The great American pastime, whether you love it or hate it, is going to be on TV all summer. Sure it can be drawn out and disinteresting at times, but there's always an opportunity to play along with the season in digital form. In my opinion, video baseball games have been in a major (pardon the pun) slump the past few years. Many fans of the genre can be heard pleading for the return of old favorites such as World Series Baseball 98 and a handful of Genny and SNES titles. This year was a marked improvement with High Heat, All Star Baseball, and World Series Baseball (GBA) all batting above average, but for my money, World Series Baseball on the XBox is where it's at.

The game is without a doubt the prettiest representation I've seen on the diamond. The players are top notch. They are filled out nicely with a generous amount of polygons and wrapped in some incredibly life-like uniforms. There are wrinkles in the jerseys and pants, but most importantly the clothes fit realistically (unlike some unmentioned over-starched basketball shorts that come to mind). Expect varied, but not abundant, amounts of batting stances that are all extremely well animated and, for the most part, faithful to the players. Same goes for the pitchers. Their delivery actually has bearing on how the ball travels to the plate. It's really cool to see a submarine picther's fastball rise as it nears the batter's box.

The ballparks look great as well. I only have a problem with the backdrops as they look very flat in comparison to the stadium, and the resolution looks to be a little low. Of course the crowd looks like a giant game of Guess Who (the board game), but I can live with that until some developer figures out a trick to make it look right. There's a bit of bump mapping used to highlight the edge of the infield clay to give it a rippled, wind-blown appearance. Animations, on the whole are, spectacular. There are all kinds of motion to see like running basket catches, throws from the knees, and casual infield scoops and throws in a single motion. Somehow amongst this wonderful animation they've thrown in a few transition hiccups that look out of place but still better than most other games out there.

Best looking baseball game aside, World Series Baseball is also one of the best playing. The pitcher/batter interface is very well done. The developers have done a really good job of keeping the cursor based batting system from being intrusive. Matching the ball to the target area is not as important as good timing. Basically, if your batting cursor is in the general area of the pitch, like high and outside, and you make a well-timed swing, you'll make contact. Hits come in all varieties from dribblers off the mound and line drives, to home run blasts and seeing-eye singles. These are somewhat dependent on the placement of the cursor, but there is also a fair bit of randomness to it.

Fielding is a cinch. I've never had any problems with camera angles or misjudged grounders off the bat. Placing a fielder under a fly ball is intuitive as it should be. It even slows your player down in the landing area to make fine tuned adjustments easier, and then it will lock them into place for the catch. Making plays in the infield is also a snap. It seems like the computer gives you the first move in the right direction before turning over control. It's seamless and quite effective.

Like any game, and especially baseball games, there will be problems. Here are a few things that nag me about WSB. I will commend them on creating a baseball game that is very life like in its stats and scores, but there are times when I've hit seven or eight homers in a game. Sometimes it just seems a little too easy to hit the long ball (not that I haven't been blanked from homers as well). As far as hits go, there are just too many hit to the fence, off the fence, and over the fence. And on the subject of base raps, I'm a little peeved at the lazy ball flight. Often what looks like a sure low liner base hit, sits up and floats in the air only to be caught by a hard trotting outfielder. Lastly, I find routine double plays a little tricky to pull off only because the middle infielder takes his sweet time getting the throw off to first. With all the cool animations available for fielding, I can't believe one wasn't added for dragging your foot across second and making a quick toss to first.

If you aren't sold on the play mechanics in World Series Baseball (and you should be), then the Franchise mode definitely puts it over the top. You begin Franchise mode by selecting your team and taking on the roles of the general manager, the manager, and the player(s). If you don't choose fantasy draft, the next thing you'll need to do is hire a manager for the ball club. Following the manager, you are then prompted to select a hitting coach, pitching coach, and a scout. These coaches are all rated from A-F in a couple of different categories, and other teams are selecting from them. So, it's up to you, the GM, to prioritize which position you'd like to fill first and which you will settle for less until next year. The scout is particularly interesting because he determines what numbers you see when looking at a player's ratings and potential. He could actually be wrong.

Players are measured by an overall rating but are also subject to more detailed stats about their hitting, fielding, and running. Players and coaches also demand a salary, and this is simplified into a "point" system over a set number of years. Guys on your team will be paid anywhere from 1BP over three years to 64BP over seven years. You can constantly monitor your team's finances, which vary from team to team. With these stats in mind, you can begin your season or look around for some pre-season trades or free agent acquisitions. It is also recommended that you check in with your coaching staff from time to time as they will have insight into which players are hot, cold, or worth calling up from the minors.

Back to the managing role, there may be a need to tweak your line-ups. You can set your batting order with or without DH and against left and right-handed pitchers. This is also the place to determine your pitching rotation. All the moves and micro-management are crucial if you plan on simulating any part of your season (and let's be honest, not many people want to play the full 162 season). After the season, you'll draft players, then have a shot at new coaches, and then repeat the whole process all over again.

The franchise mode is so well done that it actually feels like a baseball RPG with a fantastic underlying, playable baseball engine. If I had to recommend a baseball game just to pick up and play, it would still be World Series Baseball on the XBox. But honestly, with the franchise mode, you don't even need to enjoy playing a game of video baseball if you could get into the team management portion. If you are a baseball fan, a sports fan, even a role-playing fan, you can't go the whole season without this game.