Sega Sports has truly become a serious competitor in the world of sports gaming. World Series Baseball 2K3 has proved to be a tough game to beat. Coming off a surprisingly good first attempt to produce a top notch next-gen baseball game with World Series for the Xbox, Sega Sports will try to expand its horizons with World Series Baseball 2K3 for both the PS2 and Xbox. With a vast amount of choices for baseball gamers this year, I would have to put World Series close to the top.
Let me give you the bad news first. There is no online play. Yes, the online play that Sega has seemingly mastered in other sports will not be a feature in this game nor any other baseball game this year.
Despite this, however, World Series still brings great simulation and a fantastic franchise mode to the table. The game modes include Quick Game, Season, Playoff, Franchise and Big League Challenge.
Taking your favorite team through a season or playoff is fun,
but this game really shows what it’s worth with its addicting
franchise play. You are given the ability to hire managers,
scouts, and other personal to help the team on its way to greatness.
There is a minor league where young prospects can develop and
ratings are given regarding their potential and current abilities.
Scouting reports are available for each player to make signing
free agents a breeze. Stats are kept accurately throughout the
season to help the manager make good decisions regarding the
lineups and pitching rotations. When players get injured the
GM has the ability to put them on the disabled list. During
the offseason you are taken through a step-by-step process of
re-signing players, drafting youngsters, and signing free agents.
There are so many options and features that this mode alone
will satisfy you. But wait, there's more.
Want a quick, sweet multiplayer mode to play with your friend? Well Sega provides the Big League Challenge. Each player selects their favorite big leaguer to compete in hitting the most home runs. The hitter’s get 3 outs per inning, and at the end of 9 innings the player with the most home runs wins.
The gameplay in World Series Baseball is top of its class. I really liked the style and camera angles that the game provided. It made you feel like you were really watching a baseball game. The sounds levels have different modes where you can pick whether you want to be at the ballpark or watching a broadcast. These minor details are important options that most sports fans love.
Batting may very well be the weakest aspect of this game. It's not bad, but nowhere near perfect. Sega chose to use the cursor style batting with a power swing and contact swing. It works fine, when you move the cursor over the ball you make contact. The more in the center of the cursor the ball is, the better your chance of a hit. However, getting the cursor over the ball is challenging. It takes a lot of time to get good at and can be frustrating at times. Newbies will struggle at first finding it hard to score 2 or 3 runs a game.
On the other hand, pitching is done beautifully. It is easy to select and locate pitches, as well as pick off runners on the basepaths.
The in-game options are one of the best features of this game. With the push of a button you can view box scores, lineups, pitching status, bullpens, and other important information.
Overall, World Series Baseball 2K3 is a great start for Sega in the baseball business. They really did their homework and provided the best simulation I’ve seen to this day. Expect great things in the future from Sega Sports in not only baseball, but sports in general.
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