Also, Microsoft still doesn't allow gamers to really appreciate the beauty of the game. Plays can only be followed from a distance through a camera that shows a broad expanse of the diamond. There's nothing like High Heat 2001's action camera option that allows you to get right down on the field as the play is taking place. Even replays don't allow any camera changing or zooming in. The views offered seem custom-designed for managers, though since the game itself has no manage-only feature, you've gotta wonder about the logic behind this. Needless to say, this distance doesn't help in terms of the atmosphere deficiency mentioned above.
Thom Brenneman of the Arizona Diamondbacks returns as the play-by-play man. Again, if you've played any of Baseball 2001's predecessors, you've already experienced what he can do. Many of the lines have been re-recorded, though they still feature the same old comments. Remember "Uncle Charlie!" and "The yakker!"? Well, you don't have to, because they're back. These play-by-play clips are still quite disjointed, too, with Brenneman's already loud and obnoxious voice rising a few octaves when sentences are pieced together. Comments on a player's performance always come out like, "He's batting…two…thirty-five," with every new word practically shouted to emphasize the disjointed tone even more. The rest of the audio is on a par with that heard in other baseball games, though specific voices from the stands seem to be absent. I missed hearing yahoos from the box seats in opposing stadiums scream insults at me. Again, this didn't help the atmosphere.
Microsoft Baseball 2001 is the perfect PC sports game sequel: it adds a few new wrinkles and updates player stats and team rosters without making any real changes to how the game actually performs. Baseball Mogul code or not, this is essentially the same game that I found wanting back in 1998. Back then, however, I felt that the series was at least promising. I don't feel that way anymore.
Brett Todd
Contibuting Editor