I think sports games in general have been around long enough for their creators to know that the only way a game is going to sell is if you can play on after the first season. Most companies call it a Franchise or Dynasty mode. Sadly, neither are a part of
Triple Play 2002. That's right sports fans, it's one and you're done when it comes to playing a Season mode. In fact, besides the Season, the only other modes you can play are Play Ball!, Playoffs, and Home Run Derby (all of which are self explanatory). There is something new to this year's version. They're kind of like DVD extras.
EA Sports sat down with Bob Costas, Harold Reynolds, and Luis Gonzalez (this year's cover boy), and talked about the making of the game. What I thought was funny was after they spoke with Costas about why he chose to call the game, all they asked Reynolds about was what it was like to work with Bob Costas. Poor, poor Harold. Now while I found this stuff somewhat interesting, I would much rather replace it with a Franchise mode or something.
The gaming of Triple Play hits a deep ball, but it doesn't quite "knock it out of the park," so to speak. Pitching is very easy to get a handle on, as is the base running. I found a little trouble with batting at first, because I had to get used to the pitches and their speed. I credit this to me playing too many different baseball games. If you're an avid Triple Play gamer, you won't have any trouble. Fielding was probably the biggest thing I had to adjust to, because the field is enormous in comparison to the player model size. Basically what I'm saying is, get used to pressing the turbo button as fast as you can, because there's a lot of ground to cover.
There was one thing I really couldn't stand. EA Sports is suddenly into this three-play thing, where they'll replay something three times in a row (they did this in this year's Madden and Knockout Kings 2002). Now while I like this little added feature, I think it should only be used when it's a great play. Here's the scenario: I'm my Minnesota Twins, and we're playing at Chicago against the White Sox. There are two outs, it's the bottom of the ninth, we're tied, and the winning run is on third. Frank Thomas steps up to the plate, takes a big swing, and the three-play goes into affect. I throw my controller down in a fit of disgust, because I'm figuring this is a home run. So while I'm pissing and moaning off in a corner, I don't see that he actually popped it up behind second base. Therefore, I didn't get my shortstop over to catch the fly ball, and the runner on third scored to win the game. So my question to EA is: why are you three-playing a pop up???
