All-Star Baseball 2002

"And another ground-out for All-Star Baseball"

I've been saying it for years, and this game proves it: baseball was not meant for video game consoles. I myself am an avid ball player for three different teams, and every 3-4 months I buy another baseball video game, hoping it will give me the same feeling as if I was actually playing. It seems, sadly enough, that no game has been able to fully replicate the baseball experience, and this game is no exception.

Graphics: 4/10

The graphics are iffy. For a new GCN game, they're ok. There are obvious flaws. Sometimes if you run to catch a ball in the outfield, the player won't even move his glove and somehow he catches the ball. The crowd in the stands, is, like almost every other baseball game, the same two guys in red and blue shirts repeated about 20,000 times. Also, this may be a personal complaint, but sometimes I wish the crowd size would be relative to the team that's playing. It's really awkward to see a full house in Tropicana Field (Devil Rays). The players are a bit jumpy themselves, and the ball can sometimes appear to be 10 feet away from a glove and he still makes the play. Very annoying, especially with friends for bragging rights.

Sound: 3/10

One word.....repetitive. The same things are said over and over and over again. Announcing really needs to have a wider range of things in ALL sports games, not just this particular one. Sometimes the crowd would start to scream and cheer out of nowhere, and better yet, sometimes they root against the apparent home team. Come on Acclaim...is it so hard to make the crowd cheer for the SECOND team up every time?

Control: 4/10

OK, I try and I try and I try, but I haven't hit a single home run. I don't know if there's a certain power button to push or something, but it seems impossible to me. The controls, other than that, aren't half bad. The variety of pitches are pretty accurate for the pitcher on the mound, such as a knuckleball for Tim Wakefield, knuckle-curve for Jeff Weaver, and, of course, that insane fastball from the Big Unit. The one thing I'm not really happy with is that every pitcher seems to have the same windup motion. Hideo Nomo still winds up like Mark Prior. Sometimes known southpaw pitchers would still be throwing righty. Big mistake.

Gameplay: 5/10

For a baseball game, the gameplay is decent. Defense is, as always, much easier than hitting the ball. That's another big problem that no one can seem to solve: how to duplicate actually being the batter. The catcher's view is overused and downright stupid. Do you look from behind the plate when you're hitting? NO! Any pitch besides the fastball is too hard to hit anyway. They all look the same speed too. A big up is the trading option. But its really no use at all if you put together a dream team when you can't even hit. I also really wish someone would make a game with minor leaguers you can pick up. The actual season is too long and repetitive for anyone except a diehard baseball fan to continue playing for over 15-20 games. AND CAN WE PLEASE GET SOME BENCH-CLEARING BRAWLS!?!?!?

I wouldn't even rent this game. There's really no point. I don't think video game outlets even carry this stuff.

Rent before you buy. Please, do not waste 50 bucks without knowing you are.

Reviewer's Score: 3/10, Originally Posted: 07/01/03, Updated 07/01/03