When you look out the window and see the sun amidst clear, cloudless skies, green buds sprouting from formerly bare trees and, oh yes, the girls shedding their winter coats and sporting short skirts and tanktops - that can only mean one thing. Spring is here! And to coincide with the fresh warm weather and the start of the 2003 baseball season, developers scramble to publish the latest installments of their baseball franchises. All-Star Baseball 2004 sets itself apart from the frenzy of releases with its incredible array of features and modes and a nostalgic emphasis on baseball history. However, its wonderful presentation is tainted by the actual gameplay, which has been improved over last year's version but is still rather average at best.

Upon starting the game, the interface and the menus immediately impress. The background is the inside of a clubhouse, and each mode you select takes you to a different section, from the Manager's office to the locker room. The sepia tone plus the flicker effect of dirty film for the menus set the nostalgic atmosphere. It is very effective at immersing you within the baseball world and gets you ready to explore the modes ASB2004 offers.

And what an abundance of them we have here! First are the indispensable exhibition games, batting practice, and home run derby. All of these are standard to any baseball game and are self explanatory. Next is the deep franchise mode, which is bursting with features and tweakable options. You can start with an existing team or create a whole new team and lead them through as many as 30 seasons. You will take over the job of a real general manager, involved with all the details of trading players with other teams, adjusting lineups, keeping tabs on contracts and injuries, and drafting fresh talent. Should this become too troublesome, there's also the option of a simpler mode where you don't have to deal with these tasks. Creating a whole new team is rather exciting, and you have to select uniforms, stadium location, even a mascot! The minute aspects of the chosen city such as the population, weather, and altitude all will have an impact on the performance of your new team. The final step of the creation is using the expansion draft to fill your team with players and start making them competitive.

A new addition to the All Star Baseball series is the Scenario mode, which consists of 21 significant situations from the 2002 season. Each scenario is nicely introduced via a video clip featuring prominent stars such as coverboy Derek Jeter and Cal Ripken, Jr., who challenge you to change history. Examples of these objectives include breaking up Derek Lowe's no-hitter against the Devil Rays and winning the 2002 All-Star Game, which actually ended in a tie when both teams ran out of players, for either the American or National League in extra innings.

There is also a Pick-up game, where random players of all positions and skill levels gather in a baseball diamond on a school playground. You and your opponent take turns picking players for your team, and then you play a friendly game. The atmosphere is more laid-back, with the players in blue jeans and caps, so this is a pleasant option from the pennant races and intense season games.

Another mode I found amusing was Trivia, which is set up as a board game with two decks of trivia questions and bobblehead baseball players as characters. The game plays just like baseball, only with cards. Each team gets three outs, with each question serving as an at-bat. Miss three questions, and your half of the inning is over. If you get a question right, your bobblehead man moves around the bases. It is unclear how the game determines how many bases your "hit" was, but I'm guessing that each question has a hidden point value assigned to it based on its difficulty. It would be nice for the questions to be identified with their point values though, because as far as I can tell, how many bases my players were allowed to advance was purely arbitrary. Since I'm not a huge baseball buff, I had difficulty answering some of the more obscure questions. Hardcore baseball enthusiasts would definitely get a kick out of this mode though.

Rounding out this package of features are player cards and multimedia clips of interviews featuring Derek Jeter and Cal Ripken Jr., highlight reels, and historical background of the MLB. Achieving certain objectives while playing the game earns points, which are used to buy player cards to unlock more videoclips. For example, for every double play you pull off, you receive 1 point, while more difficult, noteworthy achievements such as a perfect game gives you 100 points. You can also unlock legendary teams; besides the standard 30 official Major League teams and their stadiums, there are 24 bonus teams (everything from a New York Yankees legends team to Negro Leagues All-Stars) with more than 110 legendary players spanning the entire history of baseball. Teams from different eras are also represented such as wartime and ragtime legends. This who's who of baseball is sure to be satisfying, especially for the diehard fans.

But all these features aside, once you actually get down to the diamond and start playing the game, that's when the brilliant shine of the features and presentation of the game gets slightly tarnished. The batting interface uses a box to mark the strike zone and a conventional indicator to portray the contact area. When the pitcher throws the ball at you, you have to move the cursor and guess where the ball will cross the plate to make contact. Playing as the pitcher involves selecting a throw and then either throwing it inside the strike zone or flirting with the edges to tease the batter to swing. It's pretty standard stuff. But the loose controls for playing the game hamper the fun factor of baseball and bring the overall experience down. It's particularly the choppy transitions between animations that make pulling off plays difficult. A simple throw by the third baseman to first base should make for easy outs, but his animation of picking up the ball, then turning and facing first to make the play is unbearably slow. I want to be able to chase down a line drive, snatch up the ball, and in mid-air, whip it to first for the out. Can't do that here. There are also some A.I. bugs in the outfield, particularly when you are automatically assigned a player to catch a fly ball, yet can only watch while the computer controlled teammate makes the play. Sometimes he even lets the fly ball drop right in front of him, leaving you to chase after it. Ridiculous. I am reminded of my middle school days, playing baseball in my physical education class with a bunch of non-athletes on my team who stare after the ball and do everything possible not to catch it.

The visuals of the game have some well-done aspects and are improved, but again the animations for the players drag it down. Player models are fantastic, with all the star players having their unique and characteristic batting and pitching stances. Everybody has his face digitally mapped onto his body, some better than others, but at least everybody from the Players association is represented. Nice little touches such as Barry Bonds' earring and jackets for rainy days are very appreciated, as are the fantastic stadiums. The crowds still consist of ugly, 2D sprites, which was acceptable in the N64/PSX days, but is now just absurd. This is inexcusable, I challenge someone to take the initiative for once and develop full, 3D crowds for a sport-simulation game. And again, we face the nasty animation. The problem isn't with the individual animation, which is actually pretty well captured. It is with the horrendous transitions between each segment that slow down and hinder the gameplay. It would only be a minor inconvenience if the animation was only rough on the eyes, but when it impedes the baseball experience, that's when I'm afraid we have a problem.

Steve Lyons and Thom Brennaman are the feature announcers for the game, and they offer some strong commentary, with mostly accurate play-by-play coverage sprinkled with story diversions that are actually entertaining. It is surprising to see such strong commentary from a non-Sega Sports title. There is also an option for a solo Spanish announcer. It was slightly embarrassing for me to realize the pitiful extant to which my Spanish classes in high school have educated me, as I listened absent-mindedly while he jabbered away. Sound effects are rudimentary, with the basic crack of the bat and the murmur of the crowd. Licensed, traditional baseball music blare from the stadium periodically, but the inclusion of customized soundtracks would have been such a fantastic addition.

All-Star Baseball 2004 has so many polished features and modes that it's a shame the actual gameplay fails to match up. If Acclaim improves the controls and A.I. and especially the animations for next year's edition, it would be a true contender for the baseball game crown. In its present state though, it only offers an attractive package, with average gameplay that drag down the experience. Check it out for its tribute to baseball's legacy, but you won't be staying around to play it.