Title: Major League Baseball Slugfest 2006

Date: 06.14.2006

Genre: Sports

Platform: PlayStation 2

Developer: Midway

Publisher: Midway

I'd been excited for baseball games this season. After playing MLB 06: The Show, I thought I would be settled in for the year. That is, however, until I heard about this title.

Being a newcomer to the Slugfest series of baseball games, I didn't truly have any clue as of what to expect out of the series. I booted up the title, and was treated to a clip-show of great plays and mammoth home runs. The main screen popped up, greeting me with the fact that the rosters were last updated on February 10, 2006. Since there isn't any online functionality, there likely won't be roster updates.

The Modes

Let me start you off with a brief run-through of the Season Mode. Essentially, what you get from Season Mode is a condensed, 8-week version of a regular MLB season. 7 weeks of a game a day, and a shortened 8th week. You face off against all your division rivals and league rivals, and they throw in a few inter-league games to boot. Once you pick a team, you're sort of stuck to them, as there isn't any player trading. The game also keeps track of the usual stats, such as the standings and league leaders.

The Home Run Derby is a contest of brute strength. A fairly handy selection of big league sluggers are there, and you can set up how you want the pitcher to throw to you. In all, you get the game's party mode, as you can just pass the controller around to 6 ot 7 friends and see who can get the most humorous comments from the announcers as you fill the bleachers with baseballs.

New to the series is a Create-a-Player mode. You get a selection of 25 pre-generated faces, and you can alter the size of the player's head at will. You can set up how he stands and how he bats, as well as the Contact, Power, Bunt and Dodge skills. Since this is an "over-the-top" baseball game, you can easily set the stats all the way to 100 and make the slugger who will topple Hank Aaron's home run record in 5 or 6 seasons, assuming you play your cards right.

Graphics

The look of this game definitely doesn't live up to the beauty of the other MLB titles of the season. However, it's not to say that it doesn't look horrific, either. Everything is rendered smoothly, and if you're looking at Barry Bonds, you can tell by his face and stature that it is Barry Bonds.

Gameplay

The game itself is simple to grasp, but can be difficult to get down exactly. Pitching is a breeze, however, as you simply choose your location and press X for a strike and Square for a ball. If you throw 5 strikes, you get a Power Pitch, which can vary in style. I've thrown one that jumps high, only to land right in the middle of the strike zone at the last second. Batting is just as simple, with X for a Contact swing and Square for a power swing. Aiming where you swing the bat will probably take a little time unless you're tailored to the batting system already. Base-running and fielding have a simple feel to them as well, but can be over-the-top if you utilize your Turbo at the right times.

Presentation

This is where the game shines, folks. Slugfest 2006 may not be the prettiest game, but the announcing and the fluid animations make it fun to play and keep playing. The announcers will crack horrible jokes at you if you screw up badly, and will over-exaggerate great plays to an often grand extent. They also have a tendency, similar to actual announcers, to stray off into something completely random. For instance, at the beginning of my first game, they were talking about which dead celebrities they'd like to eat dinner with. The animations are well thought out as well. Batters will walk up to the batting box, stop and pose for the crowd, and gloat about. If they don't quite make it to the base on time, they will get upset and really show it. If you accidentally (or purposely) strike a batter, I would advise your pitcher to watch out. Outfield animations are well done, and it doesn't appear as if your fielder just came out of nowhere to make an easy-looking catch.

Overall

Rent or Buy: If you have a new baseball game already, I would recommend you rent this to see if you like the style of play the game has to offer. If you're still considering which game to get, then pick this one up. You get a lot out of it for $20, and while the $50 "sim" baseball games give you more bang for the buck, MLB Slugfest 2006 gives plenty out itself for the low price.

Game Score

8.6

Reviewed By: Contributed