills and a good range of camera views for each aspect of the game.
I really like this game. Sometimes, the whole is greater than the sum of the parts, or in other words, I’m not bothered by certain flaws if the game is simply fun.
The High Heat series was doomed in a competitive baseball video game market. This same year, EA’s MVP Baseball series got better and introduced the pitching meter, Sony brought their MLB series (which later became The Show) to PS2 with impressive graphics and smooth gameplay, and the 2K series wasn’t bad either. If you wanted arcade simplicity, there was Midway’s Slugfest series. So, as it happened with many other sports games around this time, High Heat called it quits.