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Preview  High Heat Baseball 2002
- By Travis Coats


The GBA sports library has started out strong, but a few key sports have yet to receive a game. One of these is the great American pastime of baseball. The first game to fill this void will be High Heat Major League Baseball 2002 from Mobius and 3DO. As the first baseball game for the handheld, developer Mobius has quite a challenge in front of them. After all, being first at something is never easy. However, High Heat Major League Baseball is an established franchise on both the Playstation and PC, and as such, the name alone should help this product to success.

Although a name alone does not make a great game, the feature set that High Heat 2002 boasts should be enough to please any fan of baseball, from casual to die-hard. Some of these features are listed below.

5 different modes of play: These include, Batting Practice, Exhibition, Season, Playoffs, and Home Run Derby.

9 different pitches that a player can choose from.

The current 2001 season teams and player rosters.

Unique ballparks for each team.

An auto-fielding option for simplistic playing.

The Official Major League Baseball and MLPBA licenses.

Graphically the game shines for a first generation attempt. Using the power of the Game Boy Advance, Mobius has created a realistic looking field filled with relatively detailed players. Thankfully, gone are the days of the Game Boy Color where players were barely discernable. For the audio aspect of the game, no information has been announced, but one can hope that Mobius will create authentic sound effects and music for High Heat 2002. For what is baseball without the crack of the bat and “Take me out to the Ballgame”?

Set for a September release, High Heat Major League Baseball 2002 has the potential to be an excellent game for baseball fans on the go. If you own a GBA and consider yourself a baseball fan, you might want to give this game a look when it becomes available.

- 6.28.2001