MLB Home Run Derby 2004, developed by Lavastorm Engineering and published by THQ Wireless, is the latest of a slew of home run derby games whose releases were timed for the late summer sweet spot, just before the beginning of the football season and just in time for the annual Fall Classic. The game features many famous sluggers and pitchers from the ranks of Major League Baseball, a simple yet effective batting system, and even the ability to pitch to CPU opponents, making it the best home run derby game we've played yet.
In its two single-player modes, MLB Home Run Derby 2004 allows you to pick your batter from a list of about 35 top hitters from the Major League ranks. The roster is quite comprehensive and includes such luminaries as Sammy Sosa, Alex Rodriguez, Larry "Chipper" Jones, and Ichiro Suzuki (the only notable absence, in fact, is Barry Bonds). From there, you get to select a CPU pitcher to man the mound from a considerably shorter collection of names. Interestingly, the first pitcher option is last season's American League Rookie of the Year Dontrelle Willis. After you've chosen your tandem, it's time to hit the plate and the mound, respectively. On both selection screens, you can hit the 1 key to check out each player's statistics from last year, in addition to viewing specialty pitches, if applicable.
These statistics don't seem to make a great deal of difference in terms of gameplay, but baseball fans will appreciate their inclusion nonetheless. All of the players have accurate skin tones and bat or pitch from the correct side, but that's about as far as their distinguishing characteristics go. You'll be presented with the exact same strike zone no matter who you're batting with, and the swing mechanics are identical. Basically, you wait for the pitcher to deliver the ball, and then you press a direction or the action button to swing away when the ball's right in front of the plate.
MLB Home Run Derby 2004 offers two different modes for batting under the game's difficulty option: rookie and all-star. The rookie setting dispenses with the ability to aim for a particular area of the strike zone with the direction keys, turning the game into a very simple timing contest. The all-star mode, on the other hand, allows you to manage your batting a little so you can draw a more accurate bead on pitches and so you can direct your shots to various parts of the stadium. The batting mechanics in the game take a little getting used to, because it's very important to contact the ball at the right time, even though sometimes it can be difficult to tell where the ball is in relation to the plate. In any case, batting is pretty enjoyable once you get it down. The game seems to have a more realistic physics model than other home run derby games, which means that you can send the ball straight up, hit line drives and fouls, or send the ball skipping off the outfield depending on how you swing and aim your bat. It takes a fair amount of skill to hit homers, too, requiring plenty of practice before you can nail them consistently. In the meantime, you may not be racking up much in the way of bragging rights, because if you hit a non-homer or miss a ball entirely 10 times, the derby's over.
Fortunately for MLB Home Run Derby 2004's level of depth, the game also features a classic one-player mode with added pitching gameplay. In the classic games, you choose your batter and pitcher (as before) and go up against an autoselected tandem of CPU players. You then alternate between batting and pitching for a certain number of "innings," which consist of three outs per batter. When you're not batting, you have an opportunity to take it to your opponent with your chosen pitcher. There's not really much to the pitching mechanics. You simply choose which kind of pitch to try for (not all pitchers have access to every kind of throw, and some definitely specialize in certain areas), indicate a direction to aim for, and let the pitcher do the rest of the work. Still, this is a novel feature for home run derby games, and it's enjoyable to try to decipher which pitches work against which batters. At the end of the classic mode, the game shows you how you stacked up against the CPU batter in terms of home runs and total distance (the inclusion of total hit distance is an unusual but welcome addition to mobile home run derby stat-keeping). The ending of this mode is a little abrupt. As a result, it would have been nice to have had some kind of progression through the ranks of players so you could measure your progress more effectively. MLB Home Run Derby 2004 also includes a pass-and-play two-player mode that follows the same model as the one-player offering but doesn't allow you to control pitching. It seems as though the turn-based configuration for pitching would be a hand in glove fit for the two-player mode, so the omission is a little on the strange side.
MLB Home Run Derby 2004's graphics are extremely sharp on Nokia Series 60 phones, though a little on the sparse side. The stadium has some nicely digitized graphics, including outfield walls that long balls can bounce off of. However, the backdrop is totally inert, with the exception of the excellent light-up scoreboard that displays inspirational messages as you smack dingers. The home run animations that are possessed by some competing games, however, are conspicuously lacking. The game's sound is nothing short of fantastic. You'll get the whole range of organ tunes, crowd noise, and bat cracks, and there's even a digitized announcer who will punctuate your hits with one of several wild exclamations. Sound is often an overlooked quantity in mobile games, so it's refreshing to play a game whose effects are so prominent and excellent.
In all, MLB Home Run Derby 2004 offers the most complete derby experience on mobile. It has a batting system that's deep enough to offer advanced players more challenge without confusing novices; it packs solid stat-keeping and high-score options; and it generally simulates a big-league slugging contest very effectively. It must be noted, however, that versions of the game on certain less-advanced handsets are vastly inferior in both gameplay and presentation. For instance, the Motorola V600 version lacks pitching, record-keeping, and sound, thus making for decidedly subpar play. If you're packing a Series 60 handset, MLB Home Run Derby 2004 is the superior option; otherwise, keep your download dollars in the bullpen.
