In the eastern part of the United States it feels like late March. So why not review a baseball game since it is warm. High Heat Baseball 2002 came out I want to think late spring of  2001 maybe. This came out when the first Play Station was peaking. How does this came compare to other High Heat Baseball games and other baseball games. High Heat is a baseball series made originally for the Play Station I though the games were made for other systems. High Heat was also a competitor to EA's baseball games and 989 MLB series. 

Story: 4

Typically this is your typical baseball plot. Its a new season (2001 I think). The goal is to pick your favorite team and try to get into the playoffs then win it all. To do that  your team will be going against division rivals and other teams. You can chose from all 30 teams. It should be noted this game futures the Montreal Expos as they did not move to DC till after the 2005 season. The Rosters are based off of the end of the 2000 season. So the stats are off of the 2000 baseball season. 

As I stated this is your standard sports game plot. There is really not much to a plot I mean its a sports game. So it really doesn't deserve anything higher then a 5. But hey its a new season so I give it a 4 out of 10. 

Graphics and Controls: 7 

High Heat 2002's graphics were so much better then High Heat 2000's graphics. In the 2000 version of the game the graphics were sloppy. The graphics are not as good as EA Baseball games or 989 MLB's Baseball games. Still they are improved. The colors look very good in this game. I like how you can now tell trees in the background look like trees. The players look so much better. It was a huge improvement over High Heats 2000 game for sure. The team logos also look like they do in real life. Now, the graphics can still be a little fuzzy. The spectators in the stadiums still look fuzzy and blurry. The players sprites are still out of whack but nothing compared to 2000 version. 

The controls have slightly improved form High Heat 2000. The pitching controls are very good. The batting controls still feel sluggish to me but even they are an improvement. The running controls still feel sluggish when running the bases. I wonder if the makers of this game were trying to compete and get their game out before 989 and EA released their baseball games. 989 and EA had some of the smoothest controls. So yeah High Heat still falls short in that category. But butter then some of High Heat's earlier games. 

The graphics and controls still have some issues but not as bad as some of the earlier high heat baseball games. The graphics and controls have improved but not quite up to par as some of the other baseball games. So I give it a 7 out of 10.

Sound: 8  

The sound in High Heat 2002 was so much better then 2000. The announcers in this game may not be as smooth as 989 announcers. But hey 989 used Vin Scully & Dave Campbell its hard to top them. But the announcers in High Heat 2002 sound like an actually announcers. The tingles that plagued the 2000 game are gone. The sounds are more defined. The umpire's voice saying safe or out sounds like it does in real life. It does not sound static like it did in the 2000 game. In addition, when you hit the ball hard you hear a pop sound letting you know you have hit the ball hard. Also the strikeout sound was a nice touch too. So much better then the 2000 game. Thus I give the sound a good solid 8 out of 10. I did not give it a 9 or a 10 because It did not feel like it was up to par with the 989 or EA sports series. Those games had extra sounds and soundtracks. High Heat 2002 does not. So 8 out of 10 sounds right. 

Replay Value: 8 

I must say this is one of the better High Heat games. 2000 had its fun moments but it had too many flaws that kind of brought the replay value. When I play the High Heat games. This is one game I usually play. Most of the issues have been corrected. The sounds are much improved. Its a nice game overall. When I got this game I played it a lot till 989 released MLB 2003. This game showed what a High Heat game should have been like. Its a shame this was one of the High Heat's series last games. I think they made two more games then they were brought out. So I give the replay value a good 8 out of 10. 

Depth: 6 

High Heat is a typical sports game there is not a lot depth to them. The only baseball games that I know that had lots of depth was the 989 and EA sports games. In those games you could draft, play in franchise mode and trade players. In High Heat you have 30 teams to chose from. The season is your standard MLB season with 160-162 games plus the playoffs. If your like me and have multiple favorite teams. Its fun to play through a series with a different team. That for sure adds depth to the game. Also if you do not like the players on your team you can trade among other teams. You can build your favorite team up. I had to think hard about the rating. There is some depth here but its not the depth that the other Baseball games had. So the best I could up with is 6 out of 10. 

Difficulty: 8 

High Heat  2002 is a difficult game and its mostly for the right reasons. In my High Heat 2000 review I wrote how I felt like the difficulty was due to fighting against the graphics and controls. There are still times were you have to fight against the control in this game but it is usually while running the bases. 

I feel like this is a difficult baseball game. Unlike EA and 989 you do not have any cursors to help you guide your pitch if your pitching or hit the ball if your batting. You pretty much have to guess. I really like that it makes it feel like an authentic game. Because in real life hitters have to guess on were the pitch is going to be. Pitchers have to try to get the ball in the strike zone . That was pretty much the idea the makers of this game was going for and it shows. In addition, the teams are based off of their 2000 stats. So if your team was a bad team. You will find they have a harder time pitching if there 2000 pitching was horrible. Bad teams with horrible pitching in this game will get hit around a lot. If your team hit lots of home runs the game reflects on that too. However, you can overcome these obstacles by trading players. 

Overall, I think High Heat 2002 was difficult for the right reasons then previous High Heat games. The only time I felt like it was difficult was running the bases. When running it can still feel like your fighting against the controls.  But so much better than High Heat 2000. I really like how they make you guess on were to hit the ball and I like you have to try to throw in the strike zone without the cursors. It really challenges you on reflexes, timing and a little bit of luck too. Thus I give High Heat 2002's difficulty a solid 8 out of 10. 

Overall 8.3

High Heat 2002 was a huge improvement over the previous High Heat baseball games. This game came out when the PS I was just peaking. It also came out around the same time MLB 2003 and EA baseball game came out. Its a shame though this is one of the last High Heat games as after this series I only remember them making 2 more High Heat games. 2002 quality should have been what the previous High Heat games had. I'm glad I did not let 2000's flaws ruin me on getting another High Heat baseball game. I got this game when it was on sale as I was able to get this one before I got MLB 2003 and EA yearly baseball game. I had a lot of fun with this game. 

There were still some flaws in this game. The base running controls are still off, the graphics look so much better but still were out of whack at times. I have to wonder if the makers of this game were trying to get this game out before the other 989 and EA released their games. If so that would explain a lot. I also wish they would have added the franchise mode or create players in this game. 989 and EA had those futures which made them real special. Compared to previous High Heat baseball games these issues are minor 

Now for the positives. The graphics are much better improved maybe not as good as 989 or EA's but the backgrounds, stadiums and trees look how they are supposed to. The sound is so much better. In 2000's sound it made you literally want to hit the mute button. This game the announcers and umpires voice sound very good. I also like the strike out sound and the pop sound of the bat when you have hit the ball hard.  Moreover, the difficulty in this game is just about right it tests your reflexes, timing and requires a little bit of luck too. I like games like that esp baseball games it makes it seem real and like an actual baseball game. 

So to sum it up High Heat 2002 is a great game its a shame the earlier high heat games were not like this. Had the previous High Heat games had this quality the series could have been a serious rival to 989 sports and EA sports. But the first few games were not great and I think that turned some players off from playing this line of baseball games. I was so glad I gave this series another chance. High Heat 2002 is a good solid baseball game overall. It might not be up to par with 989 or EA but it has its own unique feel to it. Sometimes I like to play this game to take a break from the other baseball games. Of the high heat baseball games I say I play this one the most. Would I recommend this game, Yes I would recommend this game. Its a fun game to play and its so much better then previous High Heat games. If you were turned off from High Heat's line due to earlier games. I recommend giving this one a chance. It shows what High Heat games could have been in terms of quality. Thus, I give the overall rating an 8.3

Nice work again, man. I remember High Heat. I loved it. Unfortunately I don't remember what year it was, but it was a good game nonetheless. I played it with my brother when I was a kid, so when this review popped up, I had to read it and share my two cents. I agree with what you said as well. It wasn't the best, but it was a solid entry in the sports game world.