MLB 2003 (PSX) - Reviews | Playstation

MLB 2003 is a Baseball game published by Sony Computer Entertainment in 2002 for the Playstation.

MLB 2003

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Rating: 9.7 (3 votes)

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MLB 2003 Reviews

Overall 9.7 Graphics 10 Sound 10 Addictive 10 Story 5 Depth 10 Difficulty 7

9.6

Best Baseball Game Ever tornadocam
Have you already got baseball fever or are you disappointed your team did not do good this year. Well maybe you need to play the best baseball game ever. MLB 2003 is my favorite of the MLB series and its my favorite sports game of all time. MLB 2003 came out in 2002 When the Play Station I was still at its peak. After 2003 came out the first Play Station would slowly decline due to the newer Play Station II that would come out a few months after this game was released. So lets get started with the review.

Plot: 5
MLB 2003 really does not have a defined plot like my other favorite game series I like to play, Megaman. Basically, its the start of the 2002 season and the goal is to get your team to the playoffs. In the meantime you must play through as your favorite team against the other clubs. To reach the playoffs you can create players, trade players, and draft them. Will you be able to reach the playoff's with your favorite team?

Okay, this is a sports game so they are not known for their plots or stories. What you have hear though is basic. You have to play through the season as your favorite team. But you can make your team a championship team. So, given how the game gives you several options to do that does show some creativity. I like it that this game kept the feel of other MLB games such as 2001 and 2002. In those games you had several options to build up your favorite team. At the end of the day I give the plot (story) a middle of the road rating of 5 out of 10. I do not think it deserves higher because there is no bad guy to chase (well unless you count your team's rival as a bad guy) and there are not any stages to get. It does not deserve anything lower cause the makers of this game did show some creativity. So 5 out of 10 seems about right.

Graphics and Controls: 10

The graphics in this game are very good and show what the Play Station I was capable of. I think MLB 2003, Mega Man Legends 2 and Mega Man X6 had the best graphics of any Play Station I games. The backgrounds are very colorful. The sky can be blue sometimes which makes it look real. The sky can also be cloudy reminding me of a rainy spring day. I also l like how they made the clouds look like clouds in this game. In past baseball games they would just have the sky a dull gray color. In, addition I also like how the spectators in the game have different colors. To me that shows diversity but it makes the people actually look like people you would see at the game. In the earlier MLB games the people in the audience just looked the same. The players in this game look like they do in real life. Also their actions look real too. If a pitcher strikes a batter out he will pump his fist or move his hand. That reminds me of what some pitchers do when they get tough outs. If a batter strikes out in this game he will hit home plate with his bat again it looks real. The sprites in this game are golden too.

The controls in this game are very smooth. Only MLB 2001, 2002, Mega Man X6 and the Mega Man Legends series has controls just like MLB 2003. Not one time does the game seem like it lags or the controls seem like they are sluggish. It shows that Sony really put time and development into this game and it shows. It is a shame they did not make future MLB games like this one.

The only real minor issue is there is a glitch in this game. When a player hits a home run sometimes it will count as a hit and sometimes it will not. Even when it does not count as a hit it still shows the player hit a home run and drove in runners. This is a minor problem and for me its not a real big issue. I do not know what triggers this glitch and why it only sometimes occurs. The same glitch occurs in MLB 2002 as well. Even with the minor glitch the graphics and controls are very good and do not get much better than this. Thus, I give the graphics and controls a perfect 10 out of 10 rating.

Sound: 10

MLB 2003 has very good sound to it. The theme to this game is very good it reminds me so much of MLB 2002. Both had very good soundtracks. I do not know why Sony gave future tracks a heavy metal theme. Anyway, the theme really fits the game nicely. Also the tunes that you heart at stadiums are nice too. In fact, it reminds me so much of music that is played at a real stadium. I guess that is what Sony was aiming for in making this game. But what is really good is the announcing team. Dave Campbell and Vin Scully sound exactly like they do in real life. Each time I play this game I get a picture of Scully doing his real life commentary. The umpire's voice in the game sounds right for an umpire. Moreover, the sounds of the game are also golden. The cheers and boos from the audience resembles what you hear at a real stadium. I also like it how when a player hits a home run it makes a crack and popping sound. It lets the player know they have either hit a home run or gave up one. Furthermore, it sounds so real. I have heard a home run being hit before while attending a baseball game and it sounds almost like that. So yeah, the sound in this game is very good and it sounds so real. It makes you almost forget you are playing a video game. I really like that. Thus, I give the sound rating a perfect 10 out of 10.

Replay Value: 10

This game is so much fun and still today its one of my all time favorites. I remember when I got this game. I played it the most of any baseball game well except for MLB 2001 and 2002. Still today this is my favorite baseball game to play. It truly is the best baseball game ever !!!. What is there not to like in this game. The graphics and sound sound so real. There are even side games in this game to play such as spring training and Franchise mode. I still play this game today. I give the replay value a 10 out of 10.

Depth: 10

You may think oh MLB 2003 is just a baseball game it certainly could not have enough depth to it like a Mega Man game does. Well yes it does. No there are not stages or items to collect. But, what the game does have is several options on how to build your team: You can create players, trade players, and draft. There are even side games to play in this game. You can play in spring training mode were you play through spring training games then the regular season. Then there is Franchise Mode were you build your team up while playing through the regular season. The season is just like a regular baseball season. There are 162 games to play through then you have the playoff games. It also should be noted when choosing your team you get to chose from all 30 teams. If your like me and have multiple favorite teams. Its fun to play this game with a different team. If you do not like your team's division or league. The game gives you the chance to put your favorite team in your favorite league or division. Example in this game you can put a National League team in the American League team. It should be no surprise I give the depth rating a 10 out of 10. Even if there are no stages or items to collect; there is a lot to do in this game.

Difficulty: 7
I had to think very hard on how I was going to rate this game's difficulty. Before I go any further in detail. This game can be difficult at times mainly cause its a long season, and some teams are just hard to beat. However, the difficulty depends on how you build your team up or which team you chose. The stats are based off of the 2001 season. So if your team's players had a good year. The game reflects that. Players who had good 2001 stats show in this game. For batters it means its easier to get a hit, hit a home run and drive in runs. For pitchers it means they give up less runs, and get batters out easier. Also if your team's players are fast runners they move quicker if they are slower well they move slow. In addition, if your team had a not so good 2001 season the game reflects that too. Teams that won less than 80 games are more prone to having their players commit errors, strike out more, or get shelled more. To be honest I kind of like that as it makes the game fun and offers a challenge.

On the other hand, even if your team had a bad year the game gives you several ways to build your team up. You can trade and put good players on your team. You can create players or you can draft players. So its like the game is giving you chances to correct your team's flaws. That is nice too. Because I play mostly as the Rockies and Reds when I play through this game. I also play as some of my other teams such as St. Louis, Houston, Mets, Toronto, Baltimore and Seattle. In 2002 the Rockies and Reds did not have the greatest year. They hit a lot of home runs but both teams had really bad pitching. The game reflected that. I was able to score a lot of runs but gave up a lot too. But as I stated the game gives you ways to overcome your team's woes.

One thing that makes this game challenging is the glitch I mentioned earlier. If you hit a home run sometimes it will count as a hit and other times it will not. It still shows were you hit a home run and drove in runs. But it might have the batter being 0-1 for the game. I do not know why that occurs or what triggers it. It can make the game challenging because if you want your players to have a good batting average it requires you to find other ways to get on base such as a single, double or triple. Some people might be bothered by it. But to me it makes the game more fun and challenging. I like things that challenge you.

So, the game does give you ways to make it easier for your team. But your team even with the corrections still will sometimes reflect on the teams 2001 performance. That is why the difficulty is hard to rate in this game. Pick a good team the game reflects on that when you play through it. Pick a bad team but build it up it makes the game easier but will still sometimes revert back to 2001 performance. At the end of the day I give the difficulty a 7 out of 10.

Overall Rating: 9.6
MLB 2003 is special to me. You see I got this game as a Christmas present along with Mega Man Legends 2 and Mega Man X6. But before Christmas I was very sick and had to spend some time in the hospital. So while I was recovering from Myocarditis (inflammation of the heart muscle) I give Jesus my personal Lord and Savior credit for me surviving that. I played this game while I was recovering that was almost 14 years ago. Also 5 years ago when I had to have Brain surgery to remove a non cancerous tumor (again I give Jesus credit for saving me and guiding the surgeons hands) I played this game while I was recovering. Its my favorite baseball game to play.

Anyway back to the game. I was so happy when I got this game. I played it a lot and still play it to this day even though come next year the game will be 14 years old. It has aged very well and still is fun to play. I consider MLB 2001-2003 to be the best baseball games. I give 2003 the edge over the other two really good MLB games due to the graphics, controls and sound. To me it was the last baseball game to have that feel. As MLB 2004 and 2005 just seemed to go backwards in development.

As I mentioned in the intro when this game came out the Play Station I was still at its peak. A few months after this game came out the newer Play Station II would be released and the Playstation I would slowly decline as games were starting to be made for the newer Play Station. But unlike 2004 and 2005, The makers of this Game (Sony) really put effort into this game. Everything a great game has this one has. The graphics, controls, sound, and depth are excellent in this game. It makes you want to play the game again and again. The only other two baseball games that resemble this one are 2001 and 2002. After playing those two I was hoping they would make another great baseball game and they did. MLB 2003 was the last game to maintain that golden feel to it.

MLB 2003 just like 2001 and 2002 was a huge hit. Most people who play sports games have heard or played 2001-2003. The only negative in this game was the glitch that I mentioned about home runs sometimes counting as hits and sometimes not. MLB 2002 had that same glitch. But to me it makes the game more challenging which I really like. Still the glitch is a minor problem and not enough to impact the rating in anyway. As for recommending this game. Yes I would highly recommend this game. It would be a good game to introduce the MLB series to young players. It is also just a solid game overall. I highly recommend this game as I stated. Its fun for the entire family as you can play in two player mode too. Its fun from the young to the old. You will not be disappointed in this game. If your favorite players of today are not in the game then you can create them. I think you can create up to 24 players. So I give the overall rating a very good and rock solid 9.6. I hope you enjoy this game as much as I did and I hope you have fun doing so

Until next time, Blessings in Christ and happy gaming Enjoy !!!

Graphics 10 Sound 10 Addictive 10 Story 5 Depth 10 Difficulty 7
Review Rating: 5/5 Submitted: 11-11-15 Review Replies: 1

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