World Series Baseball 2K1 (Dreamcast)

Remember the OLD World Series Baseball games for Genesis and Saturn? They were great, with a ton of features not found in other baseball games. Plus, they were tons of fun to play. Well, unfortunately, they both put World Series Baseball 2K1 to shame.

Don't get me wrong. As nice-looking as those old games were, 2K1 looks much nicer, with smooth animations and very well-rendered ballparks. In fact, the game starts off with a bang with a great intro featuring some of the more exiting plays from the game and almost photo-realistic graphics at times. However, as any gamer knows, fun in videogaming does not rely on graphics. Think about Pac-Man. The graphics are very primitive compared to the new state-of-the-art stuff, but it is still a very popular game because it is so addictive and tons of fun.

Sega has played a cruel joke on us with 2K1. Of course they hyped it as being a great game, but it is very far from greatness. In fact, it is not even good. Here are a few things to consider:

1. Auto-fielding. Excuse me, I think the players would like to control what happens in the field! Especially when you see some of the stiff and/or jerky plays they make. Plus, once the fielder has the ball, it's your job to throw the ball to the infield and you can only use the analog stick. That means if your thumb slips, you might throw to the wrong base. Aaarrgghh!!

2. No batting control. You just swing. Period. No switching between contact or power hitting, just swing. Tap the R trigger and the rest is up to the computer.

3. No color commentary. This makes for a very quiet game. The crowds are half-dead, too. Even the music is quiet and annoying.

4. Iffy pitching control. The pitching control is decent, but is below-average compared to most other baseball games.

5. None of the "little things." No wind. No homerun derby of any sort. No funny or interesting commentary. No motivating music to pump you up to play. No getting to make the exciting plays yourself. No fun.

I really have to wonder about Sega. They released a game that would show a lot of promise if it were HALF done. Give me the original World Series game on Genesis anyday over this...thing!