This game went tons smoother for me as i've gotten more used to the pitching and fielding.Yes the players look a little husky and the ball lags a bit when thrown from the outfield but it works out as plays are still close. Being able to dive to make an out on a ball that seems no where near catchable is where all the fun is at!What I really like about IP'03 are the announcers,Tim McCarver and Joe Buck,bringing realism to this arcade style of Baseball game. I'de pick these two over MLB The Show's Matt Vasgersian and Dave Campbell any day.In fact,I would go as far as putting them on my top 3 list of Baseball video game announcers.If you're a Baseball nut like I am,you'll love the commentating in this game. It took about 25 minutes to finish this game as IP'03 does not have an in-game save option,but i'm cool with that.Ya see I have kids.At night when there all tucked in and ready for bed, I can head on downstairs and enjoy a 25 minute break with Buck,McCarver and an entertaining game of Inside Pitch 2003 :) There are no instant replays either so the pace moves right along.IP'03 also has some cool little cut scenes of player's getting upset and shrugging their shoulders whenever they get thrown out on the base paths.Some home runs leave the park normally while others will trigger an instant cut scene of the hitter jumping up and down ,admiring his moonshot! It really is fun to see.So far so good.There really haven't been any huge turn off's that have made me not want to play the game again so there will definitely be a game 3.Entertaining thus far ;)

My first game went well after the 1st inning pummeling.The Cubbies scored 5 in the first but then I was able to settle down some in the latter innings.Visually Inside Pitch 2003 reminds me of Griffey Jr.'s Slugfest on the 64 only with more detail.The players are a little on the clunky side but for the most part resemble their real life counter parts.Hitting is time-based but so far surprisingly fun.Granted this was just the first game but hitting wasn't as easy as some reviewers have stated in the past.Pitching was a bit tricky at first but after a few innings I was mixing pitches and racking up the occasional K .Fielding is very arcade-like but fun.Diving is over-exaggerated but rewarding whenever a play is made.After a few innings under my belt,I realized that this wasn't a Baseball sim by any means,but more of an arcade button mashing version of a baseball game with just enough realism to hold my attention.Players fatigue,relievers warm up and players will get injured,but so far from what i've played I get the impression that IP'03 is a run and gun Baseball game for the most part.In my next post i'll go over some of the better animations in the game thaty stand out for me as well as the amount of time that it takes to complete a game.Stay tuned!

First things first.I gotta comment on, as well as compliment the box art.I'm a sucker for cool covers and Nomar looks great drawn on the game sleeve!When trying out a new game i usually let the opening credits roll to check out the intro,and Inside Pitch '03 starts off nicely.The opening video is of live ball players in action while an alternative rendition of "Take Me Out To The Ball Game" plays in the background.Surprisingly the song is performed by a female vocalist,a first for any console Baseball video game. Now remember that I'm going into this with low expectations because of the bad ratings this game received,but I'm not going to bash it.Instead i'll accentuate the positive as often as I can while pointing out the little things that I like about the game play.Also remember that I only paid $2 for the game so it has to be worth the chump change..or is it? Game Manual-Bold lettering.High quality color glossy screenshots and various pics of star player's adorn the pages of this really nice looking manual. Interface and Game Menu - Love it!Bright Baseball green backgrounds with yellow fonts really pop and are extremely easy on the eyes.Little things like the sound effect of the menu option buttons grow on me and Inside Pitch '03 gets an "A" in that department. Game Play-I haven't really navigated the menu options enough to write about them but I did jump right into season play.A lot of writers and reviewers had an issue with the omission of a franchise mode and back then i'd be pretty pissed too if I dropped $40 on a 2003 Baseball game with no franchise play,but all I paid was 2 bucks so I'm cool with it.Upon starting the new season you are taken to season menu list where you can set the difficulty as well as other aspects of your particular season.There are 3 difficulty settings-AAA,MLB,All-Star.I chose the All-Star setting. To be continued.....

If you just so happened to stumble across this blog,just know that most of what you'll read about will be pre-XBOX 360 /PS3/Wii and post-ATARI,Commodore 64 etc.Anything in between those genres and mostly Baseball related.I am a Baseball freak and every winter I get a little nutsies for the game and feel the need to play everything and anything Baseball related.I've played most every next gen Baseball game and think they're o.k. but with the fiscal cliff and all,dinero is at a minimum and cheap gaming at a max!That's where my trusty old gen XBOX comes in handy most,as the majority of the games fall in the 7-13 dollar range(pre-played of course)and the really crappy ones can be had for even less!Enter Microsoft's Inside Pitch 2003 ;)2 bucks got this horrendously low rated and ridiculed Baseball game to my mailbox,shipped free from a seller on Ebay !You know a game is bad when the seller practically pays to get rid of it lol!I ,however,i will go into this "Inside Pitch '03" experiment with extremely low expectations and attempt to make it through a whole season while updating (for anyone who might give a care) my game play experience and final scores.I'll be playing on the hardest difficulty settings to get the most out of the AI and overall game experience.