Baseball Mogul 2003

"Doesn't beat out the competition"

Baseball Mogul 2003 is a baseball simulation - nothing more, nothing less. Catered towards the more 'hardcore' baseball fans, Baseball Mogul 2003 features no fancy graphics (there aren't any graphics at all) and no arcade elements that can be found in console baseball games (Triple Play, World Series Baseball, etc.). Baseball Mogul 2003 is all about controlling a baseball team, with comprehensive stat-tracking and financial assets on the side.

To get started in the game, all you need to do is pick a team. The teams all have strange names (i.e. Boston Beanpots, Tampa Bay Stingrays) but you have the option to change them right away. As the owner/general manager/manager of your selected team, you have full control over anything. You have control over concession and ticket prices, player's salaries, the team's farm system, the starting lineup, the starting rotation, TV contracts, and a whole lot more. Tired of your old players doing poorly? Bench 'em and bring in some guys from the minors. Not enough fans coming to your home games? Lower the ticket prices. Need some cash? Trade one of your prospects for money. The options are seemingly endless in Baseball Mogul 2003.

Besides a ton of options, Baseball Mogul 2003 is also loaded in realisticness (yes, I can make up words like ol' Dubya). A player's skills will diminish with age, prospects usually have a rough first year before making it big time, trading a really expensive player is difficult since most teams aren't willing to increase their payroll by a large margin; the realistic aspects of the game go on and on. However, there are a few things that aren't lifelike. It's too easy to sign free agents, the computer doesn't care if you spend more than you earn, some players are fake and others have fake names (i.e. Mark McGwire is now Leo LaRue), and sometimes computer controlled teams will bench one of their best players for no reason. The first three problems are only small ones, but the latter is quite annoying. How realistic is it if a team benches Sammy Sosa in favor of starting a younger and actually far less superior player? It's not. Sometimes I feel sorry for the wasted talent and trade for 'em so they can tear it up on my team. It's a shame that this inappropriate benching occurs so often.

Even with those few problems, Baseball Mogul 2003 still has a lot of good to offer. If you are a stat-freak, you will enjoy the game's comprehensive stat-tracking. Each player has a sports card type window that has a picture of the player, a brief description of the player, the player's ratings for several skills (power, contact, etc.), and stats for just about everything that player has done in his career. The 'card' keeps track of a player's postseason, minor league, major league, and even spring training statistics. They show just about every stat there is, although there are some noticeable exceptions (no lefties or righties specific stats). The game also has an option to keep track of the box scores and game recaps for every game that is played. Even though the box score's stats are in a strange order (RBI is one of the last stats listed), they are fun to look over. Needless to say, there are a lot of things to analyze for baseball stat-freaks in Baseball Mogul 2003.

One of the coolest concepts I've ever seen in a baseball game, whether it be arcade or simulation, is a daily newspaper that has stories on the top baseball-related news of the day. This feature can only be found in Baseball Mogul games. 'The Daily Mogul', as the paper is called, features an automatic story generator that writes out the articles in the paper. The articles are short (only a paragraph each), but they do pack in a lot of information. There is also a picture of a player that was a key part of the game or whatever the story was about, alongside the article. While the writing could be a bit better, the idea is still very cool and should be utilized in other baseball games as well.

Besides the newspaper system, there is another thing that separates Baseball Mogul 2003 from other baseball simulators - you can't actually play the games in Mogul. Your only option is to simulate the games. Of course, you can simulate as many days as you want - you can take it a day at a time or you can simulate the entire year at once if you wish, but you just can't play the games. If Monkeystone ever decides to implement playable games into their series, it will be a real winner.

Like I stated earlier, Baseball Mogul 2003 has no graphics whatsoever. It does have sound, although that consists of nothing more than simple, generic sound effects like paper rustling when you are viewing the newspaper articles, and cheers and boos while you are watching the play-by-play of a game. Harmless, yet ultimately useless.

If you are a hardcore baseball fan or just a plain ol' stat-freak, you will enjoy Baseball Mogul 2003. Although it is not as good as other baseball simulators like Out of the Park or Diamond Mind Baseball, it is still a great game and a great way to spend a rainy Sunday afternoon playing. There is a demo available for download at www.sportsmogul.com if you are interested in trying before buying. As an added bonus to those who buy the game at Walmart for $20, Monkeystone decided to throw in a $5 gift card for Baseball Mogul Online play. This gift card is a neat little extra, so if you do buy the game, make sure you get it from Walmart.

8

Best Feature - The sheer amount of options and stats.
Worst Feature - Can't play the games.

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 05/05/02, Updated 09/02/02