From what I can tell, this is mostly the same game as last year’s with some slight tweaks. Looking at reviews elsewhere, the AI was apparently the massive change this time around, although I’m not savvy enough on baseball to be able to notice stuff like that. The game did feel slightly nicer to play, and the atmosphere felt more like a sporting event, even if strikes and outs were still very muted, and on close calls you have no idea what’s happened until the next batter comes out.

While I was able to actually score some runs, it also turned out that this is one of the downsides of the overhauled AI. I found that if I went long, the CPU would always catch it, no matter how far away they were, while hitting short I could slowly trickle runs by going one base at a time. Every now and then, the people on other bases would mess up and choose not to run on their own accord, which is quite annoying. When checking reviews elsewhere, I discovered that the AI doesn’t target first base and provides leniency for this tactic to work.

Fine

If you’re looking for a simulation-style baseball game for your GameCube, All-Star Baseball 2003 is the best and only option. Despite the fact that most people will be unable to save the franchise mode, there are plenty of other modes to explore, and playing the game is a deep, engrossing, and realistic experience. The graphics leave a bit to be desired, and there are some slight quirks with the gameplay, but compared with last year’s bug-filled installment, All-Star Baseball 2003 is winner.

Hilary Goldstein, IGN

Remake or remaster?

Sports games evolve over time.

Official Ways to get the game

There is no official way to get All-Star Baseball 2003.