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Amazing

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 28 / 29
Date: March 24, 2002
Author: Amazon User

General/Summary: This is quite possibly one of the best looking baseball games that I have ever played and the gameplay goes hand in hand with it. At first I thought that this was just another mediocre baseball game but then I started to realize what this game is about. The detail in this game is amazing, the options and extras are very nice because it adds alot more life to this game. I'm sure the only reason anyone would read this is to find out if it is better than High Heat 2003 or Triple Play(ugh), well I used to own High Heat 2002 and I have the demo of 2003 and I would say that without a doubt All Star Baseball is better. In HH(the demo) it was way to easy to strike the opposing batters out, and i'm guessing that anyone who knows any kind of pitching strategy could easily win with 20+ k's. All in all All Star Baseball is actually more of a sim than High Heat
Gameplay: The gameplay is great. It reminded me of the MLB series from 989 for the Playstation. When you choose your pitch each button is assigned to a certain pitch, so x might be fastball and square might be change-up.(each pitcher has the right pitches that he has in real life) Then you would move the cursor to where you want in or out of the strike zone and press x to throw it. You can also throw pick-offs too first, second, and third,, simply by pressing the corresponding button, and you can also do a mid-windup pick-off which I was quite pleased with. All you have to do is wait till the pitcher is half way through his windup then you press the base, which base he's able to throw to depends on if he's a right hander of a left hander. If the batter hits the pitch then you move your fielder to the red circle and wait for him to catch it. If it's a ground ball you have two options. You can go to the circle and let him pick it up and then throw or you can push the base button before he has the ball to make one fluid play. This is referred to in the manual as "future throw". There is also two ways to bat in this game, you can use the easy batting or the regular batting. The regular batting is where you have a cursor and you try and line it up with the ball cursor, you can tilt the cursor to hit pop-ups or grounders or pull it or go with it. Then there's the easy batting which is just like high heat, you just time it right and swing. This is what I used because I find the batting cursor too hard. You can also guess the pitches on regular batting. If you guess right your cursor gets bigger and the opposite happens if you guess wrong. There are also player cards in this game which is quite fun. Basically you get points for doing things like a double-play and you buy packs containing six cards. The more cards you have the more cheats you unlock, it's really fun. If you're an arcade fan then play this game on rookie and pitch like you don't know the difference between a fastball and change-up, but if you're a sim fan then just use the right strategy, you might want to play on a harder level, but I played a one to nothing game on rookie so I actually think that this is more of a simulation than High Heat 2003

Graphics: These graphics are amazing, the stadiums are very accurate, and the actual field very much resembles the real field. It seems like they've used the 3D cyber-scan on every player because pretty much all of them look like their real life counterparts. You can know who someone is just by looking at their back because of their body build. The animations are also very good, when you're fielding a ground ball you see the player catching it, bringing it up to his chest then starting to throw it just like in real life. Every know and then you will notice the ball magically going to the player even though he's two feet away from it but it doesn't happen very often, and when it does it's not that distracting. My favorite part is the replays, you can't do a manual replay but there is one for every play, and it's simply amazing. When you hit a line drive and you see the ball flying by the people in the crowd you can't help but feeling that it's real. Speaking of the crowd, they're just your typical videogame crowd, flat paper like, but they do move and if you see them straight on then they look quite good.

Sound: I have heard better but not much. The announcers are almost always right and they'll usually tell you the stats of the player from last season in his first at bat. I remeber I was the Blue Jays and I was playing the Yankees and Carlos Delgado hit a game winning home run in the 11th inning. The next game the announcer said "He came up big yesterday with a homerun to win it." I was astonished to hear it. The crowd reacts nicely to what's going on. In the later innings they'll get louder if it's close or if it's a blowout they'll quite down. If a big play is made they'll get louder for the appropriate amount of time and then quite down again. Basically they react to the situations very well. I'm pleased that the sound doesn't take anything away from this game, although it doesn't add that much. I hope this helps in your decision.

The most complete baseball game ever

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 27 / 31
Date: March 02, 2002
Author: Amazon User

Two words...Franshise mode...finally somebody got it right thank you Akklaim Sports. The player detail is absolutely beautiful. The replays after each play make it almost feel like you are sitting in the stands or from the TV camera replay looks like you are watching an actual game. Expansion mode is also very fun with some very creative expansion nicknames and logos added by the software people along with some citys that should have teams such as Hawaii, Norfolk, VA, Puerto Rico, Oklahoma, Vancouver B.C. As far as the gameplay there is only one flaw that I have seen and that is sometimes when you are fielding the ball your player chasing the ball might make a catch that looks like the ball would land at least 5 feet away from where he was standing. But other times you will watch balls bounce off of players gloves and watch squibbers get under the diving infielders. Overall this is the best baseball game ever made for ANY system. The realistic feel and no 17-15 games make it that much more realistic. I have played four games with scores of 8-5, 8-3, 2-1, and 3-2. I cant get myself away from this game because every time I turn off the playstation 2 i just yearn to turn it on and play even more. Triple Play is dead...come on EA Sports add fantasy mode and i might give you a chance again but right now All Star baseball 2003 from Akklaim is the king of baseball video games. BUY THIS GAME NOW !!!!

Best baseball game for PS2

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 11 / 11
Date: March 21, 2002
Author: Amazon User

I have played baseball video games for years, and this is easily the best ever. Terrific graphics, uncanny realism, so many options. The graphics are superb: players look like themselves, bat as they really do, pitch as they really do. The stadiums even include the local mascot (eg. Paws in Detroit) and the proper sky line in the background. Besides the regular teams, they include "Cooperstown Legends", a team of Hall of Famers like Mays, Musial, Kaline. They also give you old stadiums to choose, like the Polo Grounds, old Yankee Stadium and Tiger Stadium.

The game play is tough, but enjoyable. I have a hard time hitting, but it's fair. Players overrun the bag at first, break up double plays and make sliding catches in the outfield. There are instant replays after almost every play, but they're from a different angle and enable you to see the ump ringing up a batter or a first baseman stretching to pull down a high throw. When you hit one out, you see the ball land in the seats and bounce around.

But the best part is the realism. Pitchers tire as they do in real life. In my old games, I could keep a reliever in several innings with no signs of fatigue. This game, a closer is only going to last three or four batters.

You also can break your bat when you get jammed. If you gun more than one at a batter's head, you are ejected. Batters will sometimes even charge the mound. Then they get tossed. Stealing is much easier to do than my old game (where no one could steal) but is no sure thing. It's fair. Most games are 5-3, 7-4, 3-2, just as they should be.

A game takes about one hour to complete. One is also able to play a baseball trivia game, HR derby or take batting practice. In BP the pitcher/coach has a bucket of baseballs and is protected by a fence, just like it was real. In games, you see the relief pitchers throwing in the bullpen and pinch hitters taking practice cuts as they come up to the plate.

Drawbacks: Fielding is tough, so I just let the computer do it, but the fielders break late on the batted ball, so they're forever making over the shoulder running catches. Steve Lyons (the color man) often says the same stuff. But the biggest fault is that when you actually get the cursor right on the ball, your hitting is not what you'd expect. The best place (so it seems) is to swing just under the thrown ball to get an extra base hit. All in all it's a 5* game. I highly recommend it.

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.

Great Baseball Simulation

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 8 / 9
Date: March 08, 2002
Author: Amazon User

All-Star Baseball 2003 is a fabulous game. Although I've never played any games from the High Heat series, this blows Triple Play out of the water. All the different modes of play alone put it ahead of all the other games (nobody else even has a franchise mode!!). Fielding and Pitching is very well represented. Only a slightly odd looking catch will happen every now and again, but this is just a minor glitch. I've seen a couple of people complain about the hitting being difficult. If you don't want realism, then buy Triple Play. The scores are normal for a real baseball game 4-2, 5-3, 2-0, etc. It's realistic, so therefore hits don't happen all the time. There are bloop singles, line drives off the wall, hard grounders past the infielders, everything is represented. Without a doubt, buy this game, you won't regret it!!!

Off the hook....

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 6 / 9
Date: March 01, 2002
Author: Amazon User

All Star 2003 is mos def the best baseball game I've played. It tops my old all time favorite World Series 95 for Sega. The expansion mode makes the whole game. You start off with a pretty bad team. You can finish almost .500 depending on who and how you draft your team. The only thing [] it is you play the same schedule year after year in expansion mode. Its not like Madden 2002 or NCAA 2002 where you play different schedules every year. But with 162 games a year, it doesn't get too old. The thing thats tight is that every year you get new players into your farm system and you get to watch them develop. Some players develop and others don't. As far as the gameplay, its pretty much the same from 2002, slow reaction from the outfielders and very unlikely to throw a runner out at a base. But the expansion and franchise make the game awesome.

Wonderful Game

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 6 / 7
Date: March 08, 2002
Author: Amazon User

Ive been waiting since the idea of franchise mode for a baseball game to include it, and its finally here. With Trades,Free Agents, and best of all, a farm team, this game provides the most options to create a roster. Also, the addition of the 15 and 60 day DL creates even more chances to mimic reality. Players get better, or worse, depending on age. Perhaps one of my favorite aspects of this game is the Stadium and Throwback jersey options.. I was overjoyed to see another game at Tiger Stadium, and the chance to try and homer over the centerfield wall at the Polo Grounds. The graphics are beyond comparison, and the gameplay, contrary to other reviews, is quite good. Hitting SHOULDNT be easy, because the homer happy Triple Play series is extremly irritating. The Pitching interface requires you to mix your pitches and hit your spots. Anyone complaining about those two aspects is seriously missing the greatest joys in this (or any) baseball game. I would recommend this game to anyone looking for a baseball game to spend thier summer playing.

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.
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Good Game

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 3 / 4
Date: March 24, 2002
Author: Amazon User

Listen I don't know where all these people are coming from who have played High Heat Baseball. That game is horrible, it blows. I bought it after reading the reviews on here and I knew I should have stuck with All Star Baseball. High Heat has bad graphics, poor gameplay, and absolutely no options. I think it must have cost ten bucks to make. Playing High Heat is about like watching a TV show on PAX, no fun. All Star year after year has been good and has improved every year. I've been buying them since the N64 days. So the only reason I wanted to write this review was to warn other people about buying High Heat. If you like baseball and want options and and more interaction, BUY this game, not High Heat. Thanks for your time. GO REDS!

Great Game!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 3 / 4
Date: May 02, 2002
Author: Amazon User

Gameplay: The pitching is really simple and it's not too easy or too hard to strike a batter out. The batting is difficult and I was frustrated at first but after playing more I got the hang of it. Its very realistic and is the perfect difficulty but if you want, you can switch to easy hitting, where all you need to do is get the timing right and not location. 9/10

Graphics: Simply amazing. I can recognize all of the ballparks. By far the best for ps2 baseball games. 10/10

Sound: Lots of info. Above average. 7/10

Replayability: Enough modes to keep you interested for a very long time. 10/10

Overall: 9/10 (not an average)

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