MLB 2003
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Product Summary

Video Game Reviews of MLB 2003

Customer Review: Spring Training Mode is the Only Reason to Buy This Game
Summary: 3 Stars

MLB offers Spring Training Mode, where you create a player and compete for a spot on the roster. Even if you make the roster, the challenge still isn't over. You have to keep playing well during the regular season or else risk getting cut. This innovation alone makes the game worth renting.

Unfortunately, there are too many things wrong with MLB, and until 989 fixes them, I can't wholeheartedly recommend this game.

* Like the previous reviewer said, the baserunning AI is all wrong. Runners take off at the crack of the bat, even if it's an infield pop fly, so you constantly have to tell the runners to return to the base before they get picked off.

* The game doesn't score properly. Batters aren't credited for hits if they get thrown out trying to take the extra base. In certain instances the batter will hit the ball out of the park and get credit for a home run but NOT for a base hit (gotta love that glitch). And of course nobody who programmed MLB seems to be even remotely acquainted with the infield fly rule.

* Love Vin Scully, can't stand Dave Campbell. Scully's play-by-play is fluid and compliments the gameplay, but Campbell's "color commentary" was so asinine I had to turn the announcer voices off. (Example: Pedro Martinez throws a pitch for a ball. Dave Campbell responds: "Great piece of pitching there keeping the hitter off-balance." Huh?) I wish there was some way to keep Vinny on but turn Dave off, but unfortunately with MLB 2003 it's all or nothing. Most of the time I play with the announcer voices off. Sorry, Vinny.)

* Spring training mode is great, but you can only play as a position player, not as a pitcher.

* The physics are slightly off. Computer controlled hitters almost never hit ground balls. Everything is fly balls, line drives, and home runs. My first baseman made maybe five putouts over the course of the first ten games I played against the computer. Uh uh.

My advice: the MLB series has already left the Playstation for the PS2. Rent MLB 2003 if you're interested, but if you're looking to buy, wait until 989 releases a PS2 version that fixes all these glitches. It'll save you endless frustration and you'll be glad you waited.

Description of MLB 2003

The TV-style presentation has been updated and made more conversational, with commentary from the two-man booth that includes Hall of Famer Vin Scully and sportscaster Dave Campbell. All 30 ballparks have been expertly reproduced to let you take a shot at the pool in Arizona, take it to the streets at Wrigley, and make the palms sway in San Diego.

Dozens of pros and coaches have been consulted to bring you the most authentic AI for everything from pitching to hitting to fielding. See just how baseball savvy you are as you take advantage of a hitters or pitchers count. Limit extra bases and unearned runs by positioning your defense and hitting the cutoff man. Get the most from your team when you flex your baseball knowledge.

Game modes include Franchise, Season, All-Star, Playoffs, World Series, Home Run Derby, Player, Manager, and GM Modes. You can get in the game as a player or sit back with a bag of seeds and call the shots as a manager. Or if you have what it takes to organize a top-caliber club, go in as GM and make trades, sign free agents, and send guys to the minors if they don't perform. Three levels of gaming offer something for every true baseball fanatic.

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