Baseball Slugger: Home Run Race 3D

baseball_sluggers

Control/Gameplay [5/5]
Hands down, this is my FAVORITE (and most played) game on my iPod right
now. With its crisp 3D graphics, excellent gameplay mechanics, 4
different game modes (including wifi-based multiplayer), achievement
system and unlockable player customization, this game has a lot to
offer for its tiny $2.99 price tag.

The premise is simple. Slugger is all about getting home runs and
racking up points in order to get gold, which can be used to buy new
equipment to customize your player and improve his control/power. To
bat, you simply tilt your device to control the location of the end of
the bat, then touch any spot on the screen to swing the bat.

As I mentioned earlier, there are four game modes:
▪ Match up mode (online via wi-fi) – The first slugger who reaches the score
on the top of the screen wins the match.
▪ Arcade mode (single-player) – Record your best score with home runs and
bonus points (to use to upgrade your player). The game is over when you reach 10 outs.
▪ Classic mode (single-player) – You just try to record your best home run score.
▪ Training mode (single-player) – Practice with different pitchers, balls and speed.

You can score extra points by hitting poles, crashing into
billboards, stringing together multiple Home Runs and calling your
shots.

Occasionally (in matchup and arcade modes) there are special ‘item’
balls that are pitched . If you successfully hit home runs on these
balls, you will get more points and gain additional attacking or
defending benefits.

There is also a great online ranking system for all game modes
(except Training), but the best aspect of this game has to the online
two-player mode. You and your opponent compete against each other
simultaneously (via picture-in-picture). You can compete against your
friends (aka rivals) or complete strangers. Simply add your friends by
name, and you can quickly see if they are online and challenge them to
a head-to-head contest. Matches are setup quickly and works very well.
For comparisons sake, I found the online pairing to be much faster and
reliable than every online Wii game that I have played! The online
component is the most addicting and most “ok, just one more game”
feature of Slugger.

Graphics [5/5]
The 3D graphics are fantastic and easily rival those of some DS and PSP
titles. Depending on how well you hit the ball, you can trigger special
slow-motion and explosion animations when you strike the ball.
You can adust the clothing, hair-style and skin color of your player. You also have a few choices of stadium.

Sound [5/5]
The sound effects in the game are perfectly tuned. In addition to
requisite crowd noise, you have the option of playing your own MP3
files in the background.

Replayability [5/5]
I simply cannot put this game down. I tend to play it for hours at a
time, it has so much replay value. Whether playing by yourself (to
unlock achievements or gain points to upgrade your player’s abilities)
or playing against friends and/or strangers online, this game will
easily cause you to lose track time as you lose yourself in the game.

Final Verdict [5/5]
At the current sale price of $2.99 Baseball Slugger: Home Run Race 3D
is an absolute MUST BUY. This game is easily worth 4 times that amount.
I have seen some complaints that this isn’t a full baseball game, but I
like that! This allows for more impromptu quick games, and by focusing
on the batting alone, Com2uS has done a really great job at perfecting
this.

Com2uS has set a new standard in online-multiplayer for iPhone
games. Note that if you haven’t already upgraded to iPhone OS 3.0 you
will need to do that for this game. If you have an iPod Touch (like me)
then even the $12.98 price tag for the game plus OS 3.0, is still worth
every penny.

Game Trailer
Official Site
Buy it now: