Customer Reviews

Inside Pitch 2003 (Xbox)

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

Ok, first thing first. If you don't have access to Xbox Live, forget about getting this title because you will *surprisingly* be dissappointed. There is no Instant Replay or Franchise mode and the playing environment feels like everyone's dozing off on a Saturday weekend. (I couldn't get that 'excitement' adrenaline feel pumping in me)

Now, if you have Live, definately get this title. It's the only head2head baseball game for the console on the market and guess what? It's a blast to play it through Live. I experienced no lag whatsoever and everything went smoothly. The control scheme needs a little getting used to, but I love how they made the throwing of balls and strikes. It really holds true to the baseball game compared to other games alike.

I have over 20 games in my library with MA, RTCW, Fever2003, MotoGP2, UC, NBA2K3 live enabled games... so I know what I'm talking about.

Simple, if you have Live GET THIS GAME! No Live? Pass it.

I was really looking forward to buy this game from Microsoft, but I was really disappointed after I played for about 2 hours. Franchise mode is required in most games, but IP2003 doesn't provide one. The online part of the game is fun, but hitting is too easy. If you play with a friend to beat him you will have to throw a lot of balls to make him swing because if it goes near the plate it will be a hit. Graphics are nice. It is interesting to see your bench empty. It is nice to have your batter come up with its own song, and stats are pretty good. I wish they would show how many k's they have during the season though. Batting must be improved; it's too easy to just sing at the ball when it is in the right spot. I do not like the video when you hit a homerun, it is very plain, and there are only 4 or 5 videos to see, and you don't even see your player rounding all bases, just 2nd and home. Pitching isn't that bad, but you can't control how fast the ball goes. It is easy to switch batters and pitchers during the game. When you change a pitcher though, you don't see the pitcher come up to the mount or see the other pitcher leave the mount. The spectators are quiet most of the time, even when you get a homerun it doesn't seem that they scream louder or cheer. Microsoft has a lot, and I mean lot of room for improvement. Not a game to buy, just RENT.

It's not too bad of a game, but I've played better. A couple of cons that come to mind are:

1. You can't manually pinpoint where you want your pitch to go. Instead, you aim at a quadrant and then decide whether or not you want it to be a ball or a strike. It's far more fun to try to paint the corner by yourself.

2. You can switch out pitchers, but you can't make any other types of substitutions. Unless I've missed something, you can't put in a pinch hitter, or change out defensive position players.

Imagine NFL Fever...same studio...same developer. The game was truly an XBOX experience from the stadiums, customization, Dynasty Mode and graphics/annoncers so real, you had to look over your shoulder to realize you were still in your living room.

Enter Inside Pitch...Only on XBOX...highly anticipated. Put the DVD-disc in the console and...wait a second, where's the Franchise Mode, no P-I-P like MVP for baserunners? What is wrong with the baserunning altogether?

Here are the cons:

1. Baserunners are likely picked off easily by the CPU.
2. Baserunners will not advance unless a Hit-and-Run is on if the ball is lined into the outfield (great if the ball was to be caught, however even a line into the gap keeps a baserunner from advancing.) Now, you've got your runners doubled up. Out!
3. Tie never goes to the runner...maybe MS Game Studios should read the MLB rulebook.
4. Pitcher-to-batter interface is painfully done graphically. The new "behind-the-pitcher" camera worked well in MVP Baseball, but here...it's just plain awkward.
5. Training Mode for created players is a waste of time. You need to hit a Grand Slam or a tie-breaking HR in "Ducks on the Pond" scenario. There's no way to predict you'll be able to do that during a game. You can't skip this training or your player won't be anything in the season.
6. No Franchise Mode! Why?
7. Statistics are mismanaged at best. There are no records to break and your created player does not evolve.
8. No Instant Replay...at all. Not after a play, not in the options menu.
9. Graphics are horrible and shifty. Bloated character modeling and repetitive DP, Fly-out, Strike-Out animations. No matter the score, the outfielder always jumps for joy between innings. Huh?
10. Hard to change fielders in time to allow the shortstop (example: who's best to make a play than the third baseman) to grab the ball.

There's 10 reasons, and I could go on, but it isn't necessary. The point is clear. Maybe they'll bring this game up to speed next year, or revamp like EA Sports had done with the Triple Play series (now MVP Baseball.) Perhaps they'll bring in Hall-of-Famers, old/future stadiums (ala All-Star 2004 & World Series Baseball 2k3,) and full stats (High Heat 2004.) We can only wait and see. This one is a rental, try it and if it suits you, get it.

First things first... don't listen to all the professional reviewers out there who are trashing this game. In my mind there are three things that make a great game:

1) Solid gameplay
2) Excellent graphics
3) Fun

Inside Pitch 2003 succeeds on all three points. The gameplay is solid. Yes, there are some small glitches but what game doesn't have it's quirks? Hitting and pitching are intuitive and fielding is fairly easy. The nice thing about running the bases is that you can control each base runner individually.

The graphics are great. The player models are excellent and the players actually look like the real MLB players. Being a Yankee fan I checked out the Yankee lineup and I was impressed. Soriano, Jeter, Giambi, Posada, Matsui, Williams and Mondesi looked just like they do in real life. Nick Johnson and Robin Ventura were a bit generic but not bad. Each player's batting stance was acurate. The stadium details are also top-notch. I haven't seen a game yet where the stadiums are so well represented.

And most importantly, this game is fun to play. Isn't that what really counts?

My biggest complaints are 1) no instant replays 2) no way to save games in progress.

I'm sure these things will be added for Inside Pitch 2004.

Bottom line, this is a very enjoyable game to play. I recommend it.

I am here to give you advice and tell you the truth about this game, so here is the news...

Graphics: Great, not amazing. Home Run King for GC had better graphics and batting stances then these, but not even close to the gameplay! Overall these are great graphics and if you are buying this baseball game because you want them, this is the way to go on XBOX. Also, The stadiums are AMAZING!

Gameplay: Fair. Unless you move like a snail it is soooooooo easy to hit the ball. Pitching is O.K. in this game, but the fastball that they say goes 100 MPH seems to go 1 MPH... it is that slow!!! The CPU is also dumb. I had a play where it was man on first and third with two outs and I hit a ground ball to the first baseman and he threw it home! Now what person would do that? Fielding is fine, but eveyone seems to do the NOMAR style throw in the infield... sidearm. Also, when you dive, you dive about ten feet. It is terrible!

Sound/Audio: The announcers are amazing! JOE BUCK and TIM McCARVER call all your games very well. these are the best announcers for any baseball game on any system.

Pros:

*Playable online
*Nice graphics
*Announcers

Cons:
*Gameplay
*Can only do one season at a time (NO FRANCHISE)
*Pitching/Batting...

Pitching is impossible. Hitting is too easy. Loads take too long and gaphics are not as good as they could be. Finally commentators repeat WAY too much.
Nuff said.

I have had this game for about a week and I really like it so far. I have noticed that the online play is not very good because I have been disconnected half way through my game in all of the games I have played. Maybe this is just my router and cable modem, I'm not sure. Other than the disconnects, the online play is alright. There is hardly any lag and the loading time is relatively short. All and all, I recommend this game.

I happen to like this game, it is more arcady than simulation. Yes it has its flaws. I have also rented 3 other current baseball games, and still like this game better. The no franchise mode does stink but with the Xbox Live there is going to be downloadable content so...Graphics are nice, gameplay is nice. I think this is a fun game, before you believe anyones review I suggest renting.

Don't waste your money. WSB is the best baseball game on the Xbox. All the other baseballs game are also pretty much better than IP also. Check gamerankings.com