ASB 2004 (PS2 or Xbox)

[BigDPW]

I would love to hear some FOFCers reviews of this game... I am debating between WSB and ASB for my PS2!

[FBPro]

I would agree.

[Cuckoo]

Well, I'll give my opinions on the PS2 versions. Take them for what they're worth.

I rented WSB first, hearing that it had the deepest franchise mode. I have OOTP for depth but am always looking for a console game with good gameplay and a solid franchise mode.

Overall, the franchise mode is pretty good, although not as deep as many would have you believe. You do have one level of minor leagues. There is an amateur draft and the player ratings and stats are fairly numerous. The strength of this game, though, is the gameplay. I thought it was incredibly accurate and very enjoyable, challenging with some very nice graphics.

Now, to ASB. I bought last year's version also, and this year's is a big step forward. The franchise mode here is much deeper than WSB. It has two levels of minors, amateur draft, rule 5 draft, minor-league options, and a waiver wire. The only detriment to the franchise mode being that it only offers a few player ratings and doesn't even break it down by position (a player is designated as a MIF for example, but you have no idea how good he is at third)

The gameplay, too, is not near as good as WSB. Graphics aren't as nice and some of the controls are difficult. That said, it is still quite challenging and realistic.

In the end, I weighed whether I wanted a better franchise mode or better gameplay. Ordinarily, since I have OOTP, I would have picked gameplay. But, I chose ASB for a few reasons. First, things like Rule 5 and waiver wire are new to me, not even present in OOTP, which adds quite a bit to the game. Second, I like the layout of ASB. The menus are easy to navigate and the classic baseball theme is really nice. Finally, ASB offers a few other game modes that are kind of neat, mainly the pick-up game. You can play in a sandlot, a corn field, a schoolyard park, or a city park, and you choose up teams from a list of current and legendary players. There doesn't seem to be any rhyme or reason to who is available which I think kind of makes it neat. Last night, I played a pickup game with Shane Reynolds as my pitcher and a line-up that included Barry Bonds, Jackie Robinson, Harmon Killebrew, and Scott Spiezio. BTW, I lost in the twelfth inning when Reynolds tired significantly (you don't get to change pitchers) and Larry Walker hit a ground-rule double into someone's back yard scoring Jay Payton.

Well, that's just a quick gloss over. If you have any questions about something I didn't cover, I'll do my best.

Cuckoo

[LionsFan10]

I actually own BOTH World Series Baseball 2K3 and All-Star Baseball 2004 for X-Box.

For some reason, I find myself playing ASB more than I do WSB, don't ask why ... but I just find that game more my taste, even though WSB is a gorgeous game, and WSB DOES have a leg up on ASB when it comes to gameplay, I just like certian aspects of ASB.

So, if you ask me, I'd pick ASB over WSB right now ... having both, I'm in a win, win situation obviously but all in all, my vote is for All-Star Baseball 2004.

[cmp]

I own ASB 2003. Is it worth it to buy the new version. Are there enough new features to warrant a purchase of the new game.

[LionsFan10]

Actually, I'd say yes. I owned ASB 2003 last year, too and I didn't like that game all that much ... but new features like "Zone" and "Easy" batting (I've always sucked at cursor), deep franchise mode (deeper than WSB) and stuff like Player Cards make it more fun than World Series to me, so I'd say ... if you are really into baseball, go ahead and buy All-Star, I'd say it's much better .. but than again that's just my opinon.