All-Star Baseball 2004

"Closing in on perfection, but not there yet"

Before this game, the last ASB I played was 2001 for my N64. I figured by now there had to be some huge advancements, glitch fixes, and a whole host of new stuff. I was partially right, but it still doesn't have everything the hardcore baseball fan wants. So what does it have? What does it lack? Well, you're about to find out.

Graphics: (8/10) The graphics at first glance are amazing. I mean every year you think to yourself, ''They can't get any better.'' But they do, and that is a nice plus. But, unfortunately, there are still very noticeable glitches. The phantom catches are not as common as they once were, but now and then, if you jump up near the foul line, even if the ball isn't too close to the player, he'll make the catch. Also, when your bat breaks, sometimes the same pieces double and makes the same motion. The instant replay is good, but it will reveal many of these mistakes if you didn't catch them the first time. Not really all that important when it comes down to it, but every now and then, you may scratch your head and wonder, ''How the heck did that happen?''

Sound: (8/10) Wow, the announcers have improved greatly since ASB 2001. You still will get tired of them after about 2 or 3 weeks, but they do actually just talk about stuff besides the game now and then, which is pretty cool. The ball hitting the bat, sliding, little stuff all there, sounds good. Could do for a bit more music options when coming to the plate or in between innings, maybe something like the Madden series would be nice.

Controls: (9/10) As long as you control them manually, everything is fine and easy. Occasionally on the ''Assisted'' option, your player may not go in the direction you want him to, but for the most part, the ''assisted'' mode helps more than it hurts you. Changing the infield and outfield is easy (C stick) and besides controlling multiple runners to go back and forward on the basepaths at the same time, you should have no trouble picking up the controls in no time.

Challenge: (5/10) Sadly, there was no vast improvement of the AI like in the Madden games over these past few years. It may take a bit of practice, but you'll be scoring 10+ runs against 90% of the pitching in this game on All-Star mode inside a month of consistent playing. It can be hard to hit homeruns at times on veteran and All-Star, but that doesn't mean you'll hit it into the gaps and still score tons of run all the time. RBI title and runs scored titles still the easiest to win at the end of the season. Oh, strikeouts are hard to get with your pitchers, kind of odd, but keeping your ERA under 3.00 is not nearly as difficult.

Fun Factor/Replay Value: (10/10) If you love baseball, you will love this game. If you like baseball, you'll still love this game. The Franchise mode is very good, not perfect, but darn good. There are no more ''Player 1'' like in N64 (maybe they got rid of this in a previous version, but like I said, I didn't buy a new one for a few years). The minor leagues actually have a good amount of the higher prospects, but not all of them. The draft in the middle of the season allows for new players, though what players you want to keep and waive after the draft is sometimes a little goofy. Offseason pickups, good trading system, free agents, create-a-player and team, extra ballparks for created teams in franchise mode, etc. There are plenty of features in this game, which will make most baseball fans happy.

Also, outside of franchise mode, you have exhibition, homerun derby, baseball trivia game, scenario mode, cards to collect, series mode, batting practice. There is also a pickup mode where 18 random players (16 position, 2 pitchers) are in a pool and you take turns selecting your teams and have just those for the game. This is more exciting and challenging than most of the other modes because of the randomness of the quality of players you'll get, and the fact that you can end up with no or 2 pitchers on your team, but can make no position changes after the start the game. Loads of fun when playing a friend who plays for the first time and doesn't know to take the other pitcher after you pick one. They get so mad :).

Overall: (8/10) It's great, but not perfection. Still needs an online mode, updatable rosters, but above all else, a better AI. The AI hitters may be able to pick up on your style of pitching, but the pitchers do not pick up on your strengths and weaknesses in hitting. When they figure that out, this game will be unparallel. Franchise mode will keep you playing for forever in my mind, considering you can always sim games and be a manager if you don't want to play all 162 games in the season.

Definitely worth buying, usually can be found in between $30-$40 dollars. But IMO, if you have ASB 2003, wait at least until ASB 2005 before buying an update. One year never has that many changes... 2 years, a little more significant. Unless its the last version on a system. But again, this is just IMO. Enjoy the game and PLAY BALL!

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 11/09/03