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"ASB2005, gotta give this game some love"

Intro

It seems like Acclaim's ASB 2005 is getting the short end of the stick yet again this year amidst the rave over MVP 2004 Baseball and ESPN baseball by the now dethroned king of baseball games SEGA, but don't let the reviews fool you ASB has allot to offer and is by far the closest thing to the real game as it gets.

Graphics 8

Well Graphics are the one area that this game is overshadowd by the competition. They are really nice by their own standards but they are not quite on par with the rest. There is allot of improvment this year over last year's game but the players still seem a little robotic in their movement. The sky changes from day to night during afternoon games and the Stadiums look very realistic, and there are a host of new animations like when the bat flies out of your hand, etc.. Overall everything is allot smoother than the previous version . There are many new camera angles for homeruns and foul balls, etc. There is also the fielder cam and the broadcast camera during pitching. Both of these are great features and can be turned off if necessary. However this game does look a little antiquated when you play the other baseball games.

Gameplay 10

I have to say this is where this game stands out. It's all about the dynamics of pitching and hitting which I find realistic about ASB. Baseball is a pitcher's game and this game recognizes that. The pitch speed on the harder difficulties is about the right speed which it should be. You will get burned on hard thrown fastballs if you are not guessing the right pitch. That's the way it should be. You have to be guessing allot to get the pitch you want otherwise you'll get struck out. It's not like ESPN or MVP where you can pretty much wait on any pitch and then swing away.

Also as far as strike outs and pitch counts, I think this game is closest to the real thing. When I play this game I can get around 12 ks with the best pitchers whereas when I play ESPN or MVP I can pitch 7 innings with Pedro and wind up with 0 ks. That's ridiculous. Also I found in ESPN I can get through most games throwing under 65 pitches after 6 or 7. This game usually you have to throw around 80 or more.

So far this is the only game that makes you feel dominant when you have a great pitcher on the mound. In the other games I routinely get pummled even when pitching with the top studs.

*note there are slowed down versions of pitch speed in ASB for the timid. But I liked this game a whole lot better in 2003 when there was only one Pitch speed, and that was EXTRA ****ing FAST.

Sound 9:

Tom Brenaman and Steve Lyons are back for another season of indepth commentary. I like these guys and find them pretty entertianing. Although I do prefer ESPN's commentary by John Miller but I can live with what ASB has. Stadium sounds are all great as usual.

Fun Factor/ Replayability: 10

I'm going to give this game a perfect score because it feels more like real baseball then any other game when you play it. Also there are tons of things to do in this game like the TWIB challenges and the Franchise/ Expansion Modes. You can work on this game forever. Also you can go online if you want and play with other live members.

Conclusion:

This is a great game for HardCore Fans. Casual gamers will probably tell you that MVP is the best or ESPN, but if you want a real challenge at the plate you better avoid those games and get this one. I would score this over all an 8.8 or 8.9 but since you can't use fractions I'll have to enter on 9 on this review.

PS. The only big glitch I have encountered in this game is occasionaley the cpu lets a ball get away when fielding and then doesn't attempt to pick it up allowing you to score all or any of your baserunners. This happens sometimes when the computer makes an error. Hopefully one year Acclaim will get a glitchless game, but I'll still probably be playing this game regardless.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 05/09/04