All Star Baseball 2003 Review Wanted (no matter the console)
 

If someone picks this up tomorrow, could they please post their thoughts?

Thanks in advance, I am curious about this game.

^^^^^^

It seems like this one has been delayed a day until tomorrow (March 1) here in the Philadelphia area.

Ebgames shipped my copy today, I'll let you know tomorrow.

cool, i'm looking forward to some impressions of this game.

Just picked it up today, a few VERY preliminary thoughts.

Not a tremendous graphical update from the PS2 2002 version, but I won't complain. Very smooth and amazingly detailed player models (batting stance, actual arm guards Barry Bonds style...). Stadiums are nice and all but the graphics never sold me on the All Star engine, I always loved the gameplay the most and on that count it certainly delivers. Having played the earlier versions to death I was really worried about picking up the game and blowing out the opponents. The most noticeable difference is a shortening of the amount of time you have between the pitch being thrown and your swing. You need to swing almost instantly or you'll be late. And that makes you chase a lot of balls and pay much more attention to pitch location. I really enjoyed this even though I've lost my first two games on veteran scoring all of 4 runs in the process. The pitches virtually fall off a table and against the great pitchers (Martinez, Brown, Maddux) it's almost impossible to get consistent hits. Crappy hitters have a hard time making contact, let alone hitting home runs (unlike my 100+ home run season with Jeff Cirillo in ASB2002).

But fielding is another issue, especially in the outfield. On flyballs in ASB2003 instead of running to the circle on the field you need to judge the trajectory of the ball (kinda, if you know what I mean) and determine where you need to be standing. On really high flyballs you need to be just about on top of the circle, but on line drives you need to be standing quite a bit in front of the circle. Took me a while to figure this out and until I get used to it, I can't stand it. Especially when you're tracking down a line drive it gets really annoying, but I think it's one of those learning curve things that you'll have to get used to. They did fix the problem that existed in earlier versions of well hit ground balls going straight by the fielders. If there's a screamer hit, the computer will dive or start running your fielder towards the ball if you don't have time to, and it really helps when you just don't have the time to react in the right direction.

Tons of features, and franchise mode rules. Minor complaint being that you can't randomize the draft order in a franchise mode. For example, my team is the Braves and if I want to draft I always have to draft 29th (really sucks trying to get that 5th decent starter). Overall though, very impressed that they didn't screw too much with it to ruin what they had. I would have gladly taken a direct port with updated rosters for 50 bucks just for the gameplay but there certainly are enough subtle (and most of them are very subtle) additions to add a little extra. Highly recommended, granted that you enjoyed the previous titles.

Thanks for the thoughts. I haven't played a ASB game since N64, but I think I'll pick this one up when I get some money.

where did you get it. i went to CC and BB and neither had it. They said it didn't come out until March 2nd.

My Best Buy didn't have it out today.

Can anyone compare ASB2003 to High Heat 2003?

hope this helps ... i think it's the best site out there to find reviews

http://www.gamerankings.com/

Found ASB2003 at Electronics Boutique in a local mall. Traded in NFL Fever and walked out with it for something like $25.

^

IGN put up a review of the PS2 version. It sounds pretty good too. Their only major gripe was with some animation flaws. That's definitely the type of thing that will bother me but I think I'll love the game anyway. I'll be picking up the Cube version tomorrow hopefully.

Multi-system owners may want to be wary of the Cube version.

If you haven't read it yet, franchise on GC would need 5 memory cards! I don't know what Nintendo was thinking with their consumer-unfriendly tiny storage capacity.

Where did you hear that? I've never heard such a thing. It doesn't really matter to me because I never planned on doing franchise mode but still.

IGN put up an insiders-only review, any insiders feel like sharing what it got (ratings only)?

Closing Comments

ASB is far from perfect, but its successes easily outweigh its deficits. Anyone who purchases this game, rather than waiting for Triple Play or WSB won't be disappointed. I can't beam enough over the Franchise Mode and the great off season menu. The Player Cards are a nice touch and should become a staple of all sports games. Acclaim should be commended for the amount of care they put into this game. Last year High Heat was the champ on PS2, but Acclaim may just take over that title with their latest outing. If you love a good baseball sim and you want to invest some serious time in multiple seasons, this is the game for you.
-- Hilary Goldstein


Presentation

All the teams and stadiums. The menus haven't really changed from previous ASB, but seems to become more of an unituitive mess with each version. 8.0

Graphics

Nice player models, but some of the animations are off. The ground textures are a bit too plain and there's no wear and tear over the course of a season. 7.5

Sound

Some good ambient sounds and decent play-by-play. I'm all about the guy shouting "What game are you watchin' Blue?!" 8.0

Gameplay

A good solid engine without a ton of bugs. I just love this game. It feels real and it's so nice to have ASB back to form. 9.0

Lasting Appeal

Plenty to come back for with lots of play modes, trivia, and a fantastic Franchise Mode. 9.0

OVERALL SCORE (not an average) 8.9

:thumbsup:

sounds like it is worth picking up. thanks for the post!

just curious what cosole that review is for...???