Unfortunately, the graphics in High Heat Baseball 2000 are the game’s biggest low point. The batters are disproportionate and their animation is very jumpy, with the ball almost never actually connecting with the bat when you get a hit. The pitchers look right, and the throws seem correct as well, but there is something... off... with the way the ball is pitched and it comes at the screen. It just plays a bit unlike it should. Although the stadiums are actual stadiums, the graphical quality of them is pretty poor, detracting from the whole realism thing. The menus are sparse graphically, but get the job done.

The sound is decent, with commentary that is alright at first but soon grows grating, especially when the announcer states, “Right at the knees!” when the ball flew completely across the plate on the -other- side. Heh. It is helpful, though, and not as annoying as some sports announcers have been. Music, of course, is nonexistent.

Unlike most baseball games I’ve played, High Heat 2000 actually required a bit of reading the instructions [gasp!] to learn how to play. After I read up on it, though, it was relatively intuitive. Not Baseball Stars intuitive, but definitely playable. The batting game is quite solid, and the pitching game, once you understand what you’re doing, is even more so. The fielding is easy, with realistic speeds for everyone’s movement, and the big yellow marker on the ground that shows you where the ball’s gonna land is invaluable on those close calls. Throwing in to the bases is easy enough, as is running to them. Pick-off throws are solid and realistic. Probably one of the neatest things about High Heat is that you can set the computer to do almost everything, such as pitching, fielding, running... so you can concentrate on how much of the game you want to play. There are multiple play modes, from the standard Exhibition mode, to Home Run Derby and Family [where all you do is bat], and the full Season mode that lets you play as any or all of the Major League Baseball teams. Since the game uses the actual ‘99 rosters, you’ll see some familiar faces. Also included is a Playoff option, which is a make-your-own-tournament mode. There are plenty of options to choose from, needless to say.

There’s a rather steep learning curve at the beginning, but once you’ve gotten the hang of the controls, the game’s rather intuitive to play. And since you can set the A.I. to do as much or as little as you want, the game’s difficulty really varies to how you want it to set. There are preset difficulty levels, but they can all be altered as you see fit.

Once you learn what buttons you need to press to do the different types of hits and pitches, the mechanics are pretty simple. They can get kludgy at times, and you’ll forget what button to press to do a certain action, but they’re pretty solid nonetheless. High Heat Baseball 2000 supports vibration, but it doesn’t use it all that much. Once you learn just what you’re supposed to do, though, the mechanics pretty much fall into place. With a slightly tighter play mechanic, and graphics that aren’t quite as ugly, this game could be one of the best baseball games in a long time. As it is, it’s just a good one.