MLB SlugFest 20-04

Midway?s latest sports outing features flaming bats, blazing balls, and more homers than Springfield. Unfortunately, there?s no ?Z? in the title.

Midway?s power-packed take on America?s game was, well, a home run last year, so the ?04 edition of SlugFest is only natural. This year?s model packs in several enhancements that, frankly, should have been in the original game but will make fans happy nonetheless.

Now Batting, Number 20-04?
Like the other Midway Sports titles, MLB SlugFest 20-04 puts an action spin on the athleticism, adding flaming power-ups, some slapstick antics, and a bit of violence to the national pastime. New elements this year include more accurate player animations, improved player statistics, a create-a-team function (but no create-a-player), and a home-run derby. The addition of pinch hitters, player trades, and more players per team (20, versus last year?s 12) only enhances the core gameplay.

Best of all, the new instant replay feature?which was inexplicably not available last year?finally lets you slow down those dramatic plays frame by frame. In an action-oriented, highlight-heavy game like SlugFest, instant replay is essential, and the easy controls give you complete camera control. Ironically, this feature also allows you to nit-pick some of the, um, generous collision detection during batting or the umpires? occasionally questionable calls. You can watch replays frame by frame, though you can?t dispute or overturn calls, even when they?re clearly in error.

Diamonds in the, um, Diamond
By far, the best element in the game is the hilarious commentary. Play-by-play man Tim Kitzrow and color commentator Jimmy Shorts (voiced by Chicago radio personality Kevin Matthews) rip plenty of funny riffs as well as a bit of gameplay advice, but the helpful hints aren?t what will make milk come out your nose?the random comments have to be heard to be appreciated. Better still, you can mix the original 20-03 comments in with 20-04?s and rarely hear repeats. Aside from some synth menu filler music and a token Hoobastank song, the only real music is the accurately goofy ballpark organ, which helps set the atmosphere along with cheering crowds and vendors.

Controlling the game could have been problematic?pitching, batting, base running, and fielding all make their own demands?but all three consoles handle it well; as long as you?re paying attention, the game responds wonderfully. The PS2?s extra shoulder buttons do give it a slight functional edge, just as the Xbox?s placement of the baserunning on the Black and White buttons make it a little less desirable. Why the programmers didn?t assign Xbox baserunning to the triggers, as they did with GameCube version, is a mystery.

However, it?s no secret that the Xbox looks the best of the bunch. The PS2 shows a little bit of slowdown during big animations combined with special visual effects (fire, fancy text), and the GameCube?s lag looked a bit worse; things move in slow-motion when a runner tries to steal second. Neither problem popped up on the Xbox. However, the motion-captured player animations look sweet on all three systems as do the fire effects, detailed stadiums, ball trails, and new 3D crowds.

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