All Star Baseball has seen its many ups and downs over the years. When it originally appeared on the Nintendo's N64 it was heralded as the next big thing in next generation sports titles. It managed to take the limelight away from EA Sports who continues to struggle to produce a viable baseball game. Then something weird started to happen, ASB started to produce shady visuals and very sloppy gameplay. The franchise has struggled ever since. The good news is that Acclaim is doing something seriously to address the issue and the latest incarnation ASB 2003 showcases that many of the previous glitches have been removed. Unfortunately, the game falls short of being a true contender due to some sketchy batting and pitching interfaces.

All Star Baseball 2003 continues to thrive on the visual impact of baseball. This year the players are complete with realistic faces that match their real-life counterparts thanks to some fine tuning to create proportional animations. The collision and slow animation issues that plagued last year's effort have been addressed and fixed. Now players of all skill abilities will have little trouble making some truly spectacular catches in the field. The stadiums incorporate more detail this year and look great as a result. Little details like broken bats have been incorporated into the presentation. While still not as good as they could be, the player animations and detail is improving year to year as the developers come to terms with the intricate workings of the PS2. This year the all new player models are courtesy of 3-D Cyberscan technology. On the aural side of things, Acclaim hired on a first ever three man booth with the talent of Bob Benly, Thom Brennaman and Steve Lyons. They do an admirable job but the synchronization with the action is still not as tight as it could be and the trio become quite repetitive early on.

The gameplay is very mixed and will depend entirely upon how you like your baseball games to play. The pitching and batting interface which was made famous by the ASB series because you had to angle your bat to compensate for different pitches and using a power meter. ASB has always been a hitter's game until this year. The interface is flawed as it is nearly impossible to hit any of the pitches offered up to your hitter. We knew there would be a learning curve but after playing for a number of hours we started to wonder when it would end. The pitches simply come into too fast for you to respond in the appropriate manner. Even if you have the right angle and have the pitch location guessed you will more than likely miss it due to horrific timing. All of this carry on results in a very painfully slow pace to complete a game never mind thinking about tackling a 162-game schedule. What should be fun ends up becoming annoying and boring.

ASB 2003 still offers a heap of value in the replayability department. The game features an impressive 10 modes of gameplay including: Exhibition, Season, Career, Franchise, Expansion, All-Star Game, Series, Manager, Hone Run Derby and Batting Practice. The Franchise mode the is real star of the game as you are forced to deal with a simulated salary cap that will keep you on top of your toes in order to retain the all star players and produce a winning team. Add to this a deep and competent Expansion Mode allows you to draft a team from the remaining players from each team's 40-man roster. Customize them, train them and then take them all the way to the pennant. You can even choose a city, stadium and team logo. Your franchise can then be used for up to twenty seasons. Acclaim has added in some extra content in the form of Donruss player trading cards which can be collected, traded and used to unlock cheats. Even a Cooperstown Hall Of Fame team can be unlocked and used throughout the game.

Even with all of the extras and improved graphics, it is hard to look past the batting and pitching problems. If you can get past this awkward interface then you will probably enjoy what ASB 2003 has to offer. Otherwise stick to this year's champ High Heat.