Re: What are the \"little\" things you enjoy about ASB?
Here are my initial observations of last year's franchise mode (after about two weeks of play):
I bought All Star 2004 on a whim about two weeks ago. I had no plans to pick it up, but when I found out it lets you choose from four different hitting interfaces - including a High Heat-style interface - I decided to give it a shot. I'm now roughly 50 games into a franchise with the Cubs, and the level of detail and love of baseball that went into this game just blows my mind.
A review really doesn't do the game justice, but I thought I'd share some of the coolest little things I've noticed so far.
-Hearing Brennaman & Lyons launch into a 5-minute long debate about stadium food, pausing every now and then to throw in a "as we see Bellhorn fly out to center for out number two. But you know, Dodger Dogs are..." Reminds me of Haray Caray circa 1988.
-The first time Chipper Jones came to bat to "A Country Boy Can Survive".
-The first time Sammy Sosa came up to "Jump Around" by House of Pain.
-The dead ivy slowly growing in at Wrigley as the season goes on. Opening day was miserable - you could see every player's breath, there was a misty rain, and there was fog rolling across the field. Really impressive.
-Climbing the wall and robbing Richie Sexson in a spring training game against the Brewers.
-The other day Mark Prior and Tony Armas Jr. were locked in a scoreless duel in the 7th at Wrigley. Armas walked the first two guys of the inning, and with two outs Sosa hit a ringing double off the wall to make it 2-0. The Expos pulled Armas, and the crowd starting singing "Hey hey hey, goodbye". LOL!
-When you visit the mound to check on your pitcher, the catcher will tell you what he thinks.
-Realizing that the song that was playing when I visited the mound was "I'm All Right" by Kenny Loggins.
-Moises Alou started the season hot, so everyone started walking him to get to Hee Seop Choi, the rookie first baseman who hits next.
-Pitchers getting angry after they have several borderline pitches called balls.
-Unlocking a very entertaining interview with a former Negro Leagues player and longtime Cubs scout.
-When Mo Vaughn hit a 2-run homer off Remlinger to beat me on opening day, and on the replay you could see Remlinger look over his left shoulder to see the ball... and then just hang his head. As Mo was rounding the bases, Remlinger picked up the rosen bag and fired it out toward second base.
-The more often I use relievers, the quicker they get warm in the bullpen. But if you use them enough, eventually they start out tired.
-Having Bellhorn homer for a 4-2 lead, then having the Pirates pitcher bean Sammy... and get ejected.
-The very surprising fact that my stats in this ASB franchise are just as believable as they are in High Heat (which I bought the same day).
-Sammy's blast in Shea that landed halfway up the scoreboard and came to a rest on a ledge.
-The fact that absolutely every player I've seen so far on every team has looked exactly like the real-life player. Everyone from an over-the-hill journeyman outfielder to a third-rate utility infielder seems to get the same treatment as the cover boy.
-When I started my second series of the year and realized it was a new umpiring crew (with different voices).
-Having a long at-bat and then seeing that my pitcher had a little more stamina when he went back to the mound.
-Saving a game between innings to go to work... then coming back from work and booting up the save game... and I'm greeted by a shot of the scoreboard with the announcers talking like they just came back from commercial.
-Making the "Who's Hot" list on This Week In Baseball for the first time (Alou).
-Connecting to Xbox Live and seeing that there's already a roster update available for download.
-Watching the guided tour of Wrigley that uses the in-game graphic engine.
-Checking out the massive Expansion mode (complete with fake stadiums that have their own guided tours) and seeing my hometown in there.
-Seeing the dozens of other play modes and unlockables that I haven't even touched yet.
ASB 2004 definitely has some rough spots: You still have to buffer in throw commands ("assist" fielding really helps); CPU-controlled fielding is still a little awkward (though it rarely affects the game); and it's not flashy in a "wow look at that grass" way like World Series. There's room for improvement next year. That said, it's easily the best baseball game I've ever played - all the way back to Hardball on the Commodore 64.
If Ken Burns made a baseball game, this would be it. If you like fast-paced, arcade-style gameplay and have no interest in baseball history, steer clear. But if you're a true, hardcore baseball fan, you owe it to yourself to check out this game.
Here are my initial observations of last year's franchise mode (after about two weeks of play):
I bought All Star 2004 on a whim about two weeks ago. I had no plans to pick it up, but when I found out it lets you choose from four different hitting interfaces - including a High Heat-style interface - I decided to give it a shot. I'm now roughly 50 games into a franchise with the Cubs, and the level of detail and love of baseball that went into this game just blows my mind.
A review really doesn't do the game justice, but I thought I'd share some of the coolest little things I've noticed so far.
-Hearing Brennaman & Lyons launch into a 5-minute long debate about stadium food, pausing every now and then to throw in a "as we see Bellhorn fly out to center for out number two. But you know, Dodger Dogs are..." Reminds me of Haray Caray circa 1988.
-The first time Chipper Jones came to bat to "A Country Boy Can Survive".
-The first time Sammy Sosa came up to "Jump Around" by House of Pain.
-The dead ivy slowly growing in at Wrigley as the season goes on. Opening day was miserable - you could see every player's breath, there was a misty rain, and there was fog rolling across the field. Really impressive.
-Climbing the wall and robbing Richie Sexson in a spring training game against the Brewers.
-The other day Mark Prior and Tony Armas Jr. were locked in a scoreless duel in the 7th at Wrigley. Armas walked the first two guys of the inning, and with two outs Sosa hit a ringing double off the wall to make it 2-0. The Expos pulled Armas, and the crowd starting singing "Hey hey hey, goodbye". LOL!
-When you visit the mound to check on your pitcher, the catcher will tell you what he thinks.
-Realizing that the song that was playing when I visited the mound was "I'm All Right" by Kenny Loggins.
-Moises Alou started the season hot, so everyone started walking him to get to Hee Seop Choi, the rookie first baseman who hits next.
-Pitchers getting angry after they have several borderline pitches called balls.
-Unlocking a very entertaining interview with a former Negro Leagues player and longtime Cubs scout.
-When Mo Vaughn hit a 2-run homer off Remlinger to beat me on opening day, and on the replay you could see Remlinger look over his left shoulder to see the ball... and then just hang his head. As Mo was rounding the bases, Remlinger picked up the rosen bag and fired it out toward second base.
-The more often I use relievers, the quicker they get warm in the bullpen. But if you use them enough, eventually they start out tired.
-Having Bellhorn homer for a 4-2 lead, then having the Pirates pitcher bean Sammy... and get ejected.
-The very surprising fact that my stats in this ASB franchise are just as believable as they are in High Heat (which I bought the same day).
-Sammy's blast in Shea that landed halfway up the scoreboard and came to a rest on a ledge.
-The fact that absolutely every player I've seen so far on every team has looked exactly like the real-life player. Everyone from an over-the-hill journeyman outfielder to a third-rate utility infielder seems to get the same treatment as the cover boy.
-When I started my second series of the year and realized it was a new umpiring crew (with different voices).
-Having a long at-bat and then seeing that my pitcher had a little more stamina when he went back to the mound.
-Saving a game between innings to go to work... then coming back from work and booting up the save game... and I'm greeted by a shot of the scoreboard with the announcers talking like they just came back from commercial.
-Making the "Who's Hot" list on This Week In Baseball for the first time (Alou).
-Connecting to Xbox Live and seeing that there's already a roster update available for download.
-Watching the guided tour of Wrigley that uses the in-game graphic engine.
-Checking out the massive Expansion mode (complete with fake stadiums that have their own guided tours) and seeing my hometown in there.
-Seeing the dozens of other play modes and unlockables that I haven't even touched yet.
ASB 2004 definitely has some rough spots: You still have to buffer in throw commands ("assist" fielding really helps); CPU-controlled fielding is still a little awkward (though it rarely affects the game); and it's not flashy in a "wow look at that grass" way like World Series. There's room for improvement next year. That said, it's easily the best baseball game I've ever played - all the way back to Hardball on the Commodore 64.
If Ken Burns made a baseball game, this would be it. If you like fast-paced, arcade-style gameplay and have no interest in baseball history, steer clear. But if you're a true, hardcore baseball fan, you owe it to yourself to check out this game.
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