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Half arcade, half sim

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 2 / 3
Date: February 20, 2004
Author: Amazon User

2003 was a great year for baseball titles. There were at least four solid games to choose from. How fans decided what to choose came down to what aspects of baseball they enjoyed the most. High Heat placed strong emphasis on pitcher-batter interface and gameplay options. All-Star Baseball loaded its game with fun extras and ultra realism of its player models and live stadiums. MVP Baseball (which I haven't yet played) drew critical acclaim for its inventive pitching model. The one game that seemed to receive almost unanimous praise was World Series Baseball 2K3. This game, I would say, placed its emphasis on the action part of baseball. That is, the fielding.

Ah, fielding! Forgive this review when he says, I HATE FIELDING in video games. In real life, I love running down a hard hit gapper. But in a video game, there are simply too many things to keep track of. It feels like you have to play all nine positions at all times. WSB tries to ease to my pain by creating one of the smoothest fielding games ever! The mechanics of the player models are seamless. Charging a slow roller in the infield and throwing to first base is a beautiful thing to watch (especially when the player models are so gorgeously rendered). The look, feel and ease of fielding in WSB truly is an accomplishment. Despite that, I'm still not a fielding convert. Unfortunately WSB doesn't include an auto-fielding option, which should be a requirement in every game. For that it loses a star.

Another weakness is its boring batter/pitcher sim. The pitches seem 2D to me. Sliders move okay but the curveballs don't drop like they do in HH and ASB. Fastballs are straight. No 2-seamers or 4-seamers like in HH and ASB. Pitch selection in general is very weak. Batting is a mixed bag. Not a fan of the cursor but luckily there's a Timed Hitting option where you don't have to aim that darn target. Strikeouts aren't common but if you have the pitch-speed slider set to medium or faster (which a great option every game should have) you will miss a few. Walks aren't frequent either but not impossible with patience and a good eye. The ball-to-bat physics is realistic. Late swings will almost always mean opposite field contact and pulling the ball is not hard unlike most other games (take note ASB). The swinging motion has an awkward feel. The hitters swing as though they're trying to pull every ball for a homerun. The stances are an uninspired with not much variation. Since I put a premium on batter/pitcher sim, small details like this degrade my experience.

WSB includes the standard extras. Most notable for me are the franchise mode and homerun tournament. Both are well-executed but nothing special considering ASB and HH go the extra mile with their features.

So many things wrong

1 Rating: 1, Useful: 3 / 8
Date: April 22, 2003
Author: Amazon User

This game is sooo bad. The makers of the game went to so much trubble to include extensive attributes for all players but once the game starts, all the players run atthe same speed, all the batters have the same shot at a HR, all the balls hit are of the same trajectory and all the pitchers throw there own pitches at same velocity. (Example- Pedro's fastball is always 93,94) I'm not the kind of person who usually gets on the computer to complain but I feel that this game is so over rated that anyone considering buying it should know these things first.

great baseball game

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 2 / 4
Date: March 17, 2003
Author: Amazon User

This game is very fun to play. What's pretty cool about It is the pitcher cam so when u play It's like watching It on T.V. gameplay amazing,graffics are awesome very clear detailed stadiums and sound is excellent with the crowd effects. Uniforms are also very detailed. Plenty of options everywhere especially in season mode. But what I like most about is the gameplay,It's fabulous like turning DP's and fielding is simple to control. The controls are very easy to operate when u hit pause u can go to the controls menu and find out exactly what ur doing. Personaly I like the way the game plays with no matter what sports game I buy. Stadiums are tremendous with backround graffics like the new park in Cincy. My advice is sega sports rules right now for sports games. EA is getting old try something different this season. You will have hours of fun with this game with alot of options with ESPN presentation. This game was ... but I traded in some other games for discount. I know I'm not getting into details as much as u guys would like but you just have to purchase this game. Give It A Whirl!!!

Best Baseball Game..EVER

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 1 / 1
Date: March 16, 2003
Author: Amazon User

this game totally rocks. Last years version was good but all the new features in this years is awesome. Now you can control jumps and even scale the walls to rob homers. The cut off man is really easy to hit this year. You can now pitch from the pitcher mounds view and to my surprise this works very well. the graphics are the best out of all the new baseball games and the controls are second to none. If you are looking for the best baseball game on any system this is the one. You wont go wrong with WSB 2k3.

Best XBox Baseball

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 1 / 1
Date: August 13, 2003
Author: Amazon User

The options and gameplay of this game are top of the line. I've played MVP, High Heat, and Inside Pitch, and WSB is a step above them all. The best part is: Even after you get used to the game and become an "expert," the AI can get hot at any time in any game and beat you.

All in all, I have not played a better Baseball video game.

WSB 2K3 Long Live The King!!!!!!!11

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 1 / 1
Date: April 16, 2004
Author: Amazon User

First I was a little scared to purchase this title since I had purchased WSB 2K1 and soon discovered it was the WORST VIDEO GAME(even a $10)I had ever played!! WOW what a difference 2 years makes 2K3 is miles ahead of 2K1. The game play is very easy once you get all the controls down, the ballparks are awesome every detail right down to the pool at the BOB,the Coke bottle at the TED,the train & the hill at Minute Maid. Was so impressed with this title suggested it to my sister to purchase for her PS2. The only flaw is that there several players with the same faces. But other than that this game hits a Grand Slam. Would highly suggest to any one looking for a baseball game.

Good game, but MVP is a better baseball title

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 2 / 7
Date: March 27, 2003
Author: Amazon User

I am a very picky gamer who gets bored easy. With that in mind, I thoroughly reviewed all the baseball titles available to date for the xbox, except Slugfest (which I put in another category.) The reviews clearly favored WSB, with MVP following closely behind. I quickly threw out High Heat and All Star because the reviews were horrible. In the end, I decided to rent WSB and MVP to decide which baseball title was the best for me. After playing for a while, it is my opinion that MVP is a better game. Although many people don't like the throwing meters in MVP, I personally think they bring a nice addition to the gameplay. Most importantly to me, however, the gameplay in MVP is simply more fun. The hitting feels better, the curveballs react better, and the two player model in MVP cannot be beat. WSB may have a few more features, but I found myself drawn to MVP in both the two player and single player games. I don't have time to explain all the differences between the games, but my suggestion is to rent both games and try them out. The reviews made me feel that WSB was the better game, but after my experience playing both games, MVP is the clear winner for me.

Best Baseball Title this year

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 1 / 2
Date: March 15, 2003
Author: Amazon User

Best graphics of any baseball game.
Totally customizable with sliders and editing.
Great gameplay that's not arcadey but not boring. The perfect mix.
Buy this game!

Sega Sports Rules

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 1 / 2
Date: March 21, 2003
Author: Amazon User

Best baseball game out there...most complete and fun

Great Baseball Game

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 1 / 2
Date: March 06, 2004
Author: Amazon User

Many of the positives have already been said by other reviewers. The franchise mode is where the magic happens in this game with realistic manager/owner decisions having to be made. I'm currently 3/4 through my second season and as a die hard baseball fan, here are the areas that can be improved:

1)You can't play pitchers in the field or pinch hit with pitchers. Sure... you might not ever want to, but you should at least have the option.

2)If you bring in a pinch hitter for a pitcher, you cannot change his position once your team takes the field. Meaning, if you want to leave the pinch hitter in as your new leftfielder, you're outta luck. Major frustration.

3)Saving between innings is nice, but when you have pitcher warmed up in the bullpen after you bring in a pinch hitter and then do the save, the next time you start back up, you no longer have a warmed up pitcher and you have a fielder on the mound.

4)Injuries are funny. Sometimes they will show a player from the other team laying down at home plate writhing around like he's in pain, then a message will come up saying that YOUR right fielder has a broken eye socket and will miss 75 days.

5)Sometimes when I'm reading a bio on a certain player, the game will auto-reset.

6)You can't read player bio's or abilities during games.

7)Outfielders throws are way too accurate. 9 times out of 10 I get thrown out at the plate by a bullet throw from the warning track in left field that is right on the money.

8)Even if auto-dl handling is turned off, the AI will still decide for you who gets promoted/demoted when players come off the dl making a mess of your line up.

9)Every once in awhile, the ai will decide that your pitcher's roles all need to be changed.

There are a few other small issues, but overall, this is one heck of a realistic game. After awhile, like most sports games, you will mute the sound (after about the 200th "...and he hits a frozen rope to centerfield!"). The game play has enough challenge to keep things interesting and there are plenty of options to change the difficulty.

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