Baseball is back in full effect in real life, and with that comes a plethora of video and computer games based on the sport. Most of these are of the direct control kind, where you control the batters and pitchers, but a couple sneak in that emulate the front office aspects of running a team, as opposed to playing. The big dogs of the 'baseball management' genre this season are Sports Interactive's Out of the Park Baseball 2007 and Enlight Interactive's Baseball Mogul 2008. Thankfully for fans, the choice is a rather easy one to make, as each game offers slightly different takes on the same thing, making it more a preference of management style than deciding which game is better. If you are light on experience with fantasy baseball or baseball management games, or would just like to run a major league team instead of the entire organization, then Baseball Mogul's simplified gameplay should prove a perfect fit over Out of the Park's massive and possibly intimidating full package. Baseball management veterans be warned though; don't be surprised if a lack of realistic options and depth stifles Baseball Mogul's lasting appeal, leaving you hungry for more.

Baseball Mogul 2008 is the newest entry in last year's #1 selling PC baseball game, a series that puts you in the shoes of a Major League Baseball general manager, allowing you to experience any team from 1901 to the present day - all with real players - from the perspective of the front office instead of the players. As the head honcho, you aren't only in charge of your team's roster and finances, but you are also asked to handle the manager's duties, such as setting line-ups, pitching rotations, and calling each game your team plays (though this side is optional - you can let the computer handle it for you). If you really like to be hands-on, you can even take control of the players - inside of a game only - and decide how to approach each at-bat/hitter.

This may sound drab to many, but there is nothing more exhilarating for me, a fantasy baseball nut, than stepping out from position as "armchair general manager" and experiencing the real thing. I found myself lost in tweaking my team, making trades and roster moves, juggling line-ups and pitching rotations, as well as balancing the team's finances and then watching all of my choices unfold in real-time. You will quickly when find playing this game that running a winning team is not as easy as you may have imagined, even in this simplified, made-for-entertainment form. But it's that constant need to tweak and maintain that is this game's most appealing feature - so don't be surprised when you tell yourself you're going to just play BM for a few minutes and it turns into a few hours before you know it!

A text-based system that has been refined over the years is used to control every aspect of the game. By making use of drop-down menus, links and drag-and-drop items, all with self-explanatory names and labels, once you know where everything is, you should find little trouble controlling every aspect of the game. That being said, the user interface is a bit cumbersome, especially when set next to the slick Out of the Park. The entire game looks and feels like it was made using Visual Basic, with simplistic graphics even when original images are used, hence the heavy use of the drop-down menu and drag-and-drop lists. There is also a lack of effectiveness, as Out of the Park allows for the dragging and dropping of items across multiple lists on the same screen, allows you to view your roster from multiple different view points such as 25-man and 40-man rosters, and many other features that speed up the process of making changes to your team and playing the next game. That's not to say the BM is ineffective; it just feels a little archaic and limited when stacked against the dynamic Out of the Park.

The second place finish next to Out of the Park continues in the features department as well, as BM lacks even the option to have minor league teams. Instead, all minor leaguers are grouped together and then you can select their level. You don't have to set line-ups or pitching staffs or even a 25-man roster - they are just there in a big pile. There is no option for setting up your bench, other than who is on it. This means you can't set up a depth chart for each position, you can't set how often a player should sub in or start in place of a starter, or who should serve as each player's defensive sub, if any. You either have to physically make the changes during or before each game, or rely on your manager to handle them how you want, which rarely seems to happen. The biggest crime though is the lack of a disabled list. Players are hurt on a regular and realistic basis, yet there is no disabled list to place players hurt longer than a few days. Go through a rash of injuries and you'll have no choice but to just demote the players into the minors until they are healthy again, then bring them back, risking that you will anger the demoted then promoted player in the process.

Out of the Park doesn't come out on top in every category though. One area where BM has an advantage is in the stats department, as players react very organically to their line-up spots, happiness level and skill level. There are 80 stat categories for you to study and discover just what is making a player slump or succeed, but the game doesn't force you to dig deeper than the stat lines you'll find in the local paper if you choose. When you play a game, there is an actual graphic interface that has an animated batter and pitcher, as well as showing you where each hit goes on a flat stadium picture. This is an excellent feature that makes watching a simulated game less of a snooze, while allowing you to get an idea of just how your hitters are hitting (if they are over-swinging or pulling the ball) and how your pitchers are throwing (if they are overthrowing or struggling with control). I only wish that the fielders weren't static players inside an unmoving picture, as seeing the fielders play would have increased this feature's realism.

The feature that BM completely crushes Out of the Park in is the scouting department. Out of the Park's scouting involves just stats 90% of the time, with random personalized reports coming in once in a while, but BM goes above the stats by providing pivotal information about a player's personal feelings on their player page. These few sentences detail each player's most recent streaks - good or bad - plus your scout's opinion on the player page on your team, followed by a note about the personal feelings of the player. You can also check out who their friends are on their player page, as well as click on the smiley face in the upper right-hand corner to get a general statement from the player about how he feels about himself and/or the team. These features go such a long way to imbuing BM with a human presence, as it allows you into a world of players, not just number generators.

This game has limitless lasting appeal; besides just running a team for as many years as you wish, drafting the players of the future while watching others leave as free agents or retiring, you can warp back to any Major League Baseball team from present day to 1901, with accurate team finances and movement (as in when teams move, change names or enter the league, they will do so as history dictates), as well as accurate rookie classes. You can even create an entire game based on all fictional characters if you want to start completely afresh. Single player provides the tools for unlimited appeal, so long as you have the imagination and enjoy the gameplay. There is an online component, but that feature only comes complete as a separate program, which is truly a shame as it could have been one of BM's highlights.

Baseball Mogul 2008 is a great game, despite the shortcomings it has (many of which only come to light when it is set next to Out of the Park). It is limited in scope, but this makes it perfect for those with limited experience with similar products or gamers who are looking for a more casual baseball management title, while also making it a difficult recommendation for the more ambitious player. As long as you fit into casual category, you should have no problem enjoying this very solid baseball management game, with its 'oldie-but-goodie' gameplay and engaging ambience, making my overall score an understatement of this title's enjoyment and playability for those who discover its delights.

Reviewed by Tony Peters for AceGamez (All Rights Reserved).