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Great Game on Nintendo, Awful On PS2 -- Huge Letdown

1 Rating: 1, Useful: 20 / 30
Date: March 23, 2001
Author: Amazon User

Let me begin by saying I have been a huge, huge All-StarBaseball fan. I bought it every year for the Nintendo 64, and everyyear I was thrilled. It was the most fun I've had with any game. Itwas a baseball lover's delight and I would play with a friend on thecomputer endlessly. So, I bought my hard-to-find Playstation 2basically, just so I could play this game. That's right -- I lovedthis game so much I was willing to shell out [the money] for its newand improved incarnation.

Well, color me angry, disappointed, andvery, very let down and depressed. While graphically beautiful,All-Star Baseball 2002 is an enormous step backwards by Acclaim fromits N64 predecessors. Where to begin:

1) They've removed theability to throw pitches at different speeds. This feature was one ofthe great strategy factors of the previous edition. Guessing thespeed of the pitch, as well as location and type was a huge chessgame. Now it's gone. The pitcher/batter interface is slow, boring,and not easy to control.

2) Speaking of the touted batter/pitcherinterface -- the analog controls on the PS2 for this game areterrible! It's like moving slowly through mud. Your cursor's down inthe zone, but the pitcher throws a fastball at the letters? Forgetit. The cursor simply does not respond quickly at all. On the N64you could move it at will. Acclaim has taken one of its best features-- the mind game between batter and pitcher -- and made it one oftheir worst.

3) Camera angles. Come on! These are terrible.They've got these beautifully rendered stadiums and you can hardly seethem. Other than the behind the catcher shot, all we get is a bird'seye view of the game. The camera doesn't really follow the actionlike it used to. The game is very static, and, as a result,ultimatley boring. Acclaim teased us with this spectacular openingvideo on line -- beautiful shots, great action -- and not only is themovie not even in the game, none of the shots are either.

3)Fielding. Yuck! In the N64 game, the minute the ball left the bat,you intuitively could tell where it was going and move the appropriatefielder accordingly. Not anymore. Not only can't you tell where theball is going, but the camera angle the game cuts to is insane. Whenballs are hit to the right or left side, it shows you anacross-the-field shot. Forget it. Not only that -- you can't chooseto control the fielder! If the balls hit somewhere that you want thethirdbasemen or outfielder to get, but the computer picks theshortstop? Tough luck. Controls here are sluggish and non-responsiveas well.

This game is truly a shame and a missed opportunity. Ilove all the graphics touches. It's spectacular. And the fun stufflike the wonderful face mapping, the mascots and retro uniforms aregreat. But, ultimately, the terrible gameplay kills it. Acclaim hadTHE perfect template for console baseball. Three years of great gamesand experience on how to do it right. What went wrong? My friend andI used to be addicted to All-Star Baseball. After 10 minutes playingit, he said he never wanted to play it again. It was that boring andfrustrating. Me? I'll basically just do batting practice. If youhit monster home runs -- which is too easy to do in this game -- atleast then you get a couple of angles that show off the beauty of thestadiums.

One of my great pleasures in life has been taken away fromme. Thanks for nothing, Acclaim.

Triple Play VS. All-Star Baseball......All-Star MUCH BETTER!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 10 / 12
Date: March 23, 2001
Author: Amazon User

All-Star Baseball flat out is much better than Triple Play for the PS2. I bought both of the games and All-Star Baseball is much more realistic. The games are so close to being as real as the pros, while Triple Play, the games are not very exciting and there is not really any competition. All-Star baseball has better graphics and the pitching is awesome. You can actually strike out people in All-Star baseball while in Triple Play it's almost impossible to do. If you are like me you like to monitor stats. The stat category for All-Star Baseball is much better too. When you need to warm up a pitcher you actually have to warm them up in the bull-pen before putting them into the game unlike Triple Play Baseball. With Triple Play Baseball I played three games and was bored. All Star Baseball kept me involved because it is just like the pro's. The first game that I bought was Triple Play Baseball because I thought EA Sports reputation would rule again. But I kept hearing about All Star Baseball and how great it was so I decided to give it a try. All Star Baseball is hands down the winner of the baseball competition for this year's baseball releases for the PS2! Trust me..you won't be disappointed with All-Star Baseball.

How great the game is depends on the player...

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 6 / 7
Date: April 03, 2001
Author: Amazon User

Ok, about 95% of the time I recommend a player to rent a game before they play it, merely because it's hard to judge whether or not the game would appeal to all users.

I'm going to do it again, because this may be the best baseball game to some, while others may simply hate it. Here is my take on the game:

I'm a Triple Play fan, but I bought this over TP merely because of the great reviews I saw. Some were justified, others were left out.

Most of my frustrations were in the field. The graphics are by far brilliant, but the motion-capture was a little off. For example, when I would dive after a ball or scoop it up, it would be three feet from my glove, then all of a sudden disappear and wind up in my hand. I also couldn't find a sprint button for my fielders, which made it difficult running after the ball. What I will never understand is why developers make the wall so far in so that what should be a double or a triple falls as a single.

I also didn't like the pitcher/batter interface. It just didn't appeal to me because reviews claimed it was extremely savvy to use, but I thought it made it seem unrealistic. I read it was hard to hit homers, but I hit four in one inning.

All in all, the game was easy to pick up and play. It didn't appeal to my style of baseball, but did have it's own high points and realism value. So, again, rent before you buy. I would recommend renting all three baseball games before making a decision.

Not a Bad Game

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 6 / 7
Date: June 04, 2001
Author: Amazon User

I read all of the reviews on all three baseball games, so I decided to give this one a try and Triple Play a try. I bought both of them. I started to play TP and it was alright. Then I started to play ASB. It was a whole lot better than TP. The graphics are awesome. Gameplay is great. And the controls are really easy. It is really a competitive game with the computer. The first time that i played it(on rookie of course), the computer was kicking my butt. Then after a while, i started hitting home runs like they were nothing. Then i moved up one more level and it is just like your playing a real season, none of this winning all but 10 games for the whole season. See I'm really into getting beat a lot, to make it seem real. And on the veteran level, that is perfect. I dont win 20 in a row, I win maybe 3 and then lose a couple. It is great. You can throw people out on your knees, rob someone of a home run, 1st baseman jumping for a bad throw or scooping up one too. The only reason that i gave this game 4 stars instead of 5 is that when you are going for a ground ball or fly ball, is that you can get the ball when your an inch or two(on the TV) away from it. It's a really nice game. I recommend that you rent all three and find out for yourself.

Excellent Baseball Game True to America's Pastime

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 10 / 16
Date: March 20, 2001
Author: Amazon User

I was looking for a baseball game for my PS2, and I had seen that Triple Play Baseball was out from EA. I own Madden NFL 2001 (great football game) and NBA Live 2001 from EA, so I had planned on getting Triple Play. I happened to read a few reviews of T.P.B. though, and while I haven't played the game myself, I hear that it is very arcade-ish, with stuff like cannon shots going off when you hit the ball, etc. SO, I bought this game because I heard it was supposed to be great. Boy is it ever! This is more of a sim than T.P.B. so if you're looking for wacky baseball, that would probably be a good bet, but if you're looking for a realistic game, then read on. The game is fairly easy to pick up, and alot of fun. I especially like the 3D batting icon which allows you to control your hitting, so you can try to hit into the gaps, etc. I went to create a season, and there are several schedules you can choose from, like 162 game balanced, 162-game with no interleague play, 87-game seasons, etc. The graphics are similar to those of the EA sports titles mentioned above (which are great as far as I'm concerned) - and the fluidity of the fielding motions is pretty darn good. I was surprised to see the second baseman actually dive over my runner and fling the ball over to first to turn the double play.

My only problem with the game is that the menu system needs a little work. For example, if you enter the help screen, and then go back, the previous screen's settings are back to the default, instead of what you chose before hitting the help button. But these little details don't take away from the game play. So don't let them discourage you!

Overall, I give it a 5 star rating because while I'm sure there will be a better baseball title out there some day, maybe even soon, I haven't seen, heard of, or played a better one in my day

Best out of the (un)holy trinity

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 8 / 12
Date: May 08, 2001
Author: Amazon User

I'll end the debate of "best baseball game around": ASB2002 is the best out of the bunch. Being a pretty hard-core baseball buff myself, i eagerly anticipated the release of this year's baseball games for PS2. I had previously been hooked on Triple Play 2001 for PS1, and i couldn't wait for TP to come out in PS2. When i played it, i quite honestly enjoyed it. The game regressed in some areas (players look like short, stocky lego guys), but overall, i thought it was ok (i didn't know any better). I logged on to Amazon.com and read everyone's review on ASB2002, and decided to give the other games a try. I returned TP, rented out both ASB2002 & High-heat. High-heat was a no-no after 20 minutes of play. Shame on High-heat for daring to release it in PS2 (i'll take the Bases Loaded graphics in a gameboy over those graphics). ASB2002 had AMAZING graphics and motion fluidity (1st basemen scooping up low-throws, shortstops throwing out players on their knees, etc.), but i absolutely HATED the fielding & baserunning bugs. After two weeks of gameplay, i had kinda grown accustomed to the game, but the fact that you couldn't play other team's games during season mode killed it. I returned ASB2002 and re-bought Triple Play. But a funny thing happened when i started playing TP again. It just wasn't as much fun. The cannon shots, the rigid motions, the inability to control the direction of a hit, etc. I had unconsciously grown too accustomed to ASB's greater graphics & motion fluidity. Even gameplay was better. So for the final time, I traded in TP for ASB2002. I have since been playing it, and it's undoubtedly the best baseball game out there. It's far from perfect (oh why oh why can't i play other teams' games?), but i've mastered some of the bugs (i regularly hit doubles now, and i've legged out a couple of triples too), and it's definitely the best baseball sim game out there. That's not to say that the game couldn't be better, but there's a limited selection out there, and... this game is a pretty good investment. And plus, TP's "chork: half-chicken, half-pork" comments can't beat Breneman's "Adios, senor pelota!"

Kinda Disappointing

2 Rating: 2, Useful: 8 / 13
Date: March 19, 2001
Author: Amazon User

For some reason this game came out a week in advance where I live, so I read up on Triple Play and ASB and by the reviews it seemed ASB was the better choice. However, I am fairly disappointed with the game. Graphics wise, the still pictures are awesome, but then the motion to catch and throw is awful. Once the ball gets near a player it warps into the glove, and then to throw it doesn't matter what direction the player is facing for them to get it to go to the base you choose. There is also some glitches in the game, such as when the computer hit a foul ball and the announcer said foul, then it makes you watch it until it bounces a couple times so I ran my fielder over there even though it was way out of play and then I heard it bounce and it said ground rule double. That made me kind of mad, but when it went back to play the runner was no longer on first that had been there before the foul ball, and no one was on second for the ground rule double. However, the had gained two runs out of the ordeal. The speed is also quite a bit off as even if you hit the ball in a gap you can't get a double as they run it down before you even get to first. Home runs are also really easy to come by, just turn on the power swing everytime and you will hit 1 or 2 every inning. The number of options and decent graphics did bump my rating up a bit, and I will still play it for a while, but I don't think I would buy this particular baseball game if I had the choice again...

The Best PS2 game so far

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 4 / 5
Date: March 22, 2001
Author: Amazon User

I was waiting for a baseball game most of last year and all of this year. I had planned on getting Triple Play, but after reading reviews, I found out that it was very arcade stylish, and that when run, Pedro Martinez had an ERA over 7.00,and that just isn't right. After looking into ASB, i got really excited and went to pick it up, and i wasn't dissapointed.

The options are fantastic, as are the graphics, but what really holds this game together is of course the gameplay. It is awesome. The computer A.I. is pretty good also. The only complaints i have is the camera, it's just to low and cpu runner A.i.

Still waiting...

2 Rating: 2, Useful: 4 / 5
Date: March 24, 2001
Author: Amazon User

I bought this game hoping that it would finally be THE great baseball game we have all been waiting for. Sad to say, I am still waiting. What's the deal with NO camera angle options...you get what they give you(and the angle for fielding SUCKS) and that's it! Batting and pitching are overly complicated and very slow, fielding is a joke (outfielders are able to get to balls that are not even close to them and make the catch), and if you don't change your pinch-hitter, he will be pitching for you next inning. 2 stars are for the beautiful but difficult to see graphics and the turn-back-the-clock uni's. And can someone tell me how can you get the camera angles that are shown on the game box itself? Theese close-up's and cross angles are not in this game! Isn't that false advertising?

Best baseball game since MLB 98!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 3 / 3
Date: May 14, 2001
Author: Amazon User

Out of the 3 baseball titles on PS2 this is the best. It is far superior to Triple Play, and more fun than highheat. The graphics are incredible and the season mode is great. Extras include create a player and ome run derby. Get this game for you PS2.

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