World Series Baseball 2K1 - Sega Dreamcast

Stadiums and players are rendered in glorious high-resolution detail, to the point where it's easy to recognize a player by looking at his face. Similarly, most of the animations look terrific--especially diving catches and quick across-the-body throws. We also enjoyed the pitching and batting interface, which is more complex than that found in most baseball games but becomes a lot of fun after a little practice.

Unfortunately, the game is all downhill from there. Once a ball is hit, players are forced to sit and watch the computer field it. The lack of control is absolutely infuriating, especially since Sega hyped this game's realism from the beginning of its development. The crowd sounds are anemic and there is no color commentary, which is just as well considering how terrible the play-by-play announcer is. If you really love baseball, you'll really hate World Series Baseball 2K1. For casual fans who prefer flashy graphics and a fun pitching/batting contest to thorough stat tracking and the ability to field the ball, this game is a home run. --T. Byrl Baker

Pros: Gorgeous stadiums Nice TV-like presentation Cons: No fielding Stuttering animations Lacks fun extras