In spite of the fact that basketball and baseball being completely different, the entries in both sports genres from 989 Studios share one common similarity: only decent graphics. Although better than NBA Shootout 2K, in MLB 2001 it is actually possible to read the numbers and names off the backs of jerseys during an actual game. The players themselves have enough animation to display the various maneuvers that are used during a game (i.e. sliding, pitching, running, jumping – you get the point), though the actual polygon-constructed models are less than satisfactory. It doesn’t help that the textures applied to the models and the entire game in general, are horribly pixelated. With developers, especially a one like 989 Studios, having so much experience with the console, it’s merely a bit disappointing to have the rest of a game be extremely enjoyable only to have the visuals drag down the overall experience a notch or two.

A huge aspect of any baseball title is how the pitcher and batter interact. It is during these moments where a good portion of the game’s outcome is decided. If a game doesn’t have a well designed interface that’s easy to use it can demolish the title as a whole. Fortunately, however, 989 Studio has created a system that works incredibly well. On the batter’s side of things, batting can be done by either smacking the X button when the ball nears the bat, or by turning on the “Total Batting Interface” option, an even more useful and interesting interface appears. A batting box will appear in the center of the screen, and by moving your icon to follow the baseball that moves on that screen (where the pitcher is tossing), it is possible to get a much more accurate and powerful hit than by using the other way. For the pitcher, each of the four main buttons (circle, square, triangle and X) represent a type of pitch, and after choosing, it is possible to either pick off a runner if he’s leading off a base or aim the pitch and toss it on in to the batter.

Besides the normal exhibition mode that allows you to pick your team, stadium, etc., 989 Studios has developed numerous other options for players to use. My personal favorite happens to be the Home Run Derby. HRD is where the game allows you to pick any ten players from across the entire league and either have them step up to the plate and compete. It would have been nice to have the game give a little better reward for smacking a home run (instead of simply a little logo that flashes on the screen), but that’s a minor complaint, at best. There’s also a “Quick Start” mode where the game automatically will randomly select the teams, and let you leap right into the game immediately. It isn’t something I used more than once to try out, but a nice feature, nonetheless. Then, of course, MLB 2001 provides the obligatory modes that we expect to find in just about every baseball title nowadays – and then some. Other than what I have already mentioned, MLB 2001 includes Season, All-Star, Playoffs and Spring Training (you have to create a player and attempt to make a 25-man Major League roster by earning 50 status points)

Since during a baseball game there usually isn’t a whole lot of music happening, developers have to put together some color commentary to help keep things interesting. In NBA Shootout 2K, at times the commentary would get “backed up” and phrases would not be loaded until a few moments after it actually happened, which makes everything sound a bit awkward. For example, a first baseman might make a diving catch for a hard shot down toward right field, and the commentary for that will not load up until the next batter steps up to the plate. It happens far less than it did in MLB 2001 than it did in Shootout 2K, but it is still a bit odd when it does happen. Also regarding the commentary, during the Home Run Derby I noticed that certain Home Run phrases that would normally be used during the regular game were thrown in.

All in all, 989 Studios has done a nice job with their latest edition of MLB. It isn’t quite up to the task of being the best available baseball title on the market (Triple Play 2001 can probably lay claim to that for now) for the PlayStation, it is a none too shabby effort, either.