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Hitting is difficult, but everything thing else = A+

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 3 / 4
Date: July 18, 2002
Author: Amazon User

BAD-
Hitting the ball in All-Star mode is very difficult. (strikeouts are extremely common0, but in Veteran mode it is far too easy (I had a .370 team average after the first 6 games)I usually have about 13 K's/game.
GOOD-
The graphics are amazing. Everything is so realistic - you hit a fly ball to right field and you can see Mariano Rivera warming up in the pen, you hit a liner down the first base line and the coach ducks.
The amount of features on this game is almost too many. In franchise mode there are career stats, farm teams, free agents, the players ability over the years increase/decrease, the retired players go to the Hall of Fame. So say you choose the Red Sox as a franchise team - Pedro Martinez is about 30. In 10 about 10 seasons he will retire while other stars enter your team. The producers drown you with statistics - anything from career era to career stolen bases/attempts.
Anyone who is wondering about the difficulty of winning: When you master this game completeley don't think you will win every game easily, the CPU will still give you a challenge. You will not have a .850 win% or .420 BA. I had this "easy-winning" problem with slugfest for n-64. I usually won about 150 and lost 12. In this game I win abuot 60% of my games.

FINAL THOUGHTS: I would give this game an absoulutely perfect score is it weren't for the hitting. There should be a difficulty level just about right in between All-Star mode and Veteran Mode.
BEST PART: Graphics and similarity to the real big leagues
WORST PART: You guessed it, hitting.

A Lesson in Baseball

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 3 / 4
Date: July 25, 2002
Author: Amazon User

4 stars...that's right, 4. Why? See cons for the reason. Let's talk graphics, I own the PS2 & GameCube versions and I have to edge to PS2. Some may think I'm crazy, but there's just a slight more stability than Nintendo's. Both are beautifully rendered and attractive. Though...let's get a little more realism in the gameplay. An umpire or base coach diving out of the way is cool, but how many players sit huddled up after an out? Also, a tie at a base goes to the runner...go to MLB's official site and lookup the rules if you don't believe me. And just how many people really trip over the first base bag? That's just a funny aspect. Replays are nice, though watching your batter hit a home run without connecting to the ball is always laughable. Ok, so I'm nitpicking, so what...this game is fun and needs a little tweaks. You can do worse...Triple Play 2002 & High Heat Baseball. The announcing can be repetitive, but not as much as the other 2 I mentioned. Well, maybe I should include the fact that the announcers are...A-1 friend's of Bob Brenly & George W. Bush...no slap at either, just a lot of commentary on it...for what reason I'll never know. On the informative side, they offer a lot of info on the game, plus quick-witted commentary which seems to be off the top of their heads as the game progresses, until...that is...you get to 97 games in and you've heard it all.

Minimal advertising folks! TP 2002 is loaded with Coca-Cola and various other ads, I forget what High Heat has. Anyway, here's what you wanna know.

Pros:
-Good Announcers
-Great Graphics, with all the puns I mentioned
-Solid gameplay
-Besides the goofs I mentioned, the diving players, home run take-away's and sheer rush to get the out keep the realism.
-Go ahead...hit my batter...your ejected
-Oh, you hit me? Well I'm coming out to the mound...not explicit fighting, but...ejected
-Easy batting mode and realistic scoring
-Stats are very detailed, manageable, and you have a farm team, create-a-player...what more could you ask for?
-Franchise mode...spring training (after completion of a year), retirements, trades, and on and on...
-PS2 version .... Hey! you can save a franchise mode and use 1 memory card for this and other games...GC cannot.

Cons:
-Derek Jeter will destroy your pitchers...period..."Mr. November" (Glad I am a Yankees fan)
-Expansion Mode...unless you like that sort of thing...it's dull, really not that customizable. Draft is laughable and the logos, stadiums, forgetaboutit.
-Batting mode...play easy because normal is tough...hey, that is a con for some...but...it's actually a pro for the baseball hardcore...yeah!
-That it takes too long to get through 20 seasons...haha

For this year...this is the game in baseball. Period.

(...)ROBERT ELDRIDGE

ALL STAR BASEBALL 03 ROCKS!

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 2 / 2
Date: November 10, 2002
Author: Amazon User

I gave this game 4/5 stars beacause there are good and bad parts about this game[more good parts] some of the good parts are franchise mode,fantasy draft, expansion mode,and the bonus stadiums these stadiums include Ebbets Field,Classic Yankee Stadium and Classic Wrigley Field!The bad parts are:first off it's too hard to play next it takes you a very long time to play a game and last you're either done playing a game or you're stuck playing it until you're done you can't save a single game you're playing but I still highly reccomend this game for a hard core baseball fan especially while playing with a friend! GREAT GAME!

A Great Baseball Game!!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 2 / 2
Date: June 24, 2002
Author: Amazon User

All Star Baseball 2003 is the best baseball game that has come out for a while. The graphics are awsome and the anouncers give great play by play, but sometimes they do repeat themselves. Its really awsome because you can earn points for different things like if you strike out a side or get a double play. Then you can use these points and get baseball cards. I've heard that if you get all the baseball cards you can gat cheats, but i could be wrong. And for all those people who are having trouble with the hitting, just go to game options and put easy hitting on. This will guarentee a hit, but it makes the game totally unrealistic. This game is the greatest baseball game out for PS2 and I would definately suggest buying this game if you're a baseball fan.

OK Game

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 2 / 2
Date: July 30, 2002
Author: Amazon User

First of all, i would like to say at first it is a tad hard to hit, so some of the bad reviews were right, but they didn't have enough patients in this game, because i've had it since may and already i can beat it on Veteran mode, here are some pros and cons.

PROS

.It is the most detailed realistic baseball game i've ever played.
It has every little detail for the stadiums and players alike, like the train sound in Seattle's Safeco Field, and players charging the mound and the fans throwing the ball back at Wrigley,every stadium and player has their own unique little details, it's hard to say every detail on this review.

.Modes of play, it has every mode of play you can imagine.

CONS

.Some times the graphics have glitches like players running through eachother or the ball like out of the players glove but the player catches it anyway.

.The Gameplay for the most part is good but at first it might seem a little hard but not to hard, because the first game i ever played on it i won and hit two homeruns, you just have to have patience with this game and it will probably be your favorite for this year.

Baseball Video Game from 1983

1 Rating: 1, Useful: 2 / 2
Date: March 18, 2002
Author: Amazon User

This game has nothing to engage any player. The game interface is so hard to use that you will want to give up after just a few games. Once you do realize how to use the controls it becomes clear that the game is just slow to respond making it frustrating to play and a complete waste of time. I'm suprised they would even put this on the market when other far better games exist. This is like playing baseball on the Apple IIe. Don't bother with this game, just get Triple Play.

Game On...

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 3 / 5
Date: March 19, 2002
Author: Amazon User

Being a Triple Play fan for many many seasons I was surprised at how much I enjoyed All-Star Baseball 2003. The game does not leave anything out. Triple Play is much easier to play, hitting, fielding and pitching on Triple Play presents no real challenge. All-Star there is an element of difficulty present here adding to the realism that Acclaim is trying to portray.

The expansion mode gives gamers a challenge to take a rag-tag bunch of guys and turn them into winners. A novel idea in the sport arena of games. Franshise mode containing 20 seasons, would make this the last baseball game that you would ever need to buy. I am pleased to see that injuries are included, 15 day and 60 day disabled lists. A farm team for you to choose to bring up rookies and let them have their shot in the show.

Stunning real life game play. The replays really give you a perspective of being there, participating in the game. Life like graphics even include breath coming from players mouths in colder temperatures. Old school uniforms allow you to play in those horrible Astros uniforms of the day.

For those that do not like game play. There is a myriad of other options. You can take batting practice in a bevy of ballparks and at a variety of pitches and locations. The homerun derby gives you a tour to the past as you can try to be the forth to hit a homerun into centerfield at the Polo Grounds. And then for those that can't stand playing video games, but like trivia. Strap on your cleats and play a variety of baseball trivia games.

This game has it all and will more than likely not get boring. I do have a complaint that I have seen mentioned here and that is the stamina of the starting pitcher. They get tired after four innings, that I do not understand. I thought it was just my team of no-names, but your Cy-Young winning pitchers fall victim to the same. Stealing bases is rather difficult as well, but taking a look at the game today, base stealing is a lost art, maybe the developers did not put that much work into the art of stealing.

Triple Play you have a long way to go to catch up to the fluidity of this game. Gamers, you will not be dissapointed.
up to this

The best there is... for now

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 3 / 5
Date: April 20, 2002
Author: Amazon User

I've own All Star 2002 and now 2003, and it's really the best game there is yet for the PS2. Yes, it takes time to get used to the hitting, and yes, the graphics can take some getting used to (there's more "crisp" than Triple Play, but at the expense of "real life" blurriness).

The one thing that I'm still upset about is the lack of a pitcher-focused view other than for instant replays. In a one player game it has always been easier / more fun for me to see the game from behind the pitcher's back when pitching, and behind the hitter when at bat.

The engine is the same as 2002, but the enhancements to All Star 2003 are worth the price. Accurate updated rosters (obviously), more instant replays (without as much repetitiveness), new sounds, updated stadiums and some bug fixes from 2002.

Others have complained about the difficulty of hitting. I've found on "rookie" it's pretty easy to hit (and games are fair), whereas the more difficult modes make it more of a real-life guessing game. Two-player games allow you to "telegraph" pitches but you can move the pitch after the pitcher begins his windup (helpful for Barry Zito-like knee-buckling curveballs).

All in all the best game... for now.

last year's All-Star was good, this year's will be GREAT!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 9 / 33
Date: January 30, 2002
Author: Amazon User

This game is gonna be real nice. It has the best graphics u can buy combined with great hitting/pitching/fielding controlls. All PS2 owners who like baseball will want to check this game out for the FRANCHISE MODE.

More frustration than fun!

2 Rating: 2, Useful: 2 / 3
Date: August 06, 2002
Author: Amazon User

All Star Baseball 2003 is what I would call a mediocre game. I chose to buy it because Newsweek magazine said it was the best. Far from it. For starters, everything you've heard about the hitting is pretty much true. Yes, it is a guessing game. Yes, the pitchers throw 80mph right by you before you can blink. But I found that that wasn't even the most frustrating thing in the game. For a game that looks so realistic, some of gameplay is not. For example, what percentage of homeruns in the Majors do you see hit on low and away pitches? Not many, right? Well, not in ASB 2003. You are more likely to get a down the middle pitch by the batter. Also, the CPU never manufactures runs. In other words, all their scoring is via the long ball. Newsweek did tell me one thing that was true, though. The pitchers do tire very quickly, like 3rd and 4th inning quickly. Bottom line: if you want to have fun, shop elsewhere. This game is not for you. If you want to stay eternally frustrated, slap a [$$} on the store counter and get going.

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