All Star Baseball 2003

If you've played any of the All-Star Baseball games for the consoles, you'll be familiar with the controls. The 3-D batting cursor, which tilts from left to right so you can pull the ball or slap it to the opposite field, is the same, though there's no hit-for-power option. The game also takes on the series' cumbersome baserunning controls. It's difficult to pull off a steal, but it can be done--which is better than on most handheld baseball games. One improvement is the tracking system for fielders, which draws a yellow dotted line between the fly ball and your outfielder. This is a big help, especially for such a small screen. There's also an auto-fielding option for those who would rather not bother.

The game gets a lot of mileage out of the GBA graphics thanks to some nice 2-D backdrops of all the MLB stadiums. Just don't expect Nomar Garciaparra's typical antics in the batter's box or Jeff Nelson's sidearm delivery. You can play and save full or half seasons--simulating any number of these games--or simply play a three-game series. The game even lets you manage your lineups for regular and interleague play and set your pitching rotation.

The game suffers, however, from some poor timing. Like most ASB games, hitters are at a disadvantage, as the pitches come to the plate too quickly to get a good read on them. Also, throws are disproportionately faster than base runners--we were able to turn a double play before we even had the controls down, and numerous shallow outfield hits ended with our runner getting thrown out at first.

Overall, though, this is a great sports game for the GBA--a category that has been poorly served for the unit in the past. --Porter B. Hall

Pros:

• Great graphics
• Full-season play with auto simulation
• Team management functions, such as lineup cards and pitching rotations

• Cumbersome baserunning
• Odd timing issues

The season option allows the player to select a team and guide it through a year of baseball. A full season consists of 162 games, some against opponents in your league and some against teams in other leagues. However you can elect to play one of the other season mode variations. These include 162 games with an unbalanced schedule, 162 games with a balanced schedule, non-interleague play, 81 games (half season), three-game league (round robin), one-game league (round robin), 87-game round robin, and 29-game round robin. The current progress can be saved after every game either manually or automatically.

Gameplay: Unless you put it on Hard (All-Star), the game is way to easy. If you tilt the batting target a certain way, you can get a hit 90% of the time. As for pitching, just pitch to a corner, and you'll get an out almost every time. Plus the baserunning is totally messed up.

Special Features: If you're getting this game for the special features in the console version, don't. There is no create-a-player, or Hall-of-Fame team. The only thing it has are trading cards, which serve no purpose.

BOTTOM LINE: Too easy, gets boring quickly, no good extras,
players and teams all look the same.


Weak   December 8, 2002
 1 out of 2 found this review helpful

I was really looking forward to playing this game, but it left me wanting more. The graphics are great, but it's extremely difficult to hit the ball, which other reviewers have pointed out as well. Sure, it's good to have a challenge, but this is just too difficult. The pitching and fielding is easy to master, but hitting--which in a video game is 95% of the fun--is just too damn hard. Save your money.


Weak   December 8, 2002
 2 out of 4 found this review helpful

I was really looking forward to playing this game, but it left me wanting more. The graphics are great, but it's extremely difficult to hit the ball, which other reviewers have pointed out as well. Sure, it's good to have a challenge, but this is just too difficult. The pitching and fielding is easy to master, but hitting--which in a video game is 95% of the fun--is just too damn hard. Save your money.


Great Game!!!   September 29, 2002
This should be picked up right now!!! I know the baserunning is a bit bad, but that's basically all of the flops. At the beginning you might think it's imossible to hit , but you just have to get used to it. And the fielding feature is a very to use.


Great Game!!!   September 29, 2002
 0 out of 3 found this review helpful

This should be picked up right now!!! I know the baserunning is a bit bad, but that's basically all of the flops. At the beginning you might think it's imossible to hit , but you just have to get used to it. And the fielding is a sinch.