'Slugfest' a 'Loaded' baseball game

For those who long for the days of "Bases Loaded" and "Super Baseball Simulator 1.000," Midway's "MLB Slugfest: Loaded" is a godsend whose simple gameplay throws back to the days of 8 and 16-bit baseball glory.\n"Slugfest" features a fairly simple control scheme that can be easily learned in a matter of minutes and can be virtually perfected by veterans of baseball video games in a few sittings. That isn't to say the game is extremely easy. The crazy pitching system that allows pitchers to throw outlandish and unhitable pitches, as well as bean players to reduce stat points, adds a nice amount of defensive strategy to a predominately offensive game. In the tradition of Midway's other storied franchises, "Slugfest" allows players to catch on fire, to get high stat points and dominate the diamond. Back this year is the priceless commentary of Tim Kitzrow and Jimmy Shorts, who take the cake in providing the funniest commentary in sports video games. This year's incarnation also implements the "Baseball Mogul" engine to run its franchise mode, which is surprisingly deep for such an arcade-influenced game. This gives the game a higher replay value that enhances the single-player experience, which was lacking in previous versions.\nIf you're looking for a simple, fun and addictive baseball game, "MLB Slugfest: Loaded" is your best bet.