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Bugs and Baseball Do Not Mix

1 Rating: 1, Useful: 5 / 9
Date: June 16, 2003
Author: Amazon User

Do not buy this game! Repeat--don't waste your money!

While it's fairly detailed and pretty graphically--it has gamekilling bugs and outrageously bad interface issues.

First off, the fielding is an absolute mess! A ball hit to the outfield often reveals just a screen of grass and the ball with only an arrow pointing off screen to what is supposedly your pre-selected player. That should be the fielder closest to the ball. Theoretically. Unfortunateley, none of that may be true. After what seems to be an interminable wait, your selected guy may appear, but often, a non-selected fielder may jump in and grab the ball from the opposite side anyway before you even get there! Huh?

A foul-pop was snatched by the unselected pitcher even though I ran my selected catcher over directly under it with plenty of time. Huh? Bugs, bugs, and more bugs.

There is lierally no logic or reason to the incredibly slow fielder retrieval process. You'll find yourself time after time with your man crawling after balls deep in the field. They can get only balls hit right to them, and then the above-mentioned insane selection bug/process makes things confusing and frustrating.

Add to that numerous fielding bugs (fielders running in the opposite direction and jumping against the wall when you direct them towards a routine single pickup/Announcers calling the wrong score/etc) and this game devolves into a complete joke of a product.

I don't mind a few graphic glitches if they don't affect outcomes--but this game's serious bugs and crazy fielder selection/playmaking schemes rendered my game vs. my friend nothing but a frustrating, infuriating disaster. And we've played a lot of baseball games, and design games for a living.

Strongly recommend against this game--Sega should be ashamed of itself for shipping a half-completed non-debugged poorly executed product.

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.

Beware of the season-killing bug in this game!

2 Rating: 2, Useful: 0 / 0
Date: November 07, 2003
Author: Amazon User

There's much to be said about the good things in this game, the beautiful graphics, the variable AI sliders (High Heat anyone?), and the franchise mode, but here's my problem, and I've verified with other gamers that I'm not alone here. This game has a killer bug in franchise mode that can make your entire franchise worthless. I was headed into September and on the verge of making a great run for the postseason when I suddenly encountered a bug that caused the game to freeze up everytime I tried to play past a certain date. When this happens, there's no way of salvaging the season as the file has become corrupted. You have to start a brand new season over again. Talk about a turning someone off to a game. I promptly sold the game away because of this. The frustrating thing is that it doesn't necessarily happen to everyone, but it's happened to several people I've talked to in various forums. So while this game is still fun on several fronts, it's still a risk if you choose to invest in a season.

I think this game is comparable to ASB2K4, except for that darned bug!

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.

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.

Bo knows baseball

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 7 / 8
Date: May 20, 2003
Author: Amazon User

I was reluctant to spend [this much] on a baseball game, given that most baseball games get boring after a few weeks, but thought I'd give the Sega line a chance. I think WSB is worth the money if you're a big baseball fan (but I don't think any baseball game could be worth [this price] if you're not a true baseball fan).
The game play is exceptional; graphics are great. There are many many many options which allow you to tweek the difficulty any which way you like. On the default settings the first few games I couldn't buy a run (which is good b/c it makes for a challenge). Batting options are nice - you can set it to Timed Hitting (press a button - extremely boring), Standard Hitting with a Cursor (good - difficult at first), and Power Bar Hitting (a little harder). You can also change the Batting Cursor size -so if you're scoring too many runs, make the cursor size smaller. Pitching is similar in that you can tweek the Variable Pitching - turn it off and the pitcher (even if he pitches for Detroit) will paint the corners in and out - or turn it to High and watch your guy make some mistakes. And the game will punish your mistakes, which is nice for the realism. Don't leave pitches down the middle of the plate - they make for pretty movie cut-scenes of the other guy trotting around the bases. The ability (though rare) to rob a home run is pretty cool too.

I also really enjoy the General Manager function in Franchise mode. You can promote Rookies from the Minor Leagues - or leave them down there and groom them for the future. You can sign free agents, make trades (have to watch your Budget though). It's quite realistic - makes you a real George Steinbrenner.

Only negatives about the game - sometimes it seems like the players in the field lob the ball instead of throwing a bullet. The coaches names are ridiculously dumb (Sundial Serbert is my Coach?). The create a player is kind of weak in the appearance - not much customizing of the face - and the announcers won't pronounce the guy's name even if you named him Bill Smith. Again, baseball is a long season so if you're going to go the full 162 games, it can be a long haul.

Overall though, WSB is a very satisfying game for the true baseball fan. I think it's better than the other series out there but that's just my opinion...before purchasing them I'd rent a few of them first.

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.

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.

good game could be better

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 0 / 0
Date: April 19, 2003
Author: Amazon User

i think this is the best baseball game out right now. i've tried mvp, which is a good game just some things i don't like about it. you're not able to dive on your own in mvp like wsb, and you don't have to worry about hitting because you just leave the bat in one place and just time the pitch. unlike wsb where you have to move the bat around. i think if we combined these two games together we would have the ultimate baseball.

Great game

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 0 / 4
Date: May 19, 2003
Author: Amazon User

This is the best game for mlb...In the game you can play a season,Playoffs,And more.THis is the best game ever.You could do a homerun thing and the most hmeruns wins.I play this game all the time.Some do not like this game but I do.So you should buy this game.Come on get out there and buy this game.

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