High Heat Major League Baseball 2002

Reception

The Windows and PlayStation 2 versions received generally favorable reviews, while the Game Boy Advance and PlayStation versions received mixed or average reviews, according to the review aggregation website Metacritic. Nintendo Power gave the Game Boy Advance version a favorable review while it was still in development. Edge gave the same GBA version six out of ten, commenting that while US players could debate team line-ups, UK gamers would struggle to make the same emotional connection. Christopher Allen of AllGame gave the Windows version four stars out of five, praising its massive number of statistics, solid gameplay, and avalanche of customization options, calling it a must-have for baseball fanatics despite glaring bugs requiring a patch. Tom Carroll of the same website gave the PlayStation 2 version three stars out of five, describing it as not a beautiful game but one of the most complete baseball titles on the market. Rob Smolka of NextGen called the PlayStation 2 version a must-buy for serious PS2 baseball fans. Glenn Rubenstein of Extended Play gave the same console version three stars out of five, stating it lacked the polish and completeness of All-Star Baseball 2002 and Triple Play Baseball. Uncle Dust of GamePro compared the PlayStation version to a solid but unexciting off-speed pitcher, while calling the PlayStation 2 version a game that improves with each play and deserves a full 162-game season. However, he said of the Game Boy Advance version in an early review that it could have been terrific but suffered from lack of depth, a bad soundtrack, and easy difficulty, making it a minor leaguer. Computer Games Magazine and PC Gamer US both named the PC version the best sports game of 2001, with the latter calling it the best simulation of any sport. It also won the award for Best Sports Game for PC at The Electric Playgrounds 2001 Blister Awards, and was nominated for Best Sports Game at GameSpot's Best and Worst of 2001 Awards, which went to FIFA 2002.