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Great Game

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 8 / 9
Date: March 05, 2003
Author: Amazon User

This game is a ton of fun. It is bright and gaudy and grabs your attention right off the bat. Yes, it has some frustrating quirks and glitches (during an attempted 3-6-3 double play, the shortstop fired the ball back to the first baseman in plenty of time to get the runner; unfortunately, the first baseman wasn't covering the bag at the time, the pitcher was, and instead of an inning ending double play, there was a man on first -- who scored on the home run hit by the very next batter) But these gripes aside, the game plays wells, looks terrific, and has enormous replay value. I bought High Heat 2004 and couldn't force myself to play it for more than a few minutes. It was too damn ugly and dull -- and you wanna talk about glitches? Yes, I know you HH fans will send up a wail of indignant protest, "But it's true to the game!" Sorry, I played baseball, it's my favorite sport, and H H has all the luster and appeal of a dodgeball tournament at a prisoner of war camp. All-Star has so much more going for it; from the extra features and game modes, to the player and stadium models, it simply is a very well-done sports video game. Home runs come at an acceptably bloated rate, just as they do in the real game, and yes, if you tune this game right (and you can tune it, H H fans), you will occasionally get locked in a pitchers duel. I had one that went on for twenty-three innings, and ended with a final score of 4 - 3. I lost.
There are many baseball titles coming out this year, and everyone will have an opinion on which is top-dog. Take my advice and rent them first. Decide which one you like. Don't forget, these games are fifty bucks each. I ran out and bought High Heat because I read several favorable reviews, all of which I found to be, at the very best, misleading. I recouped a little of my cash by trading it in on All-Star, but I still wasted money. Don't make the same mistake. I love All-Star 2004. You may not.

Good but....

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 8 / 9
Date: March 04, 2003
Author: Amazon User

Would have gotten 5 stars if it were Xbox live compatible... At least you can get the rosters downloaded.

Graphics are pretty decent, it's much better than previous seasons.

Sound is a little weak, announcing is pretty good, but the crowd noises sound like they are coming through a tunnel. Bat cracking, pitching, sound of the ball hitting glove are nice, very realistic.

Gameplay... Oh man. It could have been so much better than it is, but it's still pretty good. Infield control is incredibly tight, but when it comes to fielding the outfield, oh jeez, forget it. Unless you get under that ball, it's going to take a bounce to the wall, and you will be running in circles trying to pick the ball up! What happened here? Good question.

Franchise mode is deep, stats are tight, home run derby is fun, the batting practice is very good (you'll need it at first).

Overall, it's a good game, not the best, I think High Heat 2k4 is going to be tops this year as far as a simulation of Baseball, but I am enjoying my season so far, I'd wait and see if you can get this on sale if you MUST have a baseball game NOW. Otherwise, I can recommend it, but I can't stand behind the recomendation. I enjoy the game, but others with a taste for arcade ball won't really be very happy, and there could be quite a few stat/sim heads that won't like this either. It's a middle of the road baseball game.

A great baseball game except for:

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 6 / 6
Date: March 19, 2003
Author: Amazon User

Except for the ball popping into the fielders glove from about 4 feet away. This game almost got five stars except for that annoying glich. When a ball is hit to a fielder the ball will be about 4 or 5 feet away and all of a sudden it is in the glove.
The Good:
This game is really fun to play with a tremendous amount of features that should make any baseball gamer happy. The graphics are awesome, from the players faces, fans in the stands, the intros, and all the animation. The play by play is the best it feels like you are listening to a game on TV. A couple of new features, one is the ability to go to the mound for a visit, when you do this a box opens and it shows you his pitch count, who is up next, and a message from the pitching coach telling you if he should be left in or pulled and if your player in the pen is ready. A cool little feature is when you ask you bullpen to warm up a player you hear a phone ring, the added realisms like this is what makes a game good or great. I also enjoy the realism of the umps, the ump behind home plate yells out strike or ball, the field umps pull their hand up hard and yells "Out" or swing the arms and yells "Safe". The next great feature is the franchise mode, you have low and high minors, contracts, injuries, trades, and much much more, let me just say it is very deep. Finally game play is simply amazing.
The Bad:
The only thing that I would say is bad, is the interface when you are in the gm screens, I think it is supposed to look like it did a few years ago when everything was done in handwriting. All of the stats and info looks like it was written by hand, and even though I give the game designers a low five for creativity it does make it hard to read.
The Ugly:
I told you already at the top of this review, this quirk needs to be fixed.
Finally:
This game is much improved over last years installment and will give all baseball fans an enjoyable season.

Overall, not as good as 2003

2 Rating: 2, Useful: 2 / 3
Date: April 24, 2003
Author: Amazon User

So I was very excited for ASB2004. I played ASB2003 until the disc no longer worked. I created my own franchise, own players, and carried it through for years. While 2003 had some drawbacks, the gameplay and the franchise mode were unbeatable.

However, 2004 looks like it was released a little ahead of schedule. It's just sloppy.

My biggest problem with baseball games in general is that they are unrealistic. Being a big baseball fan, I know all the details of gameplay, scoring, and stats. In ASB2004, when a runner is on first, the batter hits a base hit to right field, and the runner gets thrown out at 2nd base, I'm miffed.

There are numerous problems with scoring errors. I hit a triple to right field, but a throwing error got me home. I was miscredited with a homerun, but no RBI, while the fielder was credited with a throwing error, but the pitcher got an earned run. Big problems.

The announcers will mis-announce plays all the time. Line drive to center is a pop fly, pop fly could be ruled a "drive in the gap," double play is announced as a fielder's choice. C'mon people, this was right before!

I've also had a couple of crashes, not during the gameplay, but when working rosters and saving options. Annoying.

There are a lot of new cool things with ASB2004, for sure. The scenario mode is awesome, the new look and display is cool. But the new stuff is far outweighed by how much Acclaim blew it with all the stuff they got right in 2003. ASB used to be the best baseball game, now it's just for rookies.

Oh, and ps... I just pitched a perfect game. Ain't I cool.

Save Your Money

2 Rating: 2, Useful: 2 / 5
Date: April 16, 2003
Author: Amazon User

I would urge all active x-box gamers to rent this game prior to buying so that you can save time, money, and frustration. While some of the features and options may be temporarily entertaining, the limitations and annoying factors will add up quickly and cause you to turn this game off in disgust.

Batting- The batting control for this game is about as frustrating and uncomfortable as you can imagine. No matter what batting option you choose, the timing and the set up will never fit your gameplay. You either hit a foul ball, pop out, or strike out...that's it.

Runner On Base- The controls for base running are ridiculous, and the player mentality/awareness is inconsistent and unrealistic. When you do finally get a man on base, be prepared to cringe as he fails to tag up (even though you didn't direct him to advance, ugh!) You will not score many runs in this game.

Annoying Comments: Derek Jeter and various old managers will screw up your timing by giving you a "helpful" hint right when you make contact with the ball. Seriously, a suggestion box will pop up in the middle of the screen and interrupt whatever is happening in the game. Even if you turn the comment option off, the comments will continue to appear. Very, very annoying.

Graphics: Overall, the graphics could and should be much better. The pitching and batting stances are nice, but these images are just a small part of the entire game. The crowd, homeruns, fielding, etc....these are just a few of the many areas that need to be enhanced.

Nice Things: I won't completely dog this game title, as the pitch control, the play-by-play announcing, and the stat upkeep is impressive. Unfortunately, those are the only nice things I can come up with.

Bottom Line: If you buy this game with hopes of purchasing a quality baseball title that is fun and competitive, then you will be severely disappointed. This is a one time rental only!

10 myths and truth about this game

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 1 / 1
Date: April 29, 2004
Author: Amazon User

Despite being released over a year ago, All-Star Baseball 2004 is still my choice baseball game for the Xbox. Why? It's the most addictive, fun baseball game I've played. After reading one too many negative reviews about this game, I've decided to speak out. I'm going to address ten issues concerning ASB04 that are brought up to disparage or praise the game. Here they are:

1. Zone and Timed-Hitting modes are broken (i.e."too many pop ups"). Myth. In ASB there are a variety of hits. I see hits down the line, Texas-leaguers, foul-backs, broken-bat hits, lined-hits and grounders to all fields. I have to question people complaining about not getting enough hit variety. One tip I'd like to offer is: Press the X button to activate the power swing on Timed or Zone-hitting (at least once per at bat). You'll notice more hits lined to all fields, unlike on contact hitting, where hits are mostly up the middle.

2. Pitch speeds are too fast. Truth. You make adjustments. There's no shame in starting the game on Rookie level, where you're given more leeway to make solid contact, and working your way up. The timed-hitting mode is a great way to adjust to the realistic speed of the pitches. A batting-practice mode is also included in the game.

3. The pace is too slow. Half-truth. Then this game is simply not for you. If you find baseball boring on TV or radio, you probably won't like ASB since it's almost a dead-on simulation of a real baseball game. The on-field presentation is terrific. The players, the stadiums and the umpires are all lifelike. Sometimes you have to pinch and tell yourself it's not the real thing. The announcing game is the most detailed out of all the console baseball games. Thom Brennaman and Steve Lyons go into at least one deep conversation about a recent MLB topic per game. Overall, this is as close to a simulated broadcast you're going to get in a videogame.

4. Too many homeruns. Half-truth. It really depends on your skill-level. Obviously, on lower difficulty levels (Rookie, timed-hitting), the higher the amount of homers occur. On higher difficulty levels (All-Star, cursor-hitting), homers are less frequent. I get a realistic amount (1-3) in one game on zone hitting on All-Star difficulty.

5. Base-running controls are hard. Myth. It's actually quite easy. To move one base-runner, you hold the advance button Y (or to retreat hold B) and then press the base button on the gamepad (eg.Right=firstbase-runner). To move all base-runners, you press the L-trigger to advance, R to retreat. I'll admit it took me a few games to get use to this system.

6. Franchise mode has a few kinks in it. Truth. There's a trading bug that can cause some frustration. For example, if you trade two players for three players (i.e.you get more players in return), the third player disappears from the game. Because there's no list for excess players, the CPU removes the traded player. One tip obviously is to save the game before making any major trades. Another tip is to free-up space on the active roster (by sending down players to the minors) before making the trade. Another bug is the "position-integrity"bug. The rule is that you must have all the positions on your team filled, including backup corner/middle infielders, or else you'll be frozen on the GM-setup page. The solution is to find a way to fill that position, whether it's through a minor league call-up, free agency or trade.

7. Fielding is difficult. Myth. As an experienced gamer, I find it plays just like any other baseball game. One thing useful is future throws. You press the base you want to throw to before picking up the ball. Consequently, doubleplays are pretty easy to turn. There's an issue with aligning the fielder with the ball indicator (the circle thingy that shows where the ball is going to land). Sometimes you have to place the fielder in front of the indicator instead of in the middle (I suppose it all depends on the trajectory of the ball hit). For the most part, fielding is pretty straightforward.

8. Pitching is too easy. Half-truth. The pitching system simply comes down to selecting the pitch-type, picking a spot on the strike zone and pressing a button. The ball goes correctly to the spot where you targeted the cursor. One complaint is that the aim is too accurate. Pitchers with good control like Zito and Maddux will hit their spots very frequently. But when they begin to tire, they lose a bit of accuracy. When their fatigue meter is nearly depleted, they'll start to hang pitches down the middle of the strikezone. There's also the option to turn off the pitching-cursor to make pitching more challenging.

9. There are glitches in this game. Truth. Baseball is a complex sport with a lot of gray areas concerning the rules and the intricate physics of the game. So, it shouldn't be surprising to see something bizarre occur in a baseball videogame (since we sometimes see them in real life!). In ASB, fielders will suddenly pick up a ball 10ft away from them without budging. This may be related to a vacuum effect that fielders seem to have. The CPU AI plays a good game but they occasionally throw to the wrong base. Hitters will appear to hit balls out of the catcher's mitt. I've seen other really strange things (that probably belong on the TwilightZone) but these flaws normally don't affect the outcome of a game.

10. The game is loaded with fun extras. Absolute truth. It includes a home run derby, scenario mode, schoolyard-pickup mode, stadium tours, a quiz game, player interviews (BuckO'Neill,CalRipken,DerekJeter), an All-TimeLegends roster (Ruth,Cobb,etc), a NegroLeague roster (Satchel,Josh,etc), create-a-player mode, and a franchise mode which includes an in-depth expansion option, where you get to choose from one of 25-30 cities vying for an MLB team. You're definitely getting bang for your buck.

Much, much better than last year's version

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 1 / 2
Date: March 08, 2003
Author: Amazon User

I just purchased the game today, and much to my surprise you will start your franchise off with..spring training?! This year you have an umpire calling strikes and balls (!), the short music openings when the home team goes up to bat, the plays look much more real life too...andI've just started playing the game. pLUS, you have the bonus modes, like how would you have managed game 6 of the World Series last year? And there's the content download on Xbox Live (if Acclaim could have made it Live playable...), so you'll get the stats and rosters for March 1st now.

my only complaint so hard--where's Hideki Matsui? But no biggie, I'm sure e'll be added soon enough.

This game just FEELS alot better. So Acclaim has done a great job. Can MVP. WS2k3, HH, and Inside Pitch measure up?

Not as good as last years.

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 1 / 2
Date: April 03, 2003
Author: Amazon User

The dvd like special features, scenario mode and the ability to edit existing players are the only improvements I can see over last years version. The batting is much harder, and its not a good thing. I had some very good hitters leading the league in strikeouts. I dont know if they changed the pitching at all but its just not as fun as last years. Even if you really enjoyed last years I recomend staying away.

This game is great but....

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 1 / 3
Date: May 10, 2003
Author: Amazon User

I went out and bought this game becuase i loved last years version, I would say im pleased with my purchase there are some great things in this game, like scenario mode which is cool and gives you a chance to do try to break up no hitters, etc. Also pickup mode is great and gives the game some more replay value than other baseball games on the market. The graphics in this game are amazing. The franchise mode is 20 years long and gives you a chance to build up a team.

I have some complants though, THERE IS TOO MANY HOMERUNS... Homeruns are fun and all but when your hitting 5-10 in 1 game, each game there has to be some limit!!! Hitting is just too easy in this game... Ya you can change the difficulty from rookie, veteran and all-star(being the hardest)... But i played a game on rookie... and i won 26-3... Then a game on veteran and guess what i win again 18-5... Wait theres more, a game on all-star, the hardest, Hmm...?? i win 14-4...One last problem i have with the game is the number of strikouts. In the 2003 version it was impossible to strike out.. now u strike out at least 10 times a game!!

Putting these complaints aside this game is great.. And i would encourage any1 looking for a solid baseball game to at least rent it

All star baseball 2004

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 0 / 1
Date: March 05, 2003
Author: Amazon User

Great game and definately worth a rating of five stars. Graphics alone are awesome. Plus being able to play with the "Legend" players, and stars of the Negro League are a major plus too. Lots of new options available with this game as well. The game play is excellent, as well as, the total package overall. I agree with Acclaim this is the best baseball game yet, or at least I have seen so far. Try it. I think you will like it.

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