All-Star Baseball 2002

"A somewhat good game with some painful problems that could have been ironed out with a delay... Here's my thoughts."

Ok, let me start by saying this game isn't a bad game, BY FAR! It's just somewhat mediocre.

Gameplay: (8/10)- The gameplay in this game is pretty good. Almost perfect. The batting interface is great, and pitching is very intuitive. It's hard as .... to hit the ball in this game! If you're using contact that is... I struck out a good four times in a row in this game. And while in the homerun derby, the only way you'll get a homer is if you're using someone like Griffey, Bond, Sosa, etc... But let me be the first to tell you, THIS ISN'T A PICK UP AND PLAY GAME. You really have to study the manual, or else you'll be diving when you don't want to, or throwing to the wrong bases etc. I bought the game on launch and just hit my first homerun yesterday... Overall good gameplay for a All Star Baseball Vet...

Graphics: (8/10)- The graphics are solid, and nothing else. It's what you would expect on a ported first generation PS2 game. There is even a new broken bat feature when you hit a hard fastball with contact. It seems that Acclaim didn't really try to update the graphics from the earlier PS2 version. They are very realistic, with no jagged edges thanks to anti-aliasing... But their are some problems with the fielding animations... Sometimes players will catch the ball when the ball is nowhere near them, and some animations are totally screwed up. Other than that, there are no problems in the graphics department... Little touches such as broken bats, and MASCOTS just brings this game together, and make you feel comfortable about this purchase. Very pleasing, very tolerable, and one of the games strong points...

Sound: (3/10)- This is where this game lost me... The crowd is dead! I hit a homerun, and got little to no response. The commentator is kind of boring after a while. The crack of the bat is the only good thing in the sound department. I actually found the sound in the N64 version of the older version to be a lil bit more pleasing. This is a very important department, and this game fails at it BADLY! Why is it important? Because it's a baseball game, a long baseball game, without good sound your bound to fall to sleep because of quietness, and bordom.

Overall/Verdict: (6/10)- A ok game. I wouldn't recommend buying unless you're a hardcore baseball fan. The game may hold your interest for a good week, but after that, you just give up. It's just so far graphics can take you... RENT BEFORE YOU BUY! I'm exchanging mine for another game!

Reviewer's Score: 6/10, Originally Posted: 11/23/01, Updated 11/23/01