The play in Slugfest is geared towards fast-paced, non-stop action.  The bane of baseball games is that they can sometime take as long to play as the real thing.  That is not the case here, where games default to seven innings and there is so much going on in each one that games feel like they pass quickly.  Adding to the excitement is the ability of base runners and fielders to take cheap shots at each other.  Runners can bowl over fielders and sneak in sucker punches in an attempt to get the fielder to drop the ball.  Fielders can apply hard tags to take the runner off his feet, ensuring that he is both down and out.  It might sound like this leads to pandemonium on the field, but it doesn't.  The extracurricular violence is actually a small part of the game, but a fun one at that.

Goodbye Mr. Spalding.

In addition to exhibition matches, the game features four other modes: challenge, season, tournament, and home run derby.  Challenge mode has you face each of the teams in the game until you defeat each one.  Season mode has you take your team through a 52 game season.  With shorter game lengths and a shorter season, you actually have a chance of completing a season in this game without dedicating your entire summer to the task.  Tournament is a four or eight team ladder, with any combination of human and computer-controlled teams.  The home run derby is just as it sounds, and you can select the players to compete in the derby along with the number of outs per player.  The game also has a create a team option, but you'll just select players from the regular rosters - there is no create player feature.

The game features great graphics and fast, smooth animations.  All of the major league stadiums are included and are rendered very nicely.  The players look good, although they all seem to have spent some extra hours in the gym.  Slugfest also lets you enter codes before each game to unlock a large number of secret teams and hidden stadiums  featuring fanciful graphics.  You can play with a team of evil clowns or minotaurs, for example.

Slugfest is easy to pick up and play right from the start.  There's no frustrating learning curve associated with the batting as there is in some games.  This all comes at the cost of realistic simulation of professional baseball.  Sure it's arcade baseball, but it sure is fun.

In The End, This Game Hath Been Rated: 86%.  Slugfest is not nearly as deep as the other baseball video games out there, so it won't appeal to simulation fans.  If you're looking for a game that concentrates on the fun aspects of the sport, a throwback to the days when baseball games were a fast and fun arcade experience, then you've come to the right place.

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