All Star Baseball 2004 for Xbox

Baseball lives and dies by the pitcher/batter duel and All-Star has you covered here. How? By offering every option the competition can muster. You can use a cursor system (like MVP Baseball), a timing based system (less realistic, but good for new players), and a system like High Heat where you have to watch the ball carefully (most realistic). Each system works but the cursor-based option could is sub par: the information regarding where and when to swing appears too late. The gameplay has other flaws. Fielding feels soft, unresponsive and slow, and the AI is stupidly aggressive at times: stealing when it shouldn't and slugging when a sacrifice is called for.

All-Star has good graphics--not the best available but very good and the animations are all smooth and lifelike. You can even identify many players by their batting stance alone. The audio is a standout, specifically the commentary, which is accurate, insightful, and even includes entertaining side conversations about the rules and quirks of the game.

All-Star isn't quite the best baseball game you can buy for your console system, but it offers the best overall package if you aren't sure what you want. Good gameplay, good graphics, lots of options and extras, and a nice range of hitting options. Play ball! --Andrew S. Bub

Pros:

• Nice range of pitching/batting options
• Good graphics
• Terrific Audio

• Uneven, overly aggressive, artificial intelligence

Maybe spending only a week is too short to adjust to the way you need to control the tilt and position of the batting cursor at the same time, but it just seemed too much to me. You should be able to handle where the ball goes by timing your swing, but that's just me.

The only other area that I had a complaint with was the announcers. It really started to get repetitive about every 5th inning.

The high points are graphics and simulation. Unless you understand the concept of the Rule 5 draft, don't even try and turn it on. It's a little difficult for the common fan to understand, and the way that it's encorporated is a little difficult as well.


This game is great but....   May 10, 2003
 1 out of 3 found this review helpful

I went out and bought this game becuase i loved last years version, I would say im pleased with my purchase there are some great things in this game, like scenario mode which is cool and gives you a chance to do try to break up no hitters, etc. Also pickup mode is great and gives the game some more replay value than other baseball games on the market. The graphics in this game are amazing. The franchise mode is 20 years long and gives you a chance to build up a team.

I have some complants though, THERE IS TOO MANY HOMERUNS... Homeruns are fun and all but when your hitting 5-10 in 1 game, each game there has to be some limit!!! Hitting is just too easy in this game... Ya you can change the difficulty from rookie, veteran and all-star(being the hardest)... But i played a game on rookie... and i won 26-3... Then a game on veteran and guess what i win again 18-5... Wait theres more, a game on all-star, the hardest, Hmm...?? i win 14-4...One last problem i have with the game is the number of strikouts. In the 2003 version it was impossible to strike out.. now u strike out at least 10 times a game!!

Putting these complaints aside this game is great.. And i would encourage any1 looking for a solid baseball game to at least rent it


Overall, not as good as 2003   April 24, 2003
So I was very excited for ASB2004. I played ASB2003 until the disc no longer worked. I created my own franchise, own players, and carried it through for years. While 2003 had some drawbacks, the gameplay and the franchise mode were unbeatable.

However, 2004 looks like it was released a little ahead of schedule. It's just sloppy.

My biggest problem with baseball games in general is that they are unrealistic. Being a big baseball fan, I know all the details of gameplay, scoring, and stats. In ASB2004, when a runner is on first, the batter hits a base hit to right field, and the runner gets thrown out at 2nd base, I'm miffed.

There are numerous problems with scoring errors. I hit a triple to right field, but a throwing error got me home. I was miscredited with a homerun, but no RBI, while the fielder was credited with a throwing error, but the pitcher got an earned run. Big problems.

The announcers will mis-announce plays all the time. Line drive to center is a pop fly, pop fly could be ruled a "drive in the gap," double play is announced as a fielder's choice. C'mon people, this was right before!

I've also had a couple of crashes, not during the gameplay, but when working rosters and saving options. Annoying.

There are a lot of new cool things with ASB2004, for sure. The scenario mode is awesome, the new look and display is cool. But the new stuff is far outweighed by how much Acclaim blew it with all the stuff they got right in 2003. ASB used to be the best baseball game, now it's just for rookies.

Oh, and ps... I just pitched a perfect game. Ain't I cool.