World Series Baseball 2K2

"Flawed Franchise mode, but an addictive, fun game!"

Gameplay: The game is a lot of fun. If you are looking for a fun baseball game and not a realistic, deep management simulation of baseball, then this is a game for you. 9/10

Pitching: There are variety of pitches for each and every pitcher, be it fastball, curveball, slider, sinker, change-up, ... etc. When the pitcher gets tired, his effectiveness decreases considerably. You can strike out AI hitters looking, which is sweet. It seems that you can't hit the batters though.

Batting: You control a baseball-shaped cursor to zero in on the pitch and hit a button to bat the ball. The result quite well illustrates what happen in real baseball games. My biggest gripe is the punting though. I still can't punt successfully, I'm hoping it's just me and not the game's fault.

Base-running: You can steal bases, advance or retreat between bases using X and B buttons.

Fielding: The closest fielder to the batted ball has big yellow cursor around him, you have to run him to the ball, then use A, B, X, Y buttons to throw to the bases. Diving is in. Jumping doesn't seem to work right though. Fielding may be the weakest element of the gameplay, but it's not really that bad though.

Story: It's a baseball simulation with an arcade feel. It's probably not a good sim if you are looking for deep management mode, because the signing and trading are, frankly, terrible. But for basic stats tracking and in-game pitching, hitting, and base-running, this is as good a baseball game as it gets. 8/10

Audio: Solid all-around sound effects and crowd noises. Nothing spectacular about play-by-play commentary; it gets repetitive after a while. 7.5/10

Graphics: Sweet details on players and stadiums are like the real things. Very smooth animations. I wish that there could be more celebrations and interactions between players, coaches, and umpires though. 8/10

Replayability: Like in real baseball games, you keep seeing things you never see in this game, well maybe that's a bit exaggerated. But this game will keep you glued to the chair with its fun gameplay. 9/10

To buy or to rent?: I bought this game and am really glad I did. A lot of people had high expectations for this game so it may upset them that the game is not perfect. If you could ignore the flaws with Franchise mode and accept some minor imperfections of it, I think you will love WSB 2K2 like I do. Just enjoy the game!

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 08/15/01, Updated 08/15/01