Sega Sports(tm) World Series® Baseball 2K3

Baseball: you either love it or you hate it.  Dissenters think baseball without a keg on second base is simply standing on some grass and occasionally tossing a white ball around.  Fanatics dig deep into the numbers aspect of baseball (what is Randy Wolf’s ERA in day games during a 2-1 count?), open packs of baseball card packs and throw out the gum, and fill out personal scorecards at the game while listening to the radio broadcast on cheap headphones. 

This love hate affair has often applied to baseball video games as well.  Sega Sports sends a high heater right into the chin of that notion and topples it over with their latest baseball release for the Xbox, World Series Baseball 2K3.  World Series Baseball 2K3 is the first baseball simulation that both baseball fans and non-baseball fans can enjoy. 

Sega Sports continues their tradition of combining incredible graphics with excellent true-to-life gameplay while minimizing extra features in their second baseball game for the Xbox.  While most baseball games tend to bore people with their slow pace, WSB2K3 manages to remain intense and stay true to America’s pastime. 

WSB2K3 offers plenty of customizable attributes to accommodate both rookies and seasoned vets.  Several gameplay sliders in the pitching and batting departments can turn WSB2K3 into a game that matches your skill, taste, and style.  Much too often in baseball games, getting used to the pitching and batting scheme makes the game easier than one of A-Rod’s groupies.  In WSB2K3, the harder difficulty levels are incredibly challenging and keep the batting averages down and the fastballs fast.

Since many of the new baseball games have the same basic modes, the key to liking this year’s crop of games lies in the gameplay, specifically the batting and pitching interfaces, and WSB2K3 has the best of the new bunch. 

The batting/pitching HUD shows hot and cold zones for hitters and the pitch history of the current at bat (or last at bat if it is the first pitch), as well as the standard baseball HUD features such as pitcher’s stamina, pitch selection, and baseball diamond graphic with base runners.  The standard camera is a catcher’s cam, but a few different cameras are available, including a television-style pitching camera.

The batting interface is similar to most of the games out there, simply match the batting cursor to the pitch and swing away.  Unlike other baseball games, WSB2K3 really gives players the feeling that they are right there in the box, rather than matching a batting cursor to a pitch cursor in a simple game of cat-and-mouse.  Curveballs look like fastballs until the bottom drops out, changeups look like fastballs but end up coming in 20 mph slower, and fastballs look like… well fastballs, but by the time the scream into the catcher’s mitt, it’s too late.  A pitching cursor can be turned on in the game, but only WSB2K3 makes batting without the cursor feel natural. 

Batters can take a hard cut by pressing B, or opt for contact with A.  Swinging for the fences may increase the value of your rookie card, but it decreases your sweet zone resulting in more pop ups and whiffs.  Contact hitters will have bigger batting cursors, and power hitters will have larger sweet spots.  Batting options include slowing or increasing the speed of the pitches, changing the size of the batting cursor, using timed batting (no batting zones, just swing at the right time), using pro-power hitting which utilizes a power meter in addition to swinging at the right time and in the right zone, or using the standard batting mode. 

Pitching in WSB2K3 is just as fun as batting, a baseball video game rarity.  Each pitcher has a repertoire of pitches according to their major-league counterparts.  Randy Johnson can throw in the triple digits, Zito’s curveball looks like it will burrow straight to China, and Jamie Moyer’s changeup creeps along deceptively at a snail’s pace.  After selecting the pitch with the left joystick and the A button, pitchers select the zone with the left joystick and pitch with the A button.  A pitching cursor can be turned on or off, but the game plays best with the cursor off.  When playing with the pitching cursor off, moving the location to the edges of the strike zone sends vibrations into the controller.  Combine that with the television-style pitcher view (from behind the pitcher), and you’ll feel like you’re right there on the mound.

Franchise mode in WSB2K3 is every bit as customizable as the game play.  Seasons can range from 10 games to the full 162 games, injuries, trades, and budgets can be turned on or off, and minor league systems can vary from simple to deep.  As you trudge through the season, players will get injured, minor leaguers will play their way into your lineup, and wear and tear will affect your starters.  Virtual managers can choose to use this year’s major league teams, throw all the players into the free agent market and draft them with a fantasy draft, or scratch all the overpaid baseball players and select from a pool of made up players.  There is a create-a-player option, but it’s about as deep as a pop up to the pitcher. 

The franchise modes in baseball have gotten more complex every year, and WSB2K3 gets serious with coach selection.  Batting and pitching coaches will help develop young players and keep veterans sharp, and their attention to various elements (such as power or contact for hitters, velocity and accuracy for pitchers) can be adjusted to develop specific kinds of players.  If it all sounds too complicated, which it is, players can just have the computer handle everything. 

The physics and gameplay of WSB2K3 are almost perfect.  The game can truck on at a fast pace because all cutscenes and slow parts of the game can be skipped with the A button.  The games move along because there’s no need to wait for foul balls to land as unplayable foul balls have their own fast cutscenes and batters and pitchers get ready to play quickly, but players should still expect about thirty minutes for a nine inning game.  Ball physics are very lifelike, and errors aren’t simply throws past the first baseman.  If a throw is off course, it can pull the first baseman a few feet off the bag, instead of skipping by him past the bag and into the dugout while the runner strolls into second. 

There are only a few extras in this baseball simulation.  There’s a home run derby, five classic parks, and several throwback uniforms complete with old-timer shoes and gloves for each team.  Old school can meet new school with the Legends team that includes sluggers like Reggie Jackson and Mike Schmidt.

You can’t mention Sega Sports without mentioning quality graphics.  All the set viewpoints (the batting box and the pitcher’s camera) look flawless.  The detail on the uniforms, players, and field looks incredibly realistic.  Combine it with the ESPN broadcast and you’ve got a game that looks like the real thing.  The tough critic will take notice of the occasional “phantom” catch, runners not rounding the bag, and low-res fans, but the rest of the game is prettier than a suicide squeeze.

Who can forget the friendly sounds of the ballpark?  Sega Sports certainly haven’t, as all the sounds of the stadium are here.  Vendors hawk their wares, crowds cheer their players, and stadium PAs announce batters and position changes.  Many of the sounds show that Sega Sports are not without their humor.  It’s not uncommon to hear inebriated fans taunt opposing players.  Several players have personal taunts like “Tejada?  More like Te-Not-A!”  The stadium announcer even gets a little annoyed when plays slows to a halt, letting the players know he has a dinner reservation after the game.  The umpire has the classic “I’ve-smoked-too-many-cigarettes” voice, and announcers Rex Hudler and Ted Robinson call the game nearly flawlessly.  Some of the crowd reactions are a little off, but overall the sound is very solid.

WSB2K3 for the Xbox is the best baseball game available for any console.  The sights, sounds, and action of the ballpark is all in WSB2K3.  WSB2K3 has all the gameplay, graphics, and audio gamers expect from Sega Sports.  Baseball fans who do not pick up this title may as well hope for a player’s strike.

World Series Baseball 2K3 is rated E for everyone.   

Gameplay: 9.5

This game has everything that a simulation baseball game needs.  The customization of the game is absolutely incredible and suitable for everyone.  This game has the best pitching and hitting interface available, making it the best pure baseball simulation on the market.  The excellent controls allow managers to easily call hit and runs, perform drag bunts, and hit the cut off man.

Graphics: 9.0

It has its minor flaws, but much of the game looks incredibly realistic.  The batter’s box and pitcher’s mound views are great.  The instant replay mode is fantastic.

Sound: 9.0

The crowd is a little on the weak side, but everything else sounds like the real thing.  Kudos to Sega for including personal taunts.

Difficulty: Medium

WSB2K3 has so many customizable options that anyone will feel right at home in the game.  Want it difficult?  Speed up the pitching and decrease the size of the batting cursor.  Need it a little easier?  Turn on the pitching cursor or slow down the pitches.  The options are nearly endless.

Concept: 8.0

It’s baseball at its purest.  No frills, just like the real game.

Multiplayer: 8.5

Multiplayer eliminates the possibility of a pitcher’s view, but the chess game within the pitching/batting system is a great challenge between friends.   

Overall: 9.3

Sega Sports has done it again.  WSB2K3 has enough to keep casual and intense baseball fans happy.  There aren’t many baseball games I would call addictive, but this game is definitely one of those “need to pry the controller away from your hands” game.  If you’re looking for bench-clearing brawls or long balls threatening low flying aircrafts, you’re better off looking elsewhere.  WSB2K3 is all about the game of baseball.