All-Star Baseball 2003

"My Alaska Glaciers will beat your Hawaii Fury!"

What a game. I just bought this game on 3/20, my birthday, and already I can tell you that this is the best baseball game that I have ever played (including World Series Baseball for Sega Genesis). 'Why?' you ask? I say this for many reasons, so read my review to find out...

Graphics (8/10)

Although the bats, balls, and gloves look slightly choppy and the 'Action Replays' can be quite annoying, the graphics aren't all that bad. The players have very smooth texture and all of the fields look awesome.

Sound (NR)

There really isn't much to judge in this section besides the crack of the bat when the ball is hit, the commentators with their stupid pointless comments, and the inspirational music in the title menu, therefor this section is not rated.

Gameplay and Controls (19/20)

Even though the controls can be a bit confusing at first, they get easier with experience, so I give the controls a 9 out of 10. The gameplay is great. It's the most realistic baseball game I have ever played. I had no problems with this section, so I give it a 10 out of 10.

Features (10/10)

I love the Expansion mode, which allows you to choose to start an expansion team in a variety of different places, such as Puerto Rico, Alaska, Hawaii, and Washington D.C. I like how this game uses the multi tap feature (I don't know if 2002 used it or not), now my unused multi tap can come out from hibernation. I find the Card Collection idea pretty original, but stupid. What you do is for every big play you make (ex: double play, grand slam, etc.) you get some 'points'. These points are used to get baseball cards, which can be traded in to get more points, which are used to get more baseball cards, etc. Also, the create-a-player feature is pretty average, but it works.

Buy or Rent

My advice would be to diffidently buy this game, you won't regret it. This game is the best baseball game out there right now, and for those who are in need of a great baseball game, this is what you need.

Overall (9/10)

Overall, this is a great game, much better than Triple Play 2003 and High Heat 2003. This is going to be THE baseball game to play. And the good thing is even if you don't have a PS2, it's out for Gamecube and Xbox as well.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 03/25/02, Updated 03/25/02