Gaming Target - Xbox: World Series Baseball

Written by Adam Woolcott on June 05, 2002

Full Review: It's baseball so real that the only thing missing is player strikes and lockouts. Not that it's a bad thingЕ

Sega's World Series Baseball franchise has been through hard times these past few years. After the Genesis and Saturn versions were simply the finest baseball games on any platform, the series lost some of its luster when the Dreamcast came along. World Series Baseball 2K1 was a train wreck of a baseball game Ц piss-poor gameplay and a pathetic lack of any kind of features (it didn't even include a manual fielding option Ц a big no-no) killed any chance of it being any good. Sadly, it was bought up in droves Ц only because there wasn't any DC alternative. WSB 2K2 was an improvement, but still had a lot of flaws. Although, it was a step in the right direction now that the game was in the hands of Sega's sports Gods, Visual Concepts.

Now Sega's baseball series has hit the Xbox in the form of World Series Baseball (no 2K after it; most likely it's to keep even with EA Sports. Next year's game should be WSB 2K3), and it's exclusive for the system this season (it will go multiplatform next year). This time, Sega faces competition in the form of Triple Play Bobblehead Baseball 2002 (well it's not called bobblehead, it's just the players look like them), and All Star Baseball 2003. And just like Sega has been doing since it's gone the 3rd party route, WSB stands up to the competition, irons out all the flaws from the Dreamcast games, and gives perhaps their best baseball game to date Ц and easily the best sports game, across all the major sports, on the young Xbox. It's deep enough that hardcore baseball fans (such as me) can enjoy all the special additions, but maintains a playability level so anyone can hop in and have fun. The finished result is a game that will certainly give you something to do until the baseball season is over Ц and probably keep you playing in the off-season.

WSB comes with all the usual trimmings and features Ц an exhibition mode, a simple playoff mode, a single season mode, and a home run derby. Along with those features you expect in a baseball game, World Series Baseball comes stocked with the most amazing Franchise mode on a video game console (the High Heat on PC series is the only thing close, but it's PC so it doesn't count). Not only is it set for unlimited seasons, it's set so that you have complete and total control over the faculty of your ball club. Chances are you'll spend hours digging through ratings of both your major and minor league players, setting your lineups and pitching rotations to your preferences. And you haven't even played a single game yet!

When you start up your franchise, you're asked to select 4 different coaches Ц your manager, a pitching coach, a hitting coach, and a minor league scout. They're all rated based upon their knowledge of particular player types Ц some coaches are better with hitters than pitchers, or can be fairly even concerning both. Each one needs to be signed to a contract that fits under your budget, and they'll remain with the team until their contracts expire.

After that, you're able to get advice from these coaches as to who should be in the majors, who should be in the minors, what kind of players you need to get in a trade, etcЕ Also, if you have a solid hitting coach or pitching coach, it's possible players will start to hit and pitch better under the guidance of their respective coaches. So aligning yourself with an A+ hitting coach can result in some players who are career .250 hitters becoming solid .280 hitters after getting enough time with the coach. It's a very, very cool thing and adds to the pure depth of the game.

You're in charge of all the transactions that take place Ц you can demote and promote players to and from the minors, trade players, and sign free agents. Of course, you have to keep within your budget. There is no salary cap in baseball, at least literally Ц however, if your team stinks most likely you don't have the finances to go on a spending spree to bring in some superstars. Thus, you have to work with what you have to build fan support and win some games, because that equals more revenue, thus a larger budget. If you choose, it's possible to turn this feature off, giving you free reign to sign whomever you want. But, why would you want to spoil the fun of building a crappy team like the Tampa Bay Devil Rays into a serious contender? Concerning trades, it's possible also to override the CPU decision to accept or reject a trade; so have fun if that's the route you want to take. After the season, you have the usual off-season tasks Ц retiring players, resigning your current players, signing free agents, and the rookie draft. Being able to sign bigger names is based upon how big your budget has grown during the season Ц and I'm sure playing worse than the year before will bring less money to work with, so it's best to win as often as possible and build some loyalty, especially with the more fickle fan-bases. Once that's completed, it's time for a new season Ц a cycle that never ends.

Also, WSB features the deepest stat tracking engine, in the cleanest and easiest to read format Ц to a fault. Career stats are not tracked, due to a chance of it taking up way too much memory (amazing, considering the system we're talking about here), which is a disappointment. It would be something special to see a young rookie you've drafted make a run at a career home run or hits record. AlasЕ that probably will have to wait until next year.

Once you're settled, getting into the gameplay is a snap, and an addictive snap at that. There's so many intricacies to playing each individual game that it's absolutely fascinating. Sometimes, your pitcher will be dead on, getting everyone out and giving your offense a break. Other times, his control is so bad that he gets rocked for a ton of runs, hurting your chances for a win. And when it comes to hitting, the batters have games where they're knocking everything around, and the next night they strike out 4 times in a row (the golden sombrero). WSB caters pretty exclusively to the simulation side, but the game's ease of play keeps the arcade roots intact.

As always, a baseball game revolves around 4 different intangibles; pitching, hitting, fielding, and baserunning. And as I always do, they're best broken down and discussed in each area before tying the important things in.

Pitching is fairly simple, but it isn't perfect. Before each pitch, you select a pitch by moving the left analog stick in the direction of the pitch on the on-screen chart, and press A. Then you have to aim where you want the pitch to go, manually. Sometimes, the pitch will go where you want it to go; other times it won't. Unless you've turned off variable pitching, this is how the game goes. There's a strike zone meter to let you know when you're in the zone, but that also is able to be turned off. Each pitcher has a good variety of (at least 3) pitches, so you're not just tossing fastballs. Careful mixing of both direction and pitch type is a needed requirement, along with learning how the hot/cold zones work.

The hot/cold zones is a chart for a batter Ц if an area of the strike zone is blue, the hitter isn't very good in that area, if it's red, he's dangerous, and if there's nothing, it's a neutral area. However, you can't just avoid the red areas and target the others Ц eventually you'll get knocked around good after a while. Pitching in reality is a game of calculated risk, and it's the same here Ц sometimes you just have to take a risk and hope for the best.

I find only a couple things I dislike about pitching Ц the whole icon-based meter is now ancient and unnecessary. I like how High Heat baseball just makes you pick the pitch then the direction you want it to go Ц it makes for a less aggravating experience, especially because the cursor for it is a total bitch to line up.

Also, the stamina for your pitcher versus the computer AI is very off-balance. For instance, in a game where I threw 70 pitches after 7 innings, my starter was down to the last 1/4th of his stamina. On the other hand, the starter for the other team, after nearly 90 pitches of working the count and getting a base hit here and there, still has around half of his stamina left, and in terms of ratings are about even in projected stamina. I'd suppose it's another realism thing, but it's quirky.

Hitting is also cursor-based. On the rookie playing level, you don't really have to worry Ц the ball's exact placement will be revealed before the pitch so you may line up and smack it on the dot. Of course, you'll be winning games 25-0 in no time, so moving up to pro is a good idea. Once there, you have to use the cursor to line up your hits. It works decently and acceptably Ц usually you're able to detect the pitches and line the cursor up to get a hit. However, after playing plenty of HH 2003 over on the PlayStation 2, I'm finding myself just following the ball and forgetting the meter, resulting in a lot of stupid mistakes. Perhaps that's a sign that Sega and VC need to get rid of the cursor and let the actual skills of the player dictate what happens, instead of a cursor which can be as much of a hindrance as it is a help.

Once the adjustment is made, however, hitting can be a lot of fun. There's plenty of variety in the hits Ц plenty of singles, doubles, and a few triples here and there (though it does lean to a lot of doubles on a consistent basis). Home runs are not as prevalent as last year's, but once you know how to hit them (get it so the cursor is right under the location of the ball, and you should be able to rip them out of the yard), they can happen on a constant timeframe. I've noticed though that homers come in big streaks (kinda like real baseball), so they may come and go for you.

Playing in the field is surprisingly easy, and it won't take more than a few minutes to get used to it. Oddly, there's no option for automatic fielding, unless I missed the option somewhere. This is either a good or a bad thing, depending on your perspective, but thankfully it's so simple that most likely it won't matter anyway. Once the ball is in play, the game assigns the correct defensive player (I'd say this is 99% accurate) nearest the ball, and then all you need to do is pick the ball up and throw to the button on the controller that matches the base (A is home, B is first base, and so on). If the ball is out of reach, all you have to do is press the right trigger and the player will lunge for the ball, and hopefully make a play.

When it comes to fly balls, it's just as easy. The spot the ball is going to land is marked in red, and your job is to get under it and catch it. Best thing is, if you're right on it, the computer will take over so you don't get out of range and miss it. Like with grounders, the right trigger will begin a dive for the ball, so it may take a perfectly timed press to make a big catch.

Only a few things bother me about fielding. First off, unless you hammer down on the buttons, the defenders are very, very slow in getting up to make a play. I finally figured out if you keep pressing the button for the base you want the ball thrown, they'll make a faster throw & have a better chance of making the play. It's somewhat irritating, but it's a part of the learning curve -- thus something that becomes 2nd nature after a while.

Also, you cannot leap to make jumping grabs, or leap to catch a home run ball before it goes over the wall. This feature is much missed, and hopefully will be around for the 2K3 versions of the game next year.

The final element is baserunning Ц and for the first time in a while, I feel like I've got total control of my runners. Stealing bases is very realistic Ц sometimes a runner will get a great jump and get the stolen base easy, but next time around the same runner will get a poor jump and get caught red-handed. Of course, the faster runners have much better shots; so don't be trying it with the slugs that hit in the middle of the order. It's a calculated risk in real baseball, and the same thing here Ц there are no gimmies.

When the ball is put in play, running the bases is a simple task as well. Pressing the X button in and the left analog stick in the direction of the base will advance that runner (doesn't seem to be a button to advance all the runners), and the same combination and the B button will return them. Thankfully when you pop up a hit the runners stay in their positions so they don't get caught. Better yet, when a runner is on 3rd, that runner instantly stays on the base so you can tag up and get a sacrifice fly. The only thing that bugs me is how the runners still take leads and run the bases on an obvious foul ball Ц it's not like the guy is going to drop it and it be a hit or anything.

When you put all these elements together, what you get is a stunningly realistic game of baseball. Sure, some games become homer derbys, but that's how real baseball works. Scoring runs is about strategy Ц get your leadoff man on, try to get him to second on a steal, and then drive him in on a base hit. Bunting doesn't help because they throw to 2nd anyway, so forget that. And being a smart pitcher will get you outs.

The computer AI is a little weak, however Ц either they can't get any runs at all, or all they do is hit the ball and score runs constantly. It also has its moments of the УMadden FootballФ rules Ц as in never being able to hold a lead until the computer makes a dramatic comeback. It's a remnant of WSB 2K2, but thankfully the occurrence of it is extremely minimal. Yet on the Pro and All-Star difficulty levels, there's plenty of challenge for baseball fan Ц one that requires every facet of the game. If you aren't able to be strong in the field, know smart baserunning, smart pitching, and being able to read the pitches, you simply aren't going to win a game. That's what makes World Series Baseball so realistic. The best part of the game, however, is the pace Ц you can play a game in 30-45 minutes every time.

As you might expect, WSB comes with outstanding graphics. However, as much as they look good, they clearly don't take advantage of every single attribute of the Xbox. The players look great, with tons of accurate batting stances and swings, as well as home run animations like Sammy Sosa's little hop after he knocks one out onto Waveland Avenue. Some of the pitchers have their own pitching animations too, which is neat. Most of the players have accurate faces to match them, but some are reallyЕ scary. Not Virtua Tennis scary, but still kinda scary.

The stadiums are accurately presented, complete with a lot of the little details that are usually forgotten, along with details missing that are always there. Sometimes you'll see a bird or 2 flying around the ballpark (thankfully, there were no Randy Johnson fastballs to completely decimate one like last year in Spring Training), and the city skylines are represented almost perfectly. Unfortunately, simple things like a constantly updating scoreboard (something that was in All-Star Baseball LAST year) are missing and take away from the realism.

The worst part of the graphics is the terrible animation of the people in the stands. They all look like cardboard cutouts and look really hokey against the realistic players & stadiums. It's exactly like WSB 2K1, which had great in-game graphics but awful fan-imation. Given the power under the hood of the Xbox, you'd assume that they could at least make the first few rows look like real people.

On the audio end of things, WSB shines again. There's so much chatter going on during the game Ц umpires making calls, fans taunting and cheering on players, and stuff like that. There are also lots of little organ music bits (the kind that's always at a baseball game) that play in the background (and are almost not even noticeable unless you're paying close attention), that even plays Take Me Out To The Ball game during the bottom of the 7th. That's not where it's usually played, but close enough.

This is tied up with commentary from Ted Robinson and Mike Krukow. Unlike most Sega games, this game uses real broadcasters, and I'd suggest they find some more actors. Robinson sounds like he should be doing a golf game instead Ц his low speaking voice and general lack of enthusiasm is disappointing, and Krukow is a smart old pitcher, but doesn't get a chance to say much nor does he say anything that's worth hearing or you don't already know. Maybe now that they have the ESPN license, Sega can bring in Jon Miller and Joe Morgan from Sunday Night Baseball, and have one hell of an announcing team.