Still a better baseball game than today's attempts
Besides the usual suspects like Exhibition it offers a great variety: small mini games that won't keep you playing for long but the best modes: Franchise and Owner Mode. I prefer the owner mode because you can build your own stadium and really have to budget well. Very well-rounded.
Graphics:
Okay for 2004/2005, I guess: for today's standards still acceptable but definitely nothing special.
Controls:
Easy, precise with a few glitches in fielding
Sound:
Commentators were still fun after 50 hours but start to be annoying after approx. 150 hours ;) They aren't really diverse, but still fun.
Conclusion:
+++
- except all the home runs it actually feels like baseball
--> superb animation
- create a stadium was something new, unfortunately not with many options, but it was a good try
- only few glitches
- great accuracy
- tons of long-time fun
- good right-analog-stick controls!
- you can choose the jerseys and stadium before every game
- mods all over the Internet keep the game up-to-date
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- mini games don't provide much fun
- ambiguous player development
- player complaints during franchise and owner mode don't always make sense
- after many hours the commentary does get extremely annoying
- Difficulty on higher levels is ridiculous! I have never won without adjusting sliders!
Compared to many newer baseball games it remains a GRAND SLAM. Definitely not perfect in today's sense, but still an addictive masterpiece with a lot of fun and depth.