Its only January. Spring training is still weeks away, and yet the best baseball game of the year is already toeing the rubber. Super Mega Baseball came out quietly in the middle of December, and although a few prominent game sites rightly hailed it as one of the best sports games of 2014, it largely went unnoticed. Nine days before Christmas probably isnt the best time to release a download-only indie baseball game.

Thats a shame, because Super Mega Baseball is a perfect complement to Sonys MLB: The Show series. The Show is an absurdly deep baseball labyrinth whose complexity scares new players away. Super Mega Baseball is as easy to pick up and play as an old NES baseball game. It boils the essentials of baseball down into a simple but satisfying package and then gradually lets you expand it into a more in-depth and customizable game.

The way it handles pitching is especially great. Its system is distinct from The Show or 2K Sports defunct MLB 2K series, and might be the best pitching system yet in a video game. You use the joysticks to pick your pitch and its location, press a button to deliver, and then quickly have to slide a target into a circle to make sure you hit your spot. The more break or spin on a pitch the harder it is to accurately line it up. Its a surprisingly elegant technique that presents an appropriate amount of challenge and that never grows stagnant. Pitching in Super Mega Baseball is one of the gaming highlights of 2014.

Hitting is a bit more familiar. Depending on the button you press, youll swing for power or contact or lay down a bunt. Power can be a little tricky, as it charges up a meter, and youll need to time it so the wood hits the ball as the meter peaks.

The game keeps detailed stats throughout your seasons, letting you watch your players grow or regress. And the ego system lets you adjust the computers difficulty to a fine degree.

Many gamers might overlook Super Mega Baseball for two reasons. It doesnt use real teams or players and it has a cartoony visual style. Neither of these things should hold you back. If you love baseball, or even just video game baseball, and want a less arduous game than The Show, this is the best youre going to find.

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Super Mega Baseball pitches perfectly