Even In 2012,HH 04 Rocks!

User Rating: 8 | High Heat Major League Baseball 2004 XBOX
By pachuco123 | Review Date:
Let me start this off by saying that I'm a huge baseball fan.I eat,breathe and sleep the sport.It goes without saying that baseball video games have come a super long way from the days of RBI on the ol' NES consoles and while the graphics today blow everything from that era out of the water,the prices for these games are insanely high!I've played all the next gen baseball titles and think they are pretty cool but paying 50 bucks for every new installment can be taxing.Besides,all I really wanted was a decent customizable stat driven baseball game with realistic ball physics and gameplay.Enter High Heat Baseball 2004!I picked this game up when it released initially back in '03 and loved it to death,but how would it fair a second time around 9 years later?
I must admit,after firing up HH '04 on my trusty 1rst gen XBOX console a couple of days ago,my first instinct was to chalk it up as a loss and look elsewhere for that much needed November baseball fix.The players faces looked a little goofy when compared to other '04 baseball games and the sound of the ball hitting the outfield grass seemed a bit off.The length of the games was also a bit of a turn off.After taking the game out of the console and placing it back into its case,i wondered what it was about the game that I loved so much back then and why couldn't I recapture that feeling again?And it hit me!It wasn't the graphics that made this a kick butt baseball game back in '04 but more so the ability to customize and tweak 90% of the gameplay to better reflect your ability as a player and style of play!
After loading this baby up again I quickly got to customizing,everything from the crowd volume on down to editing minor leaguers and their names to make sure that as my franchise progressed,players like Jose Reyes and Prince Fielder would make their HH debut ;)The ability to turn batter walk ups off greatly increased the speed of the game and turning up the crowd volume took care of the funny "ball hitting ground" sound.After tweaking a few sliders here and there and adjusting the difficulty level to "all-star", It was time to put this game to the test.SUCCESS!
I am addicted to High Heat baseball all over again!
This game has so much more to offer than meets the eye.
While the graphics aren't top notch,HH will charm the pants off of ya with timely cut scenes,variable in-game occurrences and commentary that catches you off-guard at times and really makes you feel like you're watching an MLB game!On the "all-star" difficulty,cpu AI is sooooo much more advanced than a lot of games that are out now.If you love MLB,stats and consider yourself a student of the game and are looking for an inexpensive way to satisfy your baseball cravings,then definitely give this game a try.You'll have to be patient though,and look past the graphical hindrances to get the absolute most out of what I feel is one of the top 5 baseball games of all time...High Heat MLB 2004!

Other Helpful Reviews for High Heat Major League Baseball 2004

  • Rating:2.4

    Just... no

    By Antiman90 | Review Date: Aug 15, 2005 | XBOX

    Playing High Heat Major League Baseball 2004 is like playing Basketball with a two foot high hoop. You will always score, and there is no challenge. Aside from some okay graphics and decent audio commentary there is no r... Read Full Review

    1 of 1 users found the following review helpful
  • Rating:7.8

    By b_wilcox | Review Date: Apr 02, 2003 | XBOX

    High Heat still can't touch EA's or Sega's offerings with respect to gameplay. The game has some very sterile aspects that need to be addressed, particularly in the sound department. Technology has come too far for such ... Read Full Review

    1 of 1 users found the following review helpful
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