Best PC baseball game?

[Mooncalf]

Would appreciate any thoughts.

 

[NikPreviousAcct]

Try the "SOFTWARE - APPLICATIONS, PROGRAMMING, AND GAMES" forum.

 

[TallBill]

Why would he do that?

 

[NikPreviousAcct]

 

[TallBill]

:beer::beer::beer::beer::beer::beer::beer::beer::beer::beer::beer::beer::beer:

Have a few, and then you wont care

 

[newbiepcuser]

EA or the HighHeat series.

 

[edm]

Depends what you're looking for in a baseball game. Do you simply want a game that plays well "on the field"?. If so, go with High Heat 2004 hands down.

I own 3 baseball titles, High heat 2004, MVP 2003, and ootp 5. Between High Heat and MVP (the two arcade games), High heat is by far the better playing game, but it does lack in features (no on-line play, no mouse support), and without mouse support the franchise aspect of the game is pretty much useless. MVP plays ok, but is still pretty arcady for a real baseball fan. Although it offers more *working* features. OOTP5 is probably not an option you'd be interested in (it's a text-based game) unless you're looking for a sim/manage type game. It is a great game though, and it offers the best/deepest franchise mode of the 3. It's basically the Championship Manager of PC baseball gaming.

Anyway, I wanted to like MVP, but it lost its appeal after about 20 games or so. It's not a bad game, and I really wanted to like it, mainly because the sound is great (announcers are spot on). it also does a lot of little things right (faces, stadiums, baserunners actually rounding the bases when running, etc.). But the gameplay was just too weak to keep my attention. High Heat, while the features leave a lot to be desired (no mouse support is a real pain), really shines 'on the field', probably the best of the entire High Heat series so far. 50 games into my season and the gameplay gets better with every game.

Graphics
High heats graphics, while not on par with MVP, aren't that far behind either. I also think High Heat holds the edge in animations. Stadiums for both are solid. Player models in High Heat are probably better, although the faces in MVP look much nicer.

High Heat 2004 - 80
MVP 2003 - 85

Sound
Even though the sound in HH2004 has improved over past versions, it doesn't compare to MVP 2003. The announcers in MVP are really a treat to listen to.

High Heat 2004 - 80
MVP 2003 - 95

Gameplay
If you want a game that plays like real baseball, MVP has a lot of issues (too many to get into). High heat just "gets it right".

High Heat 2004 - 94
MVP 2003 - 75

Features
High Heat 2004 - 50
MVP 2003 - 85

Overall (just my opionion)
If you're like me, it's all about the gameplay.

High Heat - 85
MVP - 75