All-Star Baseball 2004

All-Star Baseball?s realistically slow pacing and in-depth cursor interface have always appealed to a loyal segment of baseball gamers, and they?ll return in droves for this season?s slew of upgrades.

Diamond Delivery
Acclaim?s All-Star Baseball series has always grabbed top accolades without managing to dominate the way Madden does in the football arena. The 2004 version will deliver a slew of sharp refinements that will please fans of the series, but after playing the preview versions, this year?s team looks like a surefire playoff bet but not the eventual World Series champ.

The main focus in developing All-Star Baseball 2004 was beefing up the game with some meaty new features, including in-depth Season and Franchise modes. Baseball fans will also enjoy the new trivia game and the Scenario mode, which challenges you to try your hand at playing through classic moments from last season.

Excellent options, like allowing you to download roster updates from the main menu or to save your game anytime and finish it later, will be really appreciated by gamers. All-Star 2004 will also be rich in the trappings and feel of baseball, even highlighting little moments like starting pitchers heating up their arm before the game.

Play Ball!
On the field, All-Star 2004 is sticking with its in-depth cursor batting interface, which allows you to choose from three different cursor styles or go cursor-less altogether. The mechanics of the game felt tight and realistic, though some tuning of the A.I. remained to be done. The Xbox version naturally looks like it will be the clear winner in the graphics department, although the GameCube edition wasn?t available to take a few cuts with. As in past All-Stars?and baseball itself?the pacing was definitely on the slow side, so don?t expect a slugfest here.

If you?re a fan of the All-Star series, Acclaim is definitely packing enough good new stuff into the 2004 version to lure you back to the ballpark. But if the franchise never quite grabbed you, it doesn?t look like this season will be the one that wins you over.

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