Review NaN of 118
, from sacramento
Price Paid:
$12.00
from EBay Summary:
If you can't decide which $50 title to buy and you were wondering how last years title stacks up to the present, here is your review.
I am a little behind the boat on this title, I know. However, I bought on Ebay ASB 2003, World Series Baseball 2K3 and MVP 2003. I gave ASB 2003 a chance because I kept seeing its own ads saying, “the number one selling console baseball game.” I had to at least give it a shot. The losers were going back on Ebay and I would recoup some money.
The claim “the number one selling console baseball game” has some merit. If it had been a EASports title, I would not have been compelled to care. EA could put out an Iditarod Dog Sledding title and blind EA loyalists would go out buy it sight unseen. About an hour later they will write a review claiming 100 hours of play, raving about the graphics, claim it played liked real dog sledding, (as if they would know) and then shout all other dog racing games sucked. The fact a small company like Acclaim states this claim means there is something to it. (This is not an EA bash as I own a few of their quality titles. Just bashing the loyalists.)
I read the reviews. I thought that there were a lot of consistencies and then I prepared myself for the experience of ASB. What did I learn? Well, I know why this is the number one selling franchise. This game is very deep. Deep enough that the person that doesn’t read the manual, have patience and work at getting better, will hate this game and give up quick. If you are looking for a worthwhile experience, go pick this franchise up and have a lot of fun. Be sure it includes the manual!!!
The first consistency in all the reviews is the hitting. It was suppose to be realistic speeds. It is. It is supposed to be hard. It can be. You have a triangular cursor that you feel you are supposed to line up either with the ball or the white placement dot that tells you where the pitch is heading. When you try to do that, it is impossible and very frustrating to hit the ball with anything other than luck. I did this for three games. I was frustrated. Then I decided to turn on easy batting. I hit the first pitch every time. Then it hit me. I decided to follow the Keyshawn philosophy to happy hitting. “JUST HIT THE #$@! BALL!” I went back to the cursor and just followed the pitch without worrying about the cursor I hit my first two homeruns and scored 5 runs. This was a run total I had yet to come up with the previous games all combined. I feel the cursor is only there to aim the ball and tell you how much you missed the pitch by.
After putting this into practice on more game, the speed of the ball wasn't so bad. In fact every other game now seems slow. The speed actually makes the difference in the type of pitch noticeable. I moved right up to all-star after that game and scored 4 runs on 12 hits. I did not take many pitches and walks were non-existent but that was more my problem than the game.
Even taking this approach, you will need to learn how to hit. But it never gets easy and that is how it should be. Hitting a baseball is the hardest thing to do in sports. Think about it, getting a hit 3 out of ten times puts you in the All Star game. Overall, his game will give you a realistic hitting experience. At times you will get shutout and other times you will have an offensive explosion. Yes, you are going to play a game and be frustrated because you can’t hit or your pitcher is getting rocked. But it is so much better than 12-11 slugfests all the time. If you like real baseball, then you will enjoy this.
The ability to aim is the next feature I want to address. Let me say this first, I hated cursors until this game. ASB use is so much different than other titles. You use the cursor and the right analog stick to aim your swing in all directions. Depending on where you want to hit to the right side to advance the runner on second base, hit a sacrifice fly or swing for the fences, it is all there with the cursor. This feature is very nice. The cursor moves slow across the plate but don’t be fooled. When you swing it will jump a bit if you have moved the cursor far. Not all the way but if the pitch is close the cursor will move to where you are swinging. I do try to guess the location of the pitch so I don’t need to move the cursor far.
I had trouble with the base running at first but that was partly due to my playing other titles so quickly together. The overall base running AI is done well. I do wish for replays but the only thing they have is a replay after every hit ball. At times I wanted to see whether they beat the tag or if I missed the pitch. Maybe it is on the next installment. This was a disappointment, however.
Fielding is a little difficult at first but you learn how to rather quickly. It is about getting in position to make the play and pressing the buttons in advance for the throw. By hitting the button in advance of fielding it your player sets up to make the throw more in the flow of the game, than if you wait for him to have it in his glove. If you fail to hit it in advance, there can be a delay in any throw to a base as your player sets his feet to make a quality throw.
In the outfield there is a little confusion at first as to where to line up for the catch. The circle appears where the ball is going to land, not where you should stand. After you miss a few you figure it out and it is no longer a problem.
Some will say that the pitching is difficult because the CPU doesn’t swing at pitches out of the zone. True and not true. The CPU will not swing at bad pitches. But it can and will be fooled. If you mix up your pitches and paint the corners the CPU will swing at pitches outside the zone. Remember the game, even the CPU, is designed for the hitter to guess pitches. If you are predictable, you will either be rocked or they won’t swing. I frequently got called third strikes and struck them out swinging at pitches outside the zone. I, however, am not saying it is real easy. It takes work but you can make it happen.
The best part of the game is the depth. My favorite part is the Expansion Mode. You create a team from a list of cities & pick a stadium, team name with a logo, and play a franchise for many seasons. You pick existing players through an expansion draft. The Sacramento Copperheads were placed in the NL West. The CPU created the San Antonio Squirrels for the AL. These must be TEXAS squirrels.
The trade AI can be fooled. You have your minor leagues and free agents to pick from. It won’t be long before you can build a contender. The create-a-player feature is nice and really adds to the fun.
This will take you into the deepest parts of the game, the franchise. This is where you will lose track of time. You may need to set an egg-timer to remind you to go to bed. You may find yourself saying, ‘just one more game’ too many times.
The menu is deep but it takes time getting used to it. But there is little you can’t do with it. The weather page is awesome and needs to be in all titles. You get a detailed report on weather in all cities having a game. You have your farm team that you can send back and forth to keep your team fresh. With the realistic amount of injuries, you will need to manage your team to stay competitive. There are also news sections, a injury tracker and a who’s hot, who’s not page.
These features add to feel that you really are in a MLB atmosphere.
The graphics are a little ‘grainy’ compared to the modern titles, but the players move in a realistic way. I still don’t know how they got those facial close-ups on the back of the game. In a game without a user controlled replay camera, what is the point of face mapping? There is only one camera angle during the game. Hopefully one game soon I will experience a close up of a face. OOOO the anticipation!!!!
One of the best graphic features is the ball bouncing around the stands on homeruns instead of just disappearing. I hit an HR off the top of the Green Monster and it bounced all around the top and then fell back into left field. That just feels right. There are other nice graphical touches like the base coaches moving out of the way on foul balls hit their way and being able to see pitchers warming up in the bullpens.
The sound really doesn't stand out in any meaningful way, good or bad. I do like the fact that it announces my city and team name correctly. The PA announcer was nice also. He welcomed the fans to the stadium and let them know that they were attending the first of a four game series. While there is a little repetition and all the facts are a year old, the announcers do a credible job.
My conclusion after all three games is that WSB is the best overall experience due to its vast customization and ASB is very close, even though a year old. After playing three straight baseball titles I started playing NBA 2K3 and oddly enough, its quality game play helped me to see just very shallow and utterly frustrating MVP 2003 is. It’s like that hot ex-girlfriend who just drove you crazy but you were so enamored with her looks you missed the problems inherent in her behavior and personality. It is sitting on Ebay right now waiting for a bid.
ASB 2003 is less than $20 everywhere. If you have a desire to play a console baseball game but don’t want to pay $50, then get this. If you already have a title, especially MVP, go out and get this anyway. You won’t be disappointed.
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