Baseball season, can’t you just feel it approaching?  That feeling that the spring will bring a summer filled with legends in team jerseys. There’s nothing quite like it and even though many game developers attempt to capture this feeling every year (e.g. 3DO’s High Heat or EA’s Triple Play) not many can get it right.  Yet All-Star Baseball 2003 makes an attempt that is worthy of a fan’s attention.

The game takes players through various different playing modes.  There’s Quick Play, which takes you directly to the action with teams the computer chooses. MLB Play includes Exhibition Mode (you choose the teams), All-Star Game (featuring the best American and National league players) and New Season (taking gamers through an entire season).  The Expansion mode offers Franchise Mode (build your favorite team to your fantasy team with drafted players). Also there’s Player Cards (in Franchise Mode you earn points to purchase baseball cards to unlock hidden features such as extra players and new stadiums) and Home Run Derby (hit as many homers as humanly possible).

Each mode provides it own challenge and naturally such modes as Franchise and New Season are more strenuous that the quick action offered by the Exhibition and All-Star Game.  Much of the challenge comes in making head or tails of the batting interface.  When you’re up to bat a cursor appears in which players move to position the batter’s swing.  Often this results in players become frustrated enough that they’d rather guess than use the cursor.

Pitching, on the other hand, is much more easier . . . not to mention fun.  Like batting, pitchers get a circular cursor they can move to position a throw. This results in a freedom to toss a ball in various positions and in different ways.  Still, the only thing missing from this perfect pitching interface is an easier way to throw to a base when another player is attempting to steal a base. The game makes it complicated--pressing two buttons and the directional pad to a base.  It’s also way too easy to toss the ball out of reach, allowing the player to successfully steal the base.

My only chief complaint is geared toward the field when you’re attempting to catch a pop fly.  Unlike High Heat 2003 (where all you have to do is position a player over the ball’s shadow), players have to move a player around until he catches it automatically.  Often times, when your positioning is off, the ball simply falls in front of the player.

One of the best extra features presented is the trivia game function that has three different modes (Classic C Baseball Trivia, Home Run Derby Trivia and Speed Game Trivia).  This gives the game a game-within-a-game feel to it to go along with the Team Management (where you can draft new players) and Create A Player mode (where you can create your own player and then draft him).

The level of details on the graphics is also among the best seen so far.  Baseball enthusiasts will no doubt be pleasantly surprised by the startling resemblances of various all-star favorites such as Derek Jeter or the legendary Reggie Jackson (most notably during close ups of the players stepping up at bat). Yet oddly enough--and this isn’t a major complaint--the player body types come off as unusual.  Does Randy Johnson really have that muscular a frame?

Another visual blunder can be seen in the upper levels of a stadium (it appears like a shimmering colorful wave) or players in the distance (all built to jagged perfection).  Yet the audience in the stands and background players warming up are impressive enough to help you forget about these small visual glitches.

Sound, though, is a department All-Star Baseball just manages to reign supreme.  With colorful and accurate running analysis done by Fox Sports announcers Thom Brennaman, Steve Lyons and Bob Brenly, all calls are made without missing a beat or repeating themselves.  It compliments the rich background details of stadium announcers (“We’d like to welcome you to Dodger Dog Night”) and even hecklers (“You suck, ump!”).

Of course, not sports title of this caliber is without a multiplayer option and this game makes good use of the many game modes available.  Up to four players can play through an entire season, drafting players and taking on computer-controlled teams as well as each other on the way to the World Series.

Sports fans will be so pleased with this title that they might just overlook the small irritating things that are easily overshadowed by near perfect gameplay and fun game modes.  All-Star Baseball 2003 is a good attempt at making a great baseball game and players should definitely not ignore it.

Gameplay: 8.5
Not only does the game look good, but it also plays smoothly to the point that the action seem so seamless.  The game isn’t without its faults, though.  Batting is a world of frustration that would make even a seasoned baseball game player aggravated.  There are also a number of “unusual” occurrences (players running right THROUGH other players and unrealistic catches that look as if the ball suddenly appears in a players glove instead of falling on it).

Yet the batting problem can be remedied by many tries in the Batting Practice mode.  The game’s biggest draw just happens to be the pitching action which was designed so simple that its actually a blast.

Graphics: 8.1

Much emphasis was put on accurately displaying each player and stadium correctly which makes for slightly more redefined graphics than 3DO’s High Heat 2003. Close-up angles of such favorites as Mike Schmidt, for example, look eerily like their actual counterpart.  You can also recognize a player as he steps up to bad, although, at times, the less well known players don’t resemble the actual players.

As high in detail as each player is--and many of them come with characteristic props they use in real life (Barry Bonds wearing that signature wrap-around arm guard of his)--body types aren’t represented all that well.  Let’s just say that Sammy Sosa’s hefty built is seen--in this game, anyway--as being unusually overweight.  And distant backgrounds and audience members loose their level of detail, especially when you pop a distant foul ball.

Sound: 9.4
Only one word can be used to sum up this game’s sound: Amazing!  Not only are the sound effects so rich in detail (the stands are filled with fans that doesn’t sound like a roaring ocean wave), but they also push the realism factor to an all out high.  You can distinctly hear small insignificant things such as other ball players shouting encouragement that other baseball titles forget to include.

The commentary is also TV-style perfection.  All calls are made accurately and they rarely repeat themselves. 

Difficulty: 8.7
There are four difficulty settings (Rookie, Veteran, All-Star and Manage Only) that allow players to play at their own level of comfort.  There will be many times in the game where the CPU player doesn’t make any errors at all, but that can be easily remedied by adjusting the difficulty level as well as things on the Option Menu.

Yet much of the game’s main difficulty problems are aimed at batting. Somehow the batting target range looses its appeal and helpfulness.  When you do manage to hit the ball, rarely does it turn out to be a home run.  And while out on the field, doing something as simple as catching a pop fly is unpredictable. 

Concept: 8.2
With loads of extra features and game modes to please any baseball fan, Acclaim was also good enough to include a solid Franchise mode.  The Special Features section is also filled with interesting features such as a baseball trivia game (filled with tough yet entertaining questions) and a Official Player Trading Cards function that unlocks cheats and other surprises.

The game also includes a great Create A Player function that allows players to throw into training until they are experienced enough to get drafted by your team.  The level of realism is displayed throughout the game as you watch rookies becomes seasoned pros or seasoned pros become retired winners of the Cy Young Award.

Multiplayer: 9.5
What baseball title isn’t complete without a multiplayer interface and All-Star’s multiplayer games allow up to four players (using your Multitap) go head-to-head in any of the game’s various modes.  Four players can choose their favorite teams, go through an entire season (taking turns winning CPU teams and against your friends’ teams) or simply play an Exhibition or All-Star game.

Overall: 8.5
All-Star Baseball 2003 is everything a good baseball title should be, and despite its various little problems here and there, it’s still a good time at the old ballpark.  Genuine baseball fans should not miss out on this one.