by Wyatt "JOEDOG" Elliott
Out with the old and in with the new. VR Sports is the old and Interplay Sports is the new. Same company, new name. Does the new name help the game. Unfortunately not. Interplay Sports Baseball 2000 is the follow up to the former VR baseball series. In the past VR Baseball has never been the best Playstation baseball game on the market, but its never been the worst either.
VR has always been a lot of fun. Now simply titled Baseball 2000 it stays in that same league. VR Baseball '97 was the first polygon based baseball game for the Playstation, and with every year the polygons get better. The only problem is Interplay can't seem to get rid of the flaws in the games graphics. The shaky polygons which break-up and the very pixleated back drops. The colors always seem to be faded. A washed out look, which seems to have gotten a little better this year. The lack of detail however is of gross negligence. The animation is choppy and stiff. VR '97 showed some emotion when struck out.
Baseball 2000 has added some new detail such as the players eyes are easily visible. Its a nice added touch, but unfortunately the players are so animated looking it doesn't matter. You can't tell the difference between Sammy Sosa and Mark Mcgwire in this game. They've created one generic baseball player design and changed its colors and uniform to create different players.
Baseball 2000 much like the VR series from which it spawned uses a live approach to its presentation of the game. The announcer calling the game is a new and enthusiastic, but does not bring any thing special to the game.
The control doesn't save this game either. Both pitching and batting are less then what's expected from a baseball game these days. Baseball 2000 does feature Dual shock controller compatibility and a very weak create a player option. Along with a detailed management system. Baseball 2000 is a game that is ready to jump into the new millennium, but is stuck in the early 90's.
PUBLISHER: INTERPLAY
ESRB RATING: E (everyone)
GRAPHICS: 4 MUSIC & SOUND: 3 CONTROL: 3
SECRETS: 1 ORIGINALITY: 2 FUN & REPLAY: 2
OVERALL: 3.5
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