3RRDC WSB 2K1

Zero fielding doesn't mean it's zero fun.

I was bored one day so I called my friend Blake. His Dreamcast broke
just recently, and he brought this game over and said, "Here you can
have it." I waited until he got home before I played it, because quite
frankly, I didn't want to waste my time on it. All of the reviews I've read
were either kinda good, or really, really bad. Another thing I thought I
wouldn't like is the lack of fielder control. Although it does hinder the
gameplay slightly, it's an otherwise excellent sports game.

One thing I absolutely need to start with is the graphics. In one word:
Stunning. This is by far the greatest visual effort Sega Sports has put
forth in the Dreamcast lifetime. It is currently the best-looking baseball
game on the market, and I'll tell you why. The opening intro will give
you a good idea of what's to come. The players animate smoothly, and
they look fantastic. Whether it's making a jumping catch to high-fiving
teammates to even blowing a bubble with bubble gum, it's amazing
how much detail the graphics have. The faces look just like their real-
life counterparts, and each player has their own batting stance, based
on how the real pro does it. The stadiums are simply amazing. Each
stadium is modeled after the real thing, with the home plate to center
field measurements and even dugout style. The crowd looks good from
a distance, but when you hit a fly ball it gets paper-thin. There is some
slowdown, but in no way does it take away from the graphical feast
that is WSB2K1.

There's no way to describe the sound. It's absolutely horrible. The
sound effects are decent enough, but then again, baseball doesn't
really have many sound effects. The announcer makes me want to
shoot someone. He follows the plays most of the time, but where's the
fun stuff? Where's the color commentary? The facts? The worst part is
that he reads in the same monotonous tone the whole game. It's a
painful thing to here this guy. What I'd do is get your dad to sit right
behind you and let him be the announcer. I'm sure he'll do a much
better job than this guy.

Here it is. Where everyone shot down poor WSB2K1. I'll just say it now:
there is no fielder control. None. You can't move the fielders. This may
aggravate and turn down some gamers, but if you really like baseball,
it's not too bad. You can control where they throw, but there's a trick
to it that not many of the reviewers of the reviews I've read know:
when your fielder is fielding the ball, hold down the analog stick where
you want to throw, and keep tapping A. I.e. it gets hit to center and you
want to throw to 2nd. While he gets the ball into his glove, hold UP on
the analog stick and repeatedly tap A. Only rarely will they make the
wrong play. It's not really a big deal like everyone says it is. Most of the
time they'll respond quickly and smoothly, and it ups the gameplay
factor by a lot. When a ball gets hit, the camera doesn't just hover
about the field. It zooms in on your character when they make the play,
just like on TV. It's pretty neat. The pitching is pretty cool, and you
have a nice selection of pitches to choose from. The problem is, it
doesn't tell you what they are in the interface, so you need manual
reference to get them right. If you have a good memory though, it can
be a blast. The batting controls are great fun to anyone who can get
used to it. You hold the R trigger and when the pitch comes, you move
the curser to where the ball is going to go, and then release it. There's
nothing more satisfying in this game than getting a line drive to right-
center. The physics are dead-on, but the CPU AI can occasionally be
quite stupid. Again, no game is perfect, and that's probably the only
glitch in the game.

All things said, this isn't the perfect baseball game, but it's a unique
game that, if you really give it a chance, can be either the best
baseball game out there or the worst. It requires some getting used to,
but if you like baseball I recommend this game. Only if you have
patience though.

Grades

Gameplay - 80%

No fielding, but the computer does make good plays most of the time.
Sometimes it's pretty goofy, but it makes up for it with superb batting
and pitching.

Graphics - 95%

Amazing and occasionally stunning character and field graphics. They
even slap high-fives and chew bubble gum. There is some slowdown
though. Simply stated, I can't really explain how good this game looks.

Sound - 65%

Awful, monotonic announcing. The crowd effects are decent, with
appropriate cheering and booing for the corresponding teams. Sound
effects are sparse, but they're OK. Not enough color!

Presentation - 85%

A fair amount of modes for Sega's first Dreamcast baseball game,
completed with National Anthems and cool selection interface.

Replay Value - 85%

Season mode will take you a long time, but some gamers may not like
the game entirely due to its lack of fielding. But if you really get into it,
it's strangely addictive.

Overall - 80%

The Overall rating is not an average of the preceding scores.

Review by: IronKnux