All-Star Baseball certainly lives up to its name. It offers the largest stable of former greats, some 50 in all, and it even offers many of the standouts and stars from the old Negro Baseball League. It's obvious Acclaim decided the best way to deal with the competition is to match it in terms of baseball prowess, but at the same time, outdo it in terms of extras such as a trivia game, stadium tours, DVD content and classic ballparks. There are seven fantasy ballparks in currently baseball-free North American cities, and you can pick and choose from over 30 mascots, making the expansion team options all the more interesting. All-Star also offers a deep franchise mode that rivals text simulations such as Over the Top Baseball. Baseball lives and dies by the pitcher/batter duel and All-Star has you covered here by offering every option the competition can muster. You can use a cursor system (like MVP Baseball), a timing based system (less realistic, but good for new players), and a system similar to High Heat where you have to watch the ball carefully (most realistic). Each system works but the cursor-based option is below par: the information regarding where and when to swing appears too late. The gameplay has other flaws. Fielding feels soft, unresponsive and slow, and the AI is stupidly aggressive at times, stealing when it shouldn't and slugging when a sacrifice is called for.
All-Star has good graphics--not the best available but very good--and the animations are all smooth and lifelike. Fans can even identify many players by their batting stance alone. The audio is a standout, specifically the commentary, which is accurate, insightful and even includes entertaining side conversations about the rules and quirks of the game.
All-Star isn't quite the best baseball game you can buy for your console system, but, with good gameplay, good graphics, lots of options and extras, and a nice range of hitting options, it offers the best overall package if you aren't sure what you want. --Andrew S Bub
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