awoolcott's Full Review: World Series Baseball 2k1 for Dreamcast
Ever since the Sega Dreamcast was released in the US in September of 1999, the genre sorely lacking any competition was sports. With EA Sports dedicated to the PlayStation 2, it was left between Sega, and well, no one. Of course, EA wasn’t needed with two spectacular sports games, NFL2K and NBA2K. And the competition? A pitiful Acclaim game NFL Quarterback Club 2000, and Midway’s NBA Showtime. Needless to say, there wasn’t a lot of competition. Now comes along World Series Baseball 2K1, the first baseball game for the Dreamcast. Does this effort match up to the greatness of NBA and NFL? In a word, no.
The thing is, I really wanted to like this game. And sometimes I do. But most of the time I don’t. When I first played it, I got so frustrated by the whole thing I had to quit. But, in an effort to write a complete review on this game, I had to press on. And like I said, there were times I really liked this game. But every time I decided I would like it, something came up that made me hate it.
There isn’t a load of features in this game, but there are enough to give you plenty to do.
Exhibition - The basic game. Pick two teams and play. You can also choose from any of the MLB stadiums and pick between day and night. From here you can get a feel for how frustrating this game is.
Quick Start - Same as exhibition, but the computer picks your poison by choosing all the elements for the game. In other words, putting your enjoyment (or lack thereof) into the hands of a microchip.
Season - The meat and potatoes of the game. You can choose between 13/15 games, 26/30, 52, 104, and the usual 162. So if you have the patience to play 162 games, you can (but I doubt you will). Or you can choose a short season and ease your thoughts of turning the game disc into a million pieces. You can also choose between 5 difficulty levels (don’t get me started), number of innings from 3-9, and whether or not you want an All-Star game.
Playoffs - If you want to just skip the season and go straight to the playoffs, this is where you go. You can start from the Division Series, the League Championship Series, and the World Series. Then the computer will simulate the season up until your selected starting point. From there you can take over and test the limits of a plastic controller.
Customize - Here you can make trades, edit lineups and pitching rotations, and create players. 25 possible players are to be created if you wish, enough for an entire team. You can also edit All-Star rosters if you choose.
Now, to the important stuff.
Graphics - Amazing. Absolutely amazing. The player models are ridiculously realistic, and very lifelike. Each player’s face has also been mapped on to each player, so it is easy to identify a player by looking at their faces, instead of their uniform number (of course, the facial expressions are the same, even when you get whipped in the face with a fastball). There is, however, occasional slowdown.
The stadiums are also amazingly detailed. Wrigley Field looks EXACTLY like Wrigley Field, with all the little quirks included, like the wording on top of the dugouts (for the life of me I can’t remember what it says). The pool at Bank One Ballpark is also included. As a matter of fact, all the stadiums are included in pure perfection.
As far as the animations, they too are amazing. There are little things, like the first baseman scooping the ball to the umpire after an inning, to the smooth transition when picking up and throwing a ball from the outfield (IF you can pull it off that is). It all ties in with control when it comes to executing these animations though.
Control - This is the where it gets so darn frustrating that you want to turn this game into a frisbee. First off, there is NO manual fielding. At ALL. Once the ball is in your hands you are under control but no chasing it yourself. You have to play on auto-fielding the whole time. I wouldn’t mind it, but the CPU fielding is so inept it’s ridiculous. Say you hit a grounder to the pitcher. Does the pitcher go for the ball? Nope, he just stands on the mound. Doesn’t even move. And if the second baseman isn’t there, it’s an automatic base hit almost. Then there are the outfielders. If a fly ball is hit, it better be in the sight of your fielder, or they won’t even make a move for the ball. Then the opponent has an easy double or triple on you. Very frustrating.
As far as when you actually get to field the ball, it’s not much better. If you want to get a batter out, you almost have to put in the base combination and throw it before it gets to you. If you don’t there is a couple second delay that can cost you big-time. When the pitcher starts getting infield hits off of you, it’s time to worry.
The pitching system isn’t too bad though. You use the analog stick, and press it in a direction. It chooses that pitch. Press the trigger button once to pitch. Then a meter pops up that you can use to measure the power of the pitch. From there you aim it and it’s off.
Hitting is another annoying joke at times. Instead of the typical baseball game format, you have to aim the bat with the analog stick, and press the top R button to swing. BUT, instead of holding it down, you have to press it quickly and release it. It doesn’t add to the power of it, but it’s just something you have to do. Making contact is a chore, because you have to almost hit the ball dead on to even get a single.
Once you get on base, the fun really starts (note sarcasm). If the next batter hits a pop-up, guess what? Your swift baserunner starts running, making you frantically smash buttons just to get him back to the base. I don’t know about you, when I want to play a baseball game, I want my runners to run when I say so, not the computer. It sure does stink when you get caught in a triple-play because of a pop-up to the pitcher, and you can’t get back to base fast enough. Very frustrating.
Sound - Really, not too bad. There is only one announcer, which is probably a good idea for a baseball game. The announcer is not annoying, and he calls out all the hits, players, and situations correctly. He does get a little repetitive though.
The sounds of the stadium are also in there. The umpires make the calls audibly, and the fans boo and cheer at the correct times. There is even a National Anthem played before each game (both the US version and Canada). The sound department is not bad.
Overall - World Series Baseball 2K1 looks good on paper, but is a bust on the screen. The graphics and sound effects are really nice, but the pitiful controls really knock it down a lot. My advice? Wait for ESPN Baseball Tonight (if it even comes out). WSB 2K1 is a rental at least, but don’t waste $50 on it. As for me? I’ll be busy playing Sammy Sosa’s High Heat Baseball 2001 for my PC, thank you very much.
Sega Sports clears the wall with another winning sports simulation for Dreamcast. In World Series Baseball 2K1, you'll find the same immersive realism...More at eBay
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