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Out of the Park Baseball came onto the PC gaming scene last year without much fanfare or promotion. This type of game, designed by one person, usually goes unnoticed by the mainstream gaming audience, as well as most mainstream gaming sites. This occurrence is unfortunate because there are actually quite a few small-time outfits making some pretty good products. Out of the Park Baseball was one such product. A shamefully minuscule number of sites reviewed this product, which not only was a disservice to their readers, but also to the world of sports gaming in general.

Markus Heinsohn is the man behind Out of the Park Baseball (Steve Kuffrey has teamed with Markus for OOTP 2), and has released a new version this year - Out of the Park Baseball 2. Aside from not having a "2001" in its name, this title has several features that distinguish it from the rest of the baseball games of the 2000 season. These features range from an incredible depth of career play, to a season importer that allows the gamer to use virtually every player of the 20th century.

Having played a slew of this year's graphics-based PC and console baseball games, loading up a text-based baseball game was a nice relief. Not only does a text-based simulation give my thumbs a break, but it makes me call upon my managerial skills in a more profound way than does a title such as Triple Play or High Heat Baseball. Out of the Park Baseball 2 is so deep that a review cannot even begin to capture the full range of options and features. It must be noted that the following review is based on Out of the Park Baseball 2 with patch 2.0c. Given the outstanding support of the developer, OOTP 2 is a "work in progress." Markus Heinsohn continually implements user suggestions in making the product better. The amazing thing is that OOTP 2 is excellent without the patches/updates. Markus' added support of the product is icing on the cake. Gameplay:

There are so many variables and features in OOTP 2 that there is a wide range of possible outcomes to the seasons and careers. OOTP 2 takes the term "micro-management" to a new level. This game is made for the most hardcore of baseball fans. If your idea of a fun baseball game pretty much ends at playing a season and looking at a couple-dozen stat categories, then OOTP 2 will put you into a seizure. Although this game can be enjoyed by folks who do not want to get overly technical with the game of baseball, OOTP 2 is aimed at the gamer who wants to analyze things such as splits, trends, and the like.

Once the user sets up a season, adjusts and tweaks the variables to their liking, and gets the roster set, it is time to hit the field. The actual gameplay is much like that of OOTP. All the vital information of the relevant players is displayed on the screen. The gamer selects how to pitch, bat, or run, and then the action begins. The play-by-play box shows what is taking place on the field. The developer has improved the play-by-play this year. Not only does it flow well, but it also includes some drama. In a tight game, it is entertaining to be teased into thinking a ball is leaving the yard, only to find out that it was caught by the outfielder. I have never been a big fan of simulating seasons without playing through each game. Out of the Park Baseball 2 sports such fun commentary and nicely-paced game flow that it is rewarding to play through each game.

With so many possibilities in regard to the customization of the gameplay and variables, I decided to simply simulate two consecutive seasons with the default rosters and settings to give a glimpse into the game's engine. I could have easily tweaked the variables and rosters quite a bit to my liking, but for the sake of consistency decided to provide the reader with outcomes based on the default program (with the 2.0c patch of course).

Nothing overly surprising occurred during the 2000 season. The batting leaders were Bernie Williams (.357), Chipper Jones (.349), and Todd Helton (.344). Brian Giles and Carlos Delgado led the league in homers, with 57 a piece. Mark McGwire was not far behind, as he hit 54 dingers. The leaders in ERA were Randy Johnson (2.05), Kevin Brown (2.72), and Al Leiter (3.03). Randy Johnson led the Majors in strikeouts with 304. I was curious as to why Pedro Martinez was not among the league leaders, but upon further examination, saw that he was injured for seven weeks. Only one no-hitter occurred in 2000 - Mike Hampton was the pitcher. The division winners were: Baltimore (96-66), Cleveland (90-72), Seattle (86-77), Atlanta (113-49), St. Louis (89-73), and Arizona (91-71). Atlanta beat Seattle 4-3 for the World Series title. Notable players that retired after the 2000 season included Paul Assenmacher, Norm Charlton, Otis Nixon, Willie McGee, and Harold Baines. The only player to enter the Hall of Fame from this season was Cal Ripken.

For the 2001 season I allowed the CPU to do the free agent signings and rookie draft. Much like the 2000 season, the 2001 season held no major surprises. Texas winning its division at 76-86 is a bit curious, but not horribly unrealistic. The batting leaders were Larry Walker (.367), Manny Ramirez (.366), and Pudge Rodriguez (.364). Leading the way in homeruns were Dean Palmer (65), Mark McGwire (62), and Barry Bonds (52). The strikeout king of 2001 was Randy Johnson (307), followed by Pedro Martinez (291) and Kerry Wood (290). Pedro Martinez had the most wins in 2001 (25). The division winners were: Boston (108-54), Cleveland (102-60), Texas (76-86), Atlanta (96-66), St. Louis (95-67), and Los Angeles (95-67). The Mets defeated the Red Sox 4-2 to win the World Series.

I went on and simulated eight additional seasons. Again, the stats, standings, trades, etc. remained highly realistic and believable. Currently, I am in the midst of a season in which I am playing out every game. Although I am about 40 games away from the end of the season, the stats are turning out to be realistic thus far. Therefore, it seems as though OOTP 2 presents solid stats for people who like to play out games, as well folks who just want to get involved in general team management.

Longevity:

There are very few sports games on the market that deserve a perfect score in the longevity department. At the top of this small list has to be Out of the Park Baseball 2. The longevity factor of OOTP 2 is high due to several features: importation of past seasons/players, full HTML export/online league support, career play, and a financial model. The ability to import everything from past seasons of the 20th Century is amazingly cool. The gamer can import entire seasons using Sean Lahman's Baseball Database. This exercise is hassle free and very user friendly.

A game such as OOTP 2 lends itself to online play. A nifty html export feature is included with OOTP 2. Every report within OOTP 2 can be exported, as well as a master report that will create an entire website with one click. This feature may be perhaps the most profound upgrade of this title. Competing against the CPU is fun and all, but pitting human manager against human manager is the best way to play a simulation. Baseball-a-holics can now really show their baseball knowledge by competing against other fanatics.

The one feature of the first OOTP that captivated me was the career play. It was great to finally be able to play an entire career in a text-based simulation. The career play in OOTP 2 is even better than that in the original game. There are many more extras concerning the career play in OOTP 2. One item that enhances the career play is the keeping of team and league records. These record areas display records in a variety of categories for both the individual teams and the entire league. Although the players, record information, and the like are defaulted to the actual real-life information, all this stuff can be edited by the user. Of course, these records will change once they fall to the players in the game over the course of the seasons.

The new financial model in OOTP 2 adds a whole new layer to the career play. Gamers must set ticket prices, sign free agents, worry about attendance, and essentially become president, director of operations, general manager, and field manger. Whew! That is a lot of responsibility. The financial model is not overly detailed, but is deep enough to make the gamer pay attention to team finances. Playing general manager in OOTP 2 is user friendly. There are detailed scouting reports on the players, massive numbers of stats and ratings, as well as complete career stat tracking. Before signing a free agent, or re-signing a player to a fat contract, it is helpful to have such a wide array of informative resources to guide the user in making an informed decision.

Controls:

Since this game is not arcade-based and control is not much of an issue with text-based simulations, I will discuss the interface in this section. Out of the Park Baseball 2 has a simplistic interface. There are no drop-down menus or anything of that ilk. Basically everything about the interface is simply finding something on the screen and clicking it to move to the next screen. It is a simplistic system, and sometimes requires the user to click through several screens to get to a desired destination. Then, to get back to the original destination, the user must click back through the screens. The interface is one area that could stand to be refined in OOTP 2. Once the user becomes familiar with the huge amount of info and options in the game, navigation becomes second nature. However, that is not to say that a more user-friendly design would strengthen the title.

Graphics:

Out of the Park Baseball was a DOS-based game with simplistic graphics. The developer has gone to a Windows-based format and beefed up the graphics for Out of the Park 2. One thing people need to remember is that text-based simulations do not need stellar graphics. As long as the gamer can easily read and locate the vital information, everything is basically fine. The font types and sizes utilized in OOTP 2 are appropriate and easy to read. The developer jazzed things up by including a bunch of full-screen photos from actual MLB ballparks to provide the backdrop to the various areas within the game. While the overall look of OOTP 2 is not on par with a title from Microsoft or EA, it does the job. Let's face it - this is a game about the intricacies of baseball, not an entry in a beauty contest. I don't give a rat's ass about graphics when the gameplay is this good!

Sound:

Our review format dictates that each review contain a section for sound. In the case of OOTP 2, the only sound is the hum of the computer and the hard drive reading information. Since my computer was purring like a kitten, I have to give OOTP 2 a perfect score in this category.

Installation:

I encountered no problems in the installation of OOTP 2. It is a fairly small game in comparison to other sports titles. Patching the game is also a simple exercise.

Overall:

Text-based simulations are not for everyone. People who design text-based sports games generally are not expecting to make much money for their work, but do it for the love of the game. Markus Heinsohn and Steve Kuffrey, developers of OOTP 2, clearly have a devotion to the game of baseball, and have combined this passion with their programming skills to put forth a gem of a game. Sure, people are going to find some flaws in any game and some of these people may even be compelled to let a couple minor flaws ruin their day. However, given the depth of Out of the Park Baseball 2 and the enhancements made over the last version, I was surprised at the overall bug-free nature of this game (There were originally some freezing issues, but these were eliminated by the patches). The developer of OOTP 2 is known for his excellent support of his product and will undoubtedly release an update or two over the course of the summer, in addition to smaller patches. Baseball fans owe it to themselves to give OOTP 2 a try.

Since OOTP 2 is not available in retail stores, I feel obligated to let you know where to find this fantastic piece of software. You can purchase Out of the Park Baseball 2 for $39.95 plus shipping and handling. Go to http://www.ootp.net to order this product. The way I see it, you can run out and pay 30 to 40 bucks for a flashy, graphics-intensive baseball game that eats system resources and will bore you by the All-Star break. Or, you can shell out 40 bucks for one of the best games ever, and be entertained until next year's edition comes along. Plus, this game runs on minimal system resources.