I was a little wary of buying this World Series Baseball title. I played the awesome Saturn '98 version and I wanted to get another baseball fix on the Dreamcast. I decided to wait for 2K1, and it looked great. When it came out it still looked great, but the gameplay pretty much sank to the bottom. Even the 2K2 version on the beleaguered Dreamcast was a mixed bag as well despite some positive reviews. It seemed to be the end of this storied franchise. But then came the Xbox version of World Series Baseball that came out last year. Sega Sports seemed to be on top of their game again with the help of Visual Concepts and created a pretty good baseball game which I haven't played. Now that World Series Baseball 2K3 is here, Visual Concepts has apparently improved upon the series and has created an awesome game of baseball.

Graphics

To date, this is the best looking baseball game I have ever seen. The stadiums are so minutely detailed you can almost see the peanut shells under the seats. Every inch of the stadiums geometry are right on. The shadows are a nice touch in the day, but if only it was real time with the sun moving across the sky. The player models are the best in any baseball game period. The self shadowing is awesome and each crinkle and wrinkle on the players clothes are amazingly realistic. There are a number of cool animations especially the double play animations. They vary from time to time, but so far I've only experienced about five double play animations. The pitcher animations are right on corresponding to each individual player and the same goes for the batter animations. But not all is well, there are some frames of missing animation at the batter/pitcher interface that make the flow of the game stutter a little bit.

Sound

"I can hit better than you Bonds!" This is an example of one of the screams that you'll hear hecklers say to individual players during the game. There are so many, that there are some that are new to me and some that I probably haven't heard yet. I don't think any other game has this and it's really something I hear people say in the stands when attending an Athletic's game. Very cool. The crowd is usually good, but I wish they would be louder sometimes during rallies and game winning homeruns. Announcers are very good and don't get in the way. They are a bit sparse at times. I'd like to hear player histories or something because I keep on hearing the same praise for the players.

Gameplay

I had my doubts about the gameplay since I haven't played any baseball game since WSB '98. The gameplay in that game was almost perfect. The pitching interface was great and the fielding was awesome. It took me a little bit to get into 2K3. It felt wierd to hit a homerun against my friend during my second at bat, but after I tweaked a few settings and got used to how the game functions, it plays just like a real baseball game should, with all the strategy, and decision making that makes games memorable. Now I use the timed hitting option with the pitch cursor off. It feels more natural and you can really fool your friends with some curveballs mixed with fastballs. It makes me feel like I'm thinking like a real pitcher out there. If my friend hit's a homerun on me, I know it's a mistake pitch and I didn't hit my spot. This is how baseball should be played. One complaint is that sometimes the player animations have to pan out first to start a double play and it takes precious time resulting in a fielders choice to the runner on first. For 2K4, I hope they don't change much, but add more features. Especially having more than two players play at once. I mean my friend and I can't even play on the same team. 1-4 players at the same time and any combination of matches whether it be 1 on 3, 2 on 2 or 4 against the computer would make this an even better game. That'll be the icing on the cake.

Overall

I'm no longer weary of this franchise. It's back on top again and I can't wait to get the successor to this stellar title along with the improvements to make this the ultimate game of baseball.

"Something's terribly wrong when I can't see what happens after the batter rushes to the mound."

--Alvin

Graphics - The best player models to date on any baseball game. Self shadowing is slick.	9.2
Sound - Player specific cat-calls are just fantastic. Above average crowd sounds. Announcers don't get in the way.	9.4
Gameplay - Maybe even better than WSB '98 on the Saturn. Great pitcher/batter interface.	9.3
Satisfaction - Franchise mode will definitley keep you going being as deep as it is. Tons of baseball to be played here.	9.0
Overall	9.5