All-Star Baseball 2002

"Pretty nice launch and pickup."

In this review I will go over the good parts and the bad of this great game in my opinion.

Graphics
They are pretty good for a sports game but this doesn't really sway my opinion much whatsoever. The game is a few years old but still holds it own in the graphics department. Since its outdated in this category I won't rate it on this because classic games obviously aren't all about graphics.
But the game does show what it needs well and 3 dimensionally which keeps the game flowing and everything under control.

Control
The controls are a bit sketchy but everything can be customized and worked out so it makes up for itself. You can change your batting styles, pitching styles, fielding styles and everything else to best suit yourself. All of this works out fine and again keeps the game going fine without much distraction. Customizing controls is easy once you know what you are doing.

Playball!
The characters, stats and rankings are good for its time. If you are stuck in early 2002's baseball and don't follow anything sooner this rocks. You will have a bit of a nostalgia trip here for some of you older sports fans. It flows like a normal baseball game for the most part but just the way it does it, the control over the individual players with stealing multiple bases or throwing the ball wherever you want are very easy which help make this game really fun to play with different levels of gamers. You can even do trades so trying to make the best team with a set time limit, trying to get the players from the computer than having a game against your friends is fun.

AI
The AI is pretty good the auto fielder catches most everything and doesn't let things by. The different difficulty levels vary and can really give you a challenge if you underestimate the opposing team. The catch everything, throw in fast and know all the little tricks you develop from playing.

Multi Player
Ah this is where the game shines and can get some real competition going. The game is very fun to play with a friend and takes skill to play and win against some opponents. The way this is different from other games is you have control over the whole field and have a different strategy for stealing bases and defending the infield.
Another mode is Home-run Derby. This is seeing who gets more home-runs without getting a set amount of strikes or not hitting the ball. It may seem you just swing and get lucky but its a lot about timing and if you have this batting scheme moving the dot to get the best edge on the ball.

Finally this is a great game its worth your time, if you can find it its probably just as cheap to buy so I'd go with that for some great fun alone or some great multi-player intensity.

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 01/18/05