The game’s graphics are good, but not outstanding. On the positive side the player models are good and you can recognize the similarities between the game’s players and their real-life counterparts. The stadiums all look good and the stadium crowd graphics look real enough to accomplish their job. On the negative side is that there seems to be a limited number of player animations – limited enough that it is hard not to notice after a couple of games. For example, every batter will walk away from a strikeout in the exact same way.

In addition to exhibition quick matches the game has a full-blown franchise mode. You can take full control over the reigns of a major league team: drafting players, tightening your roster during spring training, managing trades and free agency, guiding (and playing) your team through a 162 game season, and then doing it all again the next season. ASB also features a unique expansion team mode. This mode is the same as the franchise mode except that you get to build a major league franchise from scratch. You select your team’s city, name, mascot, and stadium, select your initial roster through an expansion draft and then start off down the long road of building an expansion franchise into a winner.

ASB throws in a few bonus modes as well. The first is This Week in Baseball which recreates a game situation from last season and challenges you to match or better the real game results. Can you remake a game saving catch? Can you get a hit with the bases loaded instead of striking out? The game situations are arranged in a ladder so that accomplishing one tier of challenges will unlock a new set. Each challenge is set-up by a video introduction describing the game situation, what really happened, and what you need to do to complete the challenge which is a nice touch. Unlike challenge modes in other games, ASB will make you play out the rest of the game, so if you get a hit that breaks a deadlock in the 8th inning you’ll still need to hold onto that lead through the 9th.

There is also a baseball trivia game that plays as a simple nine inning game of baseball. Correctly answer a question and you’ll get a hit, answer incorrectly and you’ll get an out. Play alternates between the teams and the player with the most runs after nine innings wins. The questions are a good challenge for the baseball trivia buff, but there are also some gimmes such as “Who led the National League in home runs in 2003?”

ASB 2005 also includes support for Xbox Live, so you can challenge live players from across the country to games. You get full support for quick match play, friend lists, and gameplay statistics, but support for online tournaments and leagues is absent.

In The End, This Game Hath Been Rated: 78%.  ASB 2005 is a good choice for players looking for an easy playing arcade style baseball game as well as those who want something a little more challenging.

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