All Star Baseball 2004

Published by Acclaim
Developed by Acclaim
Platform: PlayStation 2
Released - Out Now
Price : £39.99

Baseball is predominantly an American sport. While in the US it's absolutely massive, here in the UK it probably isn't even in the top 15 of sports that appeal to the general public. Of course that's not to say that people aren't interested in playing a console game of the sport, even I remember enjoying baseball games on the Sinclair Spectrum back in the 1980s.

All Star Baseball 2004 is Acclaims interpretation of the sport and in terms of features it's absolutely full to bursting. The game includes 9 gameplay modes including a Franchise mode, Quick play and Scenario mode (which includes an impressive 21 scenarios). You also get to test your knowledge of Baseball in the Trivia mode. There are a variety of unlockable features such as the stadium tours, the collectable play cards and the multimedia clips. The game also features over 110 retired legends including Babe Ruth, Ty Cobb and Buck O'Neil. There is something here to please even the most demanding baseball fanatic.

To satisfy both general gamers and baseball connoisseurs you can choose between a simple batting control, which is simply about timing your swing, and a complex one that allows you to change the bat angle and location. If you're not used to the sophistication of the more complex batting controls, you'll be please to know that the easy option allows you to begin enjoying the game without having to worry about enduring a huge learning curve. The pitching is fairly straightforward and requires little effort to learn. Fielding is also easy and very straightforward to carry out with a blue marker highlighting where the ball is going to land.

Graphically All Star Baseball 2004 is very good. The stadia and players all look impressive. The player's animations are also impressive. The old complaint with a sports title is that the crowd graphics look a little flat and whilst they look OK they still have that cardboard cut out appearance to them in ASB 2004. The framerate is also impressive and the game doesn't slowdown at all. Load times are about average for a PlayStation 2 game, with the exception of the stadium tours which are a little on the long side.

There aren't really any problems for deaf gamers with the game but some of the special features will be virtually useless for deaf gamers. The stadium tours are not subtitled. The multimedia clips are not subtitled either. The game commentary is not subtitled, but this isn't really an obstacle. Thankfully the Trivia mode is completely in text so you'll be able to enjoy the quiz.

All Star Baseball 2004 is a solid baseball simulation and will appeal to all fans of the sport, and even fans of games of the sport. This year's version offers a whole host of improvements over last year's version. Thankfully you can now perform in-game saves, which means you can enjoy the game even if you have a limited amount of time to play. The franchise mode is particularly impressive and can be tailored to your liking. All in all it's a very good Baseball game.

Overall Game Rating: 8.2/10
A very good baseball simulation that will please fans of the sport.

Deaf Gamers comment:
No problems but it's a shame that some of the extra features are not subtitled.