The baseball
season starts in April. MLB Slugfest Loaded was released in late June. Why?
Because MLB Slugfest Loaded has little to do whatsoever with the Major Leagues.
Using the Show as a front, MLB Slugfest Loaded continues the ‘screw tradition!’
attitude Midway Sports excels in with its outrageous style of sports games
featuring plays that can only be made in other stratospheres. With these
elements at the heart of the game, any baseball fan looking for a baseball
experience are better off buying some peanuts and Cracker Jacks instead of
playing this game. On the other hand, if you’re one of the millions of people
who think baseball is boring (it’s not, really!), MLB Slugfest Loaded may just
be sports game you’ve been looking for. Ripe with violence, superhuman feats,
and low-brow humor, MLB Slugfest Loaded is aptly named because all the action is
loaded with BALCO-supplemented players, not loaded like David Wells in the
Gaslamp District on USD night. It plays simply for easy pick-up-and-playability
and doesn’t require too much concentration. Because of these characteristics
(or flaws, depending what type of gamer you are), Loaded should attract a
younger Ritalin-poppin’ audience.
Aside from a few
minor tweaks in gameplay, the core of MLB Slugfest has changed little. Pitching
is incredibly simple this year. Pitchers select their pitch from a menu, select
the general location in or out of the strike zone, and choose whether the pitch
should be a ball or a strike by pressing A (strike) or X (ball). It basically
breaks down to being able to throw pitches in one of nine zones for a strike or
eight zones for a ball (just inches away from their strike zone counterparts).
This will frustrate baseball fans who want to throw with Greg Maddux precision
as many portions of the strike zone are unavailable. It does simplify things
considerably and is consistent with the “just press the button” attitude of
arcade style sports games. In addition to the four basic pitches, pitchers can
also throw over-exaggerated versions of the four pitches plus one absolutely
ridiculous pitch. After throwing five strikes (either by catching the hitter
looking or swinging and missing), pitchers will have access to a pitch that is
almost unhittable.
Hitting is even
more simplified than pitching. In similar fashion to MVP Baseball, hitting the
ball in the air is just a matter of pressing the button at the right time and
simultaneously flicking the left thumbstick up. Of course, pitches up in the
zone are easier to hit in the air than sinking pitches, so patient hitters will
be rewarded for swinging at balls that are left up. I’m not a big fan of this
style of hitting, and really prefer the system that Sega implements – contact
based strictly on location. Having said that, making contact is pretty easy in
Loaded, but many of the hits seems to repeat themselves, a sign of an amateur
physics system.
The controls in
the game are a bit clunky for anyone who plays other baseball games. Because of
their stress on violence and mayhem, Loaded makes some of the simplest fielding
and running tasks enormous feats. Throwing to a base is controlled by the right
thumbstick – right for first base, down for home plate – which takes a while to
get used to. Because many of the buttons are used for things such as punching
and jumping (yes, you can jump whole holding the ball in your glove, not sure
why though), much of the basic intuitive controls are lost.
The right
trigger button controls turbo, a great part of the Slugfest franchise. Turbo
meters for each team fill up with good plays and can be used in almost every
aspect of the game. Want a little more ooomph on your fastball? A little more
bend to your curve? Hold turbo down while pitching and the pitch quality will
jump from single A ball to Major Leagues instantly. Want to try and hit the
ball not only out of the park but out of the state? Turbo assisted batting will
pack more punch into a batter’s swing. Need an extra couple of vertical leap in
the outfield to snag a homer? Want to throw a guy out at first from the
outfield? Once again, turbo saves the day. Thankfully, turbo replenishes
frequently enough to make it an integral part of the game, and probably the most
entertaining aspect of the gameplay.
Being an
arcade-style sports title, Loaded gets most of its mileage from Quickgame mode,
but new this year is the all-new Franchise mode. Standard in sports games, the
Franchise mode challenges gamers to carry their team into the playoffs and win
the World Series. Management issues will arise throughout the season, forcing
gamers to make decisions involving trades, injuries, and calling up minor league
prospects, but nothing to the degree of other baseball titles. Also new to this
year is an online mode playable through Xbox Live. Players can engage in single
matches or simple tournaments to slug it out online.
Tim Kitzrow and
Kevin Matthews (as Jimmy Shorts) team up again in what has to be the funniest
play-by-play of all-time. Kitzrow calls the play-by-play while the senile Jimmy
Shorts quips about whatever is on his mind. The commentary is definitely worth
more than just a few chuckles and seems endless, rarely repeating itself.
Commentary also plays during loading screens, making the lengthy loading times
not only tolerable, but something gamers can actually look forward to.
There are some
unlockables worth note in Loaded. There are the simple movies that can be
unlocked, but fans of Midway’s classic Mortal Kombat will be especially happy to
see teams full of Sub-Zeros and Scorpions from the violent fighting game. You
can’t throw a spiked chain through opponents or freeze baserunners with an ice
ray though, as the player models are purely cosmetic. These unlocked teams are
also just character models plastered over an existing MLB team, an unfortunate
choice on Midway’s part.
MLB Slugfest
Loaded isn’t going to keep sports fans glued to their Xboxes. At best, it’s a
title for casual gamers who care little about authenticity and just want simple
entertainment. If ESPN Baseball 2K4 is Denzel Washington in Training Day, MLB
Slugfest Loaded is Leslie Nielsen in the Naked Gun – hardly inspiring but not
trying to be anything but fun.
Gameplay: 6.5
Sloppy advanced
controls plague Loaded, but the basics are easy enough for anyone to pick up and
play. There are some major AI issues, but there’s nothing like tagging a runner
out and punching him as he tries to make his way back to the dugout.
Graphics: 8.0
Everyone looks
as though they’ve been going to Barry Bonds’ “supplement” doctor, and colorful
vapor trails and flames make Loaded almost as good-looking as a ballplayer’s
trophy wife. But the cartoonish look is just that – cartoonish.
Sound: 9.0
Nine points – a
perfect ten for the hilarious commentary and minus one for everything else.
Difficulty: Easy
Skill seems to
be a secondary concern to the developers at Midway. Just have fun.
Concept: 8.0
A great idea for
those that think baseball is a boring game, and extreme arcade-style sports
games will always have a fanbase. But there’s little added to this years title
that distinguishes it from 20-04.
Multiplayer: 7.5
Loaded is much
more fun to play with a human than the computer, and the online option makes
that possible at anytime.
Overall: 7.0
The game is
quite entertaining and the commentary is gut-busting, but once that initial
value wears off, there’s little really left to hold on to making Loaded a
quintessential rental. Gamers who can’t live without their arcade-style sports
games will adore Loaded, and should seriously consider picking this one up.
