MLB Slugfest 20-03

Written by Matt Swider on April 30, 2004

Full Review: An impending strike could send the baseball players away and the mascots out to play. With Midway, that type of game would also be okay.

Since it's existence, Major League Baseball has been a part of America's past time in being the key sport for fathers and sons to bond. From gathering around the television set to sitting in the stands of a big league ballpark, baseball always seemed to be part of growing up. Over the past couple of years though, this has become nothing more than an ill-fated memory. We no longer see stands packed with spectators, every family watching the ball game on from home, or even the dozens videogames offering various forms of play that lined stores shelves throughout the early nineties. With baseball losing it's ground with our youngsters and gaming consoles becoming so much more advanced, the only baseball prospects we seen on the field these days are simulations style titles bent on offering nothing but the best visually. With a focus on realism, baseball games of the arcade nature have faded from existence for a number of years, but haven't completely vanished from the eye of one publisher.

No doubt, Midway happens to be the single company that would produce the first over the top baseball title in almost a decade. With its Уno rulesФ lineup of NFL Blitz, NHL Hitz, RedCard Soccer, and of course NBA Jam, already under the belt, one would think the company would pretty much have baseball in the back. However, when you think about the previous working of Midway Sports, each game has been remotely the same: Charge down the field, ice, or court to your goal. Baseball on the other hand is a sport like no other with so many rules and regulations involved, a sound reason why it's popular. Taking this into consideration, it was tough to picture Midway's patented adrenaline rush fashion applied to the game of baseball. However, the concept seems to have been pulled off pretty well. Instead of changing around what we are used to, Slugfest portrays many familiar baseball aspects but produces something more appealing to casual fan or any baseball fanatic looking for something different. The game cuts away from the slow and boring moments simulations titles endure, adding action filled gameplay and hilarious commentary to the agenda. The result brings us the fun that many feel has been missing from baseball for some time now.

Slugfest uses seven innings as its standard, granting the wish of the fans that want out during seventh inning stretch. To shorten or lengthen the game time, players can adjust the amount down to four or raise it back to the normal nine. Another available option is the ability to turn off balls. This means that each pitch thrown will be called a strike, focusing more on offensive play more than anything. The key element to the game has to be its turbo meter. Like every other sports title that uses a turbo, this too can boost the speed or fielders and runners, however, that's only the beginning of the fun that turbo provides gamers in Slugfest. Using the same buttons, infielders can tag runners out when there isn't an option for a force out. Using the turbo allows fielders to punch, sometimes cause the runners to stumble of the base for an unfair out. To combat against this, base runners have they're own advantage in being able to knock over a fielder on the bag causing them to drop the ball. With this, you can easily become a steaming locomotive charging for plate and successfully steal home.

Besides the little bit of strategy that Slugfest presents in utilizing the turbo meter, the rest of the game presents a straightforward scheme that's simple to control. Pitching and batting icons are used to indicate the selection onscreen making it easy to comprehend for new users to the game. Hitting consists of a simple contact swing while the power button can drive the ball back to the fences or even into the stands if you're lucky enough. Bunting is also available, maybe for those pitchers who skip batting practice. Then again, this isn't exactly a simulation game and it's literally anyone's game. The one odd thing about the turbo is that it doesn't replenish after each hitter gets up. Instead, you'll have to wait until the side retires for it to refill. With every big hit, the players have a chance of catching on fire like in NFL Blitz, sounding much like Arnold Schwarzenegger when becoming engulfed in flames. Catching on fire doesn't only look cool, but it enables to player to have unlimited turbo until tagged or struck out.

One huge advantage is if your pitcher in the game catches on fire when batting. This means that he's able to use an unlimited amount of turbo in the next inning, saving your meter from running on empty. Using the turbo when pitching puts the spin on the ball, making each pitch more difficult to hit. Nevertheless, it's not too unpredictable when it comes across the plate. Each of the select pitchers available for each team has the same types of pitches from the fastball, changeup, slider, and curveball. In addition to the normal pickoff, pitchers can bean each batter and frankly seem encouraged. With the control stick, pitchers can target the specific body area where they want to hit batters. As they walk off, batters usually make obscene gestures or simply limp off in pain.

The lively crowd reacts when batters are beaned in either booing or cheering. It all depends if the call or situation is in favor of the home team or opposing side. Shouting is also a noticeable quality as catcalls bellow from those loud mouth fans. They use anything from old baseball sayings to impersonating those annoying ballpark fans. Also coming from the spectators are screams and shrieks whenever a foul ball drives into the stands. Along with the echoing voice of the stadium announcer and park music that plays in the background, the audio really adds to the real life ballpark effect.

Rounding out the audio department is the odd commentary from the two men in the booth. Timmy Kitzrow you'll of course recognize from Midway Sports Blitz, Hitz, Showtime and Jam. However the voice of Jim Shorts, who sounds something along the lines of Marlon Brando, is new to the gaming scene but a welcome addition. With wacky, but comical remarks, the two announcers deliver the best play-by-play insight along with just as many wise cracks. They can be heard talking about humorous and random topics, from asking players if they're controller is working when not hitting at the ball to debating about the origin of relish. Though you'll hear certain comments more than once, the team's overall presence in the box is done with great timing. For the first time I've seen, the announcers start up a conversation, break for play-by-play coverage, and return to continue about the same thing instead of leaving the discussion trail off like we've seen in other baseball titles.

The problem with the umpire calls is that they are easy to miss. Sometimes, you'll be questioning if you scored a run at the plate or were tagged out since you're mind and eyes will be focused on the action of the game and not any weak calls. Despite the need for the umpire calls to be stronger, they seem fair and just. What's unfair is results when base throwing or even running control quirks get in way. At points, more than one runner will head to a single base, fielders will throw the ball away right before tagging base runners out, or the ball will clearly be shot to the wrong base even when clearly thrown in another direction. Also frustrating is not knowing if the inning has ended by looking at the players on the field. It's irking to see the fielders standing around when games on Nintendo 64 instantly run to the dugout switching side like in real life. This can be extremely distracting forcing you to do a double take at the amount of outs on the board.

One thing on the game does feature is the ability to skip over those boring pauses waiting for the gameplay to start back up again. You know what I'm talking about. After the ball is hit and the possible out is made, you always have to wait for the pitcher to get a hold of the ball and the view to return behind the plate. Since Slugfest guns for the action, it diverts plays from this waiting period but giving them the option to cut away to behind the plate. With L3 or R3 (pressing in the control stick), things will move much faster and eliminate the need to watch players frolic or even stand around. This is something I'd like to see in every baseball game, even the simulation titles, as it's doesn't take up any other buttons in being hidden in the controller, and speeds up the game for the impatient.

Besides the behind the plate view and camera following the ball wherever it goes, Slugfest also features a Close Action Cam. It takes control whenever the batter is bound for a homer or a fielder is about to indefinitely make the catch. When this happens, you'll be able to see each mapped face that resembles the real life baseball player and one of a number of animations they perform in the game. While the nicely mapped faces are brilliant, the reactions and other performed animations really steal the show. In catching the ball, there are instances when players will do it behind their back, around the side of their body or even between the legs. As for batting, players sometimes arrive with style by having the bat fly into they're hands much like a Jedi does with his lightsaber. If called out, the usually slam the bat down on the ground and at certain times argue with the ump over a strike. When some one is beaned from the other team, both the crowd and the players will go wild with un-sportsman like cheering. However, when a homerun is scored against them, they lie on the ground and throw something of a temper tantrum.

The only problems I can find visually are cases when polygons sometimes overlap. There are a little glitchy moments when collision detection doesn't come into play as both a runner and infielder can be on the bag clearly going through one another. Also, the minor issue that is carried in almost every baseball game is the grasping of the bat. Sometimes, this example isn't up to par and the bat seems to float more than it's being held. Other than this minor concerns, there isn't much wrong visually. For the most part, Slugfest presents a clean and solid baseball look that is right on par with All-Star Baseball and High Heat. It provides smooth animations with a very steady frame rate, much like Blitz has done in the past. Still, even with a great amount of detail, Slugfest stays on track with its arcade approach, keeping the fun intact.

Like any other arcade presentation, the game gets down to business and only offers a select amount of modes with little depth throughout each. This will be a small turn off for many, as fans who love extras like the Playoff mode or a Home Run Derby will left empty. What is does offer is a Quick Play like any Exhibition game, Challenge Mode where you go up again the 30 teams of the MLB, Tournament Mode, or play an entire season of baseball. The season mode requires players to follow the single team throughout 52 games, which is not an adjustable number. Seems strange that you wouldn't see the option to reduce the number, much like you saw with the number of innings previously. Despite this, the game does bear rather detailed stats. It seems like this availability isn't exactly in Slugfest's Сfield,' however much appreciated by anyone feeling the loose of simulation data.

The replay value is where MLB Slugfest comes up short in its attempt to shut out the competition. Like any major league game, the play is all the same. However, while most other baseball titles include those extra options to make the game last just a bit longer, Slugfest falls behind in the count. Using the codes to play against a variety of abnormal teams will induce some new thrills, however it's all the same batting, pitching and fielding any way you look at it. Nevertheless, this happens to all baseball games out there after a while. Hopefully Midway came come up with a couple extra options to suit the game next year; maybe even online play.