Excerpts From the GameSpot Review, by Brett Todd:

"Sports Mogul has adjusted aspects of the artificial intelligence to make play more satisfying in key areas like trading and finance and has tossed in a few sorely needed frills that make the game at least a marginal improvement over its predecessor.

"The economics are simple; you mainly use slider bars centered on average league prices, and contract negotiations involve nothing more than choosing the length of the deal. Just pick your terms, and the money automatically adjusts itself. Player development is confined to a single AAA farm club with a small roster size and prospects that always seem to live up to their ratings.

"Lahman Database support has been added, providing access to more than a century of Major League Baseball history. You can begin play in any season from 1900 to 2003, giving hardball historians the chance to run classic clubs like the 1927 Yankees with Ruth and Gehrig or the 1919 Black Sox. This amounts to little more than a roster patch, however, so don't expect to simulate the dead-ball era or even scale down salaries. Player abilities aren't scaled in any way, so legends often seem to put up absurd numbers.

"Baseball Mogul 2004 also has a new finance system so that players now get paid in dollar amounts rather than in points. It's easier to draw in fans, and therefore bring in more money, unlike in Baseball Mogul 2003, where finicky fans made it extremely difficult to hold on to your top players if you had a couple of subpar seasons."

Bottom Line:
Baseball Mogul 2004 isn't the most comprehensive baseball management simulation that's available, but it's just fine if you want to take a team through multiple seasons without having to swing the bat.

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