Baseball 2001

by Microsoft

Product Details

• Shipping: Currently, item can be shipped only within the U.S.
• ASIN: B00004GP4H
• Product Dimensions: 10.2 x 8.8 x 2 inches
• Media: CD-ROM
• Release Date: March 29, 2000
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (19 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #40,501 in Video Games (See Top 100 in Video Games)
  • #26 in Video Games > PC Games > Sports > Baseball
• Discontinued by manufacturer: Yes

Product Description

Amazon.com Product Description

With play-by-play and color commentary from FOX announcer Thom Brennaman, and game play that's designed for both the hard-core baseball gamer and fan, Microsoft Baseball 2001 brings a fresh perspective to the PC baseball category. The addition of the Baseball Mogul engine to Microsoft Baseball 2001 positions this version of Microsoft Baseball solidly against all other PC baseball games--offering an unsurpassed combination of award-winning graphics and arcade-style game play with Baseball Mogul's cutting-edge simulation technology.

Product Description

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Not a major upgrade from the previous version., April 28, 2000

By 

nullptr "nullptr" (Seattle, Washington) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Baseball 2001 (CD-ROM)

It would seem as though the folks at Wizbang (the developers of the title in question) were quite busy basking in the success of Baseball 2000, because they didn't spend much time improving it for the new year.

The first thing I do with any baseball game is create a player with my own name, crank up all of the stats to their maximum levels, and then go have a 4 home run game against Pedro Martinez. Typically this is accomplished via a ratings system. Baseball 2001's greatest new feature in my opinion is the ability to define and edit players based on actual statistics, rather than ratings. Instead of saying player x has a power rating of 99, you can say player x hit 74 home runs last year. This allows much more control for the statistics engine of the game to work with.

The feature, which is reminiscent of the Tony LaRussa baseball series of the early 90s (which was the best graphical baseball simulation ever in my humble opinion) is about all that is new in the game.

I honestly cannot see any difference in the graphics engine. The players (some of which have actual rendered faces) look very much the same; aside from some improvements in the stadium details, the game is graphically identical to BB2000.

More frustrating is the fact that the game is very buggy, and the same bugs that annoyed me in BB2000 have reappeared in the new version. For example, a common problem is a batter which steps up to the plate standing on the plate and gets hit every time! The game freezes at least once for every 3-4 games that I play. The extra task of having to save the game every 1/2 innning is very frustrating, and the crashes require a full reboot of the sytem.

I would not recommend this game to anybody that already owns the 2000 version, as it is much the same.

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars 1 of best baseball simulators, April 18, 2001

By 

Tom Duggan (Hopkinton, MA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Baseball 2001 (CD-ROM)

In Baseball 2001 you can enjoy straight out baseball unlike the triple play series. TP2001 and Triple Play are much more advanced in features such as unique batting stances and player faces but it lacks realistic gameplay. Baseball 2001 doesn't include loud explotion when a homerun is hit and the commentary is much less repetitive. Microsoft Baseball is one of the few pc baseball games where you control where you swing. This makes the game more challenging and keeps you interested in the game. Although if you do not like this setting you can turn it off. The stadiums are amazing in this game but the players don't compare to TPB or High Heat 2002. When managing a season player trades and free agents are much more realistic because you have certain money that you make. If you want true gameplay and don't mind giving up a little for graphics by this, but if you want unrealistic arcade games go with the triple play series.

P.S.-The rosters aren't nearly as updated as High Heat 2002 or even Triple Play, but in the 2000 game you can update your rosters at Microsoft.

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Good gameplay for serious gamers, bad stats for stat freaks., May 25, 2000

By 

H.R. Namata "H.R. Namata" (Alexandria, VA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Baseball 2001 (CD-ROM)

The last baseball sim I had was FPS: Baseball Pro about five years ago, and there's never been anything like it. It generated stats like the Elias Sports Bureau and the gameplay was ahead of its time. Its features--career mode, MVP list, World Series history, Hall of Fame, etc.--made it a real fantasy league. Baseball 2001 has come closest to it, though it is still relatively far behind. The game is not full of bugs, unless you play it hard core all day, but not many people do or should. The Mogul technology is nice, but it really doesn't make me feel like I'm in control of my team. In managing finances, you use points. Why not cash? The oversimplification is an insult.