Music Reviews of Videogames, PS2, XBox, Gamecube

Music Reviews of Videogames, PS2, XBox, Gamecube, Dreamcast

Triple Play 2002 — PS2 Buy it at Amazon

Buy it from InSound

First let me preface this by saying that I’m a huge baseball fan. I love the game and all the intricacies that exist therein. EA has always provided me with great sports games. They always manage to find the perfect fit between simulation and arcade fun. Unfortunately for their baseball title this isn’t always the case. Don’t get me wrong I do enjoy the game but there are some fundamental flaws that make the game either too challenging or too easy. For example if you play at the rookie level hitting and pitching are relatively easy but fielding isn’t comparatively as easy. Sorry but if I’m playing with Omar Vizquel at shortstop I’m not going to miss a routine grounder. When you go to the next level hitting is still relatively easy but pitching is slightly harder (especially with middle to long relievers) and fielding is yet another nightmare. The all-star level is the same just up another notch and the computer will hit the hell out of ANY pitcher you throw at them. The commentary is provided by Bob Costas and Harold Reynolds and can be annoying and filled with erroneous information. Many times I’ll hit multiple home runs against a certain pitcher with Bob telling me that was just the first homer off of that pitcher. Another example was a one hit shutout I was pitching and in the 8 inning after I had struck out 12 batters and thrown exactly ZERO balls I pitched ONE ball out of the strike zone and Harold let me know that it was time for relief. I went on to strike out the next 3 batters and complete the game. Now with that said I do like the game. The music is good and is modern featuring artists that are currently riding the wave of mainstream radio/MTV play. The season mode is addicting and it’s fun to draft your own team and pit yourself up against the computer. However the computer is just downright dumb when it comes to lineups, pitching changes, rotations, and other managerial decisions. The other thing that I don’t like is the stats—they don’t provide information in good boxscores after the game is finished with the basic stuff like how many times you were caught stealing, how many homers a particular person hit, and other such basics. The feel of the game other than fielding is great and the accuracy of the ballparks is painstakingly keen. The home run derby is fun but I’m not really moved by it. True gamers are going to want to play this game for its season feature, which is Triple Play’s best feature for better or worse. Overall this game does enjoy replayability with the season mode (as well as drunken escapades against friends late night on the weekend). If you’re expecting Madden-like quality then you’ll be disappointed but if you’re just looking for a relatively decent game then go for it.

- J-Sin

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