Graphically World Series is nothing short of fantastic; players look like their real life counterparts, and the virtual stadiums give off the look and feel of the stadiums they were modeled after. The amount of detail that is in the player models is absolutely stunning. Details are everywhere, from the player’s signature batting stances and pitching deliveries, to the different ways the uniforms wrinkle when they swing or run.

The animation in WSB is also top-notch; the players move gracefully around the playing field making spectacular web grabs with eerie realism. Slowdown and framerate issues in World Series Baseball 2K3 are virtually non-existent, and every play runs at a steady frame-rate. The ambiance that World Series Baseball creates is also amazing; the sounds of the ballpark truly come to life in this season’s version. Although the commentators are a little lifeless, almost every other aspect of WSB’s presentation is remarkable.

Gameplay-wise, World Series 2K3 is very solid. Batting can be done in a few ways; first there is the traditional, for WSB that is, cursor method. With cursor batting, you simply try to put the cursor on the ball and whack it. Also in this season’s version of World Series is a timing only batting mode, which is just like the name implies, no aiming of a cursor, just good old fashion timing of your swing to get your hits. This leaves the last batting mode, Power Pro Hitting, which is the most intriguing of the three. This mode uses the cursor style batting, but makes you generate your power by holding down a swing button. It feels very clumsy most the time, but the Power Pro batting mode is a fresh new idea that might turn into something more interesting in the future.

In most baseball titles of the present and the past, fielding is just a futile exercise in frustration. However, World Series has taken giant steps in the right direction to make fielding as user friendly as possible. The fielding lock system especially, which helps you keep track of the ball when you are fielding.

Pitching is probably the most disappointing gameplay aspect this season. With a cursor you pick your spot and pitch, doing your best to avoid a batter’s hot zone. The various pitch types don’t look entirely all that different. Sure curveballs curve and sinkers sink, but split fingers don’t have that looping feeling to them, and sliders don’t break hard like you would expect them to. All in all, the pitching in World Series Baseball 2K3 is very easy to do; just not very deep or innovative.

The Franchise mode in this season’s version of WSB is put together to appease the hardcore fantasy baseball number crunchers and the casual baseball fan as well. With drafts, salaries, coaches and managers, and a minor league system, they all help make this year’s World Series Baseball a pretty deep and rewarding franchise. One of the new features in WSB this season was the addition of “crowd interest”. What this does is it helps the more successful teams to get higher budgets for the next few years, while making teams that do bad year in and year out, have to slim their budgets down. This really gives the feel of building a dynasty when you are playing for many, many seasons. Also, as you should expect, the players in WSB develop over time and players, mostly the older ones, diminish in skills between seasons. Overall, the franchise mode is not overly complex, but still manages to come across as a game full of depth. While missing some of the nuances that the more “hardcore” might be looking for in a baseball sim, like the complete statistical breakdown of a minor league prospect, every baseball fan should be able to find something worthwhile in the WSB franchise mode this season.

Visual Concepts and Sega, has really established themselves in the world of virtual sports. This season’s World Series Baseball should be on or near the top of every baseball fan’s list of games to get this season. However with competition as deep as it has ever been, they have raised the bar on how a baseball game should look. Not as deep or as complex as some of the other competitors in the field, World Series Baseball 2K3 is the perfect blend of an arcade baseball game and a hardcore sim. While some of the simulation aspects will a turn off some baseball fans who want a more statistically correct game, it is a baseball game that is fun and exciting to play. If you are a baseball fan of any kind, you owe it to yourself to at least check this game out. “Buy me some peanuts and crackerjacks; I don’t care if I never come back! So root, root, root, for the Mariners (Eds. Note: Go Mets!), if they don’t win it’s a shame…”