Major League Baseball dishes out some black eyes instead of taking them.
Look, the Blitz-style formula has been very successful for Midway. Take a regular sport, slap on the extreme paint, add a few dollops of violence and watch the money hats pile up. True, there have been varying degrees of success - hockey and football work better with this formula than soccer, for example - but when I heard that Midway was going to do baseball next, my first reaction was to giggle like a schoolgirl. Baseball? The great American snoozefest? Yeah, RIGHT.
One adult serving of crow, coming right up, Mr. Lewinson.
Midway has done what I thought was the impossible - make the world's most boring sport fun and exciting without resorting to the same old same old. The gameplay in MLB Slugfest 20-03 is dialed in. The controls are sweet and really give you that feeling of control over the on-screen action that all good games provide. I have never enjoyed playing a baseball game like I've enjoyed this one. The action is fast-paced, and dead patches are kept to a minimum, which is my main complaint about baseball.
The graphics are stellar. All players are detailed and the trademark PS2 jagginess is kept to a minimum. Player faces look very close to their real-life counterparts and the animation of the on-screen avatars is varied and smooth.
What about the extreme tweaks in MLB Slugfest, you ask? Well, with turbo running speeds, super fast pitches, battle royals in the infield and purposefully nailing opposing batters in the head, MLB Slugfest makes the game of baseball fun again.
I can't stress this enough: MLB Slugfest 20-03 has made a believer out of me. It looks great, and more importantly, it plays great. Cutting out the deadwood that infests real-life baseball was a great idea, and Midway should be very proud of what they've accomplished here. Whether you're a baseball fan or can't stand the sport - either way, you owe it to yourself to check out MLB Slugfest 20-03. Without reservations, a worthy sports title for your shelf.
