Gaming Target - Xbox: All-Star Baseball 2003

Written by Sean Sharp on March 25, 2002

Full Review: Not even Chuck Knoblauch could throw this away.

They say the hardest task in all of sports is to hit a baseball. Perhaps the hardest thing to do in sports video games is to make a realistic baseball game that is also fun to play. Acclaim looks to do just that with All-Star Baseball 2003. While the original ASB on N64 is considered a classic game by many gamers, later installments have failed to live up to expectations.

ASB 2003 has kept the same gameplay format for this year's installment with only minor revisions, while adding a wide array of options. This is by no means a bad thing, as you will find a huge amount of depth in this game. The choices both on and off the field are truly what separate this and other baseball games apart. Before you can even get your cleats dirty, you will notice how many modes of play this game contains. The standard choices from most other baseball games are available to you (Exhibition, Season and All Star Game). There are also modes rarely seen in other games, such as Manager, Batting Practice, the enjoyable Trivia mode, and last but not least, an impressive Career mode. Career mode is much like the option you are given by EA Sports with titles such as Madden Football (in this regard Acclaim has also added player cards as bonuses to be had for completing certain goals throughout a season). Players can use a team over the course of 20 seasons and try to create a dynasty reminiscent of the New York Mets franchise (I know, I know its not exactly a dynasty but I am a Mets fan and cannot bring myself to acknowledge that other New York team). If you are not a fan of a particular team you can create your own club using the Expansion mode option (hopefully you will have better luck than the Tampa Bay Devil Rays).

Once you lace em up, the gameplay on the field is exceptional. You are given almost 20 choices concerning the positioning of your infield/outfielders. This is a useful option when you are trying to turn a double play or guard the lines to prevent an extra base hit late in a close game. You can also pull the infield in, ala Joe Torre, in game 7 of last years' World Series (I know that's a cheap shot but I couldn't resist, like I said I'm a Mets fan). Catching the ball with your fielders is generally done with the computers aid in choosing the man closest to the ball and pushing him along in the right direction. This is a convenient feature as it allows you to do most of the work yourself after being allotted a good jump on the ball. You can manually make your position player jump or dive for a ball to make that Sportscenter worthy highlight, however, this rarely works the way you had planned and can be rather frustrating at times.

Once the ball is caught, it is your responsibility to throw to the correct base. Acclaim has used the button corresponding to the proper base method of throwing, so the A button would throw home, the Y button to second, and so on and so forth. This is both an easy and effective system to use.

Pitching the ball is indeed an art form and the people at Acclaim take this into consideration, as you are given the pitchers real pitches. And unlike many previous baseball games, you cannot make the ball move all over the plate once the pitch is released. You are given just enough flexibility after you let go to make it realistic.

Hitting on the other hand can take some time to really get used to. Contrasting other titles, you must have some idea as to the pitch being thrown or you will strikeout more than Howard Stern at a feminist convention. It is a good idea for most gamers to spend some time in batting practice to work on their swing before looking down a Randy Johnson fastball in a game. Following some quality at bats in the batting cage, you should be adequate at the plate and will continue to improve if you decide to play a season. As you hone your skills, batting actually becomes quite enjoyable. The ability to control the batters every detail, from fly ball to grounder to left or right field, is extremely simple in theory to accomplish (and can be the key to success throughout a season). Batters are all given a sideways triangle to move around the batters box. This triangle is used to place the bat on the ball and can be moved with the pitch. Inside the triangle will be a smaller icon, which represents the hitter's sweet spot. The higher the batters average the bigger the icon. Moving the triangle left to right or up and down on an axis can help control the ball's direction once it is hit. Most games have you just hop on up to the plate and swing away where ASB actually forces you to think, even giving you an opportunity to guess what the pitchers next pitch will be. Guess right and you can really get a hold of the pitch, guess wrong and you can really look silly. Again, this takes some getting used to, but is worth the wait.

While the gameplay in ASB is playoff caliber, the graphics are still not worthy of the postseason. You will notice that players' faces are fairly well modeled but the bodies are all too similar to one and other. Throwing the ball to a base can look awkward as well. Stadiums and crowds both seem to be lackluster and without a doubt do not utilize the Xbox's capabilities. This holds even truer for the backdrops. While the graphics do not jump out and scream at you, they are adequate for the game and are not a hindrance during play.

The same can be said about the announcers' commentary during a game. It is impossible to avoid redundant comments during the course of a season, but all in all the commentary is sharp and on occasion even humorous. Especially impressive is the announcers' ability to comment on a batters previous plate appearance. The crowd can be irritating at times. My personal exception to this being one fan who subtly says, Уhey batta batta suuwing batta battaФ in a semi high pitch voice (think Ferris Bueller at the Cubs game). In general, the sound is slightly better than what you have become accustomed to and will not provoke much thought during gameplay, allowing you to focus your attention on the game at hand. For a baseball game that is always a plus.