All-Star Baseball 2003

"A Nice Effort by Acclaim in its first year"

Graphics: 26/35
The graphics, for a GBA game, are very clean and clear. Though not as clear as Baseball Advance, and only a standard batting stance, the game features all the stadiums, which add variety. When a ball is put into play, the graphical quality drops to a bland, standard viewing mode. Still, the batting interface is nice and most of the game takes place from there. The size of the batting cursor depends on a player's abilities, namely power. There are three cursor sizes. Players with more power have a larger cursor, while hitting aces such as Ichiro and Johnny Damon have the smallest cursor. Power-hitters such as Bonds, Ramirez, A-Rod or others have the largest size cursor.

Gameplay: 26/35
The gameplay is reminiscent of All-Star Baseball 2003 for consoles. You aim your bat (by holding the R button) and place the batting cursor on the ball. There are a number of strategies that can be employed in this game when batting. The best bet for a homerun can often result in pop-ups, while the line drive or ground ball aim results in singles and basehits quite often. While pitching there are 3-5 pitches that can be chosen. You can set your outfielders to a number of positions (Shallow, deep, left/right, ect.)You aim where to throw the pitch. The strikezone is a incredibly large one, and 90% of AI pitches are in the strike zone. This makes the game play by faster but limits strategic aspects. It is difficult to get extra basehits (doubles, triples), but it is very possible.

There are three difficulty levels, Rookie, Veteran and All-Star. However, it is impossible to set difficulty on a season. Instead, the difficulty in games during the season increases as you play deeper into the year. Rookie mode is incredibly easy, as you can blast a plethora of homeruns quite easily. In Veteran mode, the pitches travel faster, but still hitable. In All-Star mode, the pitches are blazing fast and quite difficult to hit.

Sound: 13/20
The sound is generic. There are some tunes such as Take Me Out to The Ballgame, but overall, its not one of ASB 2003's strengths. There is no commentary, but for a Gameboy Advance game, the standards pushed in All-Star Baseball are acceptable.

Replay Value: 21/25
The game is great for General Managing-type sports players. Creating trades and transactions is easy. The players are judged by numbers (power, hitting), but in trades they are displayed as Letter grades (A+, A, A-,...ect.). A disparity of greater than 10 points (on a 100-point scale) results the trade being discarded, even if you are trading an A-rate player for a lower rate player. For those who do not want to abuse their GM powers and create teams that are sufficiently above average, its good, but it also makes the game much easier. You can customize your lineup (batting order, position, pitching staff, ect.) and sign free agents. The game keeps stats for every single player and has league-leaders and team stats.

One interesting aspect is the statistics that the computer posts during a season. For example, the team leading the lead with batting average was only hitting .257. Overall, the major league average for a team is only about .230 or even lower. That means that pitchers will have very nice stats. You will rarely see a pitcher with an earned run average over 3.00 in the game. Plus the game lists the computer to have a ridiculous number of blown saves, 20 or 30 in 70 or so games is not uncommon.

Value/Tilt/Extras: 22/25
Officially, the game is a two player game with a link, but you can play it as a 2-player game with one system by changing the controls while batting. This boosts the value of the game immensely. With that system employed, you can record a World Series with your friend. Multiplayer in this respect boosts the game's value immensely, as sports games should be played with multiple players.

However, there are some technical shortcomings. If you score 20 runs in a game, the game will list you having only 15 runs. The maximum number of runs it lists is 15. If you win 28-27, the score that will be listed would be 15-14. Also, if a pitcher has an earned run average higher than 20.00, it will be listed as 20.00. There are a number of shortcomings in this aspect, but very much tolerable.

Final Score: 108/140
Gamefaqs Score of 8 or a 7.7 (rounded up)
Final Comments: A good game for stat junkies and players that enjoy building up good teams. While gameplay is better on Baseball Advance, it is still very nice on All-Star Baseball 2003. The main difference is depth and gameplay. For casual baseball or gaming fans, Baseball Advance is probably the better choice, but those who enjoy statistical satisfaction, All-Star Baseball is much deeper.

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 06/14/02, Updated 06/14/02