Baseball can be a slow moving game compared to football and basketball, but that seemingly languid pace can disguise its most appealing element. The crack of the bat on a baseball is a sound and sight to behold, especially if you've bought tickets to the stadium. Baseball Slam attempts to capture that dynamic, with mixed results.

If you've ever watched America's national pastime, one of its many draws is watching a slugger attempt to hit the ball to different parts of the field. Other aficionados love the duel between the pitcher and hitter, as the slugger will attempt to keep the duel alive by fouling off as many pitches as possible and wait for the right one to smash out of the park. Although Baseball Slam is seen through the eyes of a batter, players need to tap the screen to start the entire pitch and hit routine.

To throw to the mound, just touch home plate and then swipe your finger to swing. Instead of a park, your hitter travels to the middle of a city or even a naval ship to do a bit of damage. The game's objective is to hit the pitch as hard as possible and smash everything in its wake.

Baseball Slam
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Power-ups are located on the lower right hand of the screen, and they'll can give your ball such powers as extra smashing ability or, in the case of the above photo, freeze your screen for a few seconds. Icing up your location keeps your target at a fixed location and also prevents them from disappearing from view, as some of them pop up for several seconds and fade into oblivion.

Since each level is filled with certain challenges, strategy plays an integral part of the title, as you receive a specific number of baseballs to complete the mission. There are extra ball targets you can hit to elongate the stage and they're also available for purchase with your gold coins at the store, so reaching 40,000 in one sitting isn't exactly a difficult feat.

Baseball Slam
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There is also a scratchers mini-game which gives you the chance to earn coins. If you scratch off three outs, whatever currency you collected is wiped out and you've lost the game. Since I'm not the daring type, I just cash out as soon as I uncover a trinkets to add to my purse. It's a worthy addition to the title, if only to break the monotony.

Baseball Slam
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Watching how the baseball weaves its path of destruction and observing how the chain of events enfold make this title a decent download. Multiplayer fans can also challenge their Facebook friends to see who's the better slammer, so this title does have its merits.

Baseball Slam just didn't captivate me enough for a future return, since in an app infested world it will just be another experience that was fun enough to play on my iPad but will soon be deleted. There is nothing sinfully wrong about this title, but I was just looking for a bit more fire and panache from Baseball Slam. If you're in need of a virtual batting experience should download this free to play title. Just don't expect a home run.

 

App Store Link: Baseball Slam for iPhone & iPad | Zynga Inc. | Price: Free | Version: 1.0 | 47.9 MB | Rating: 4+

5.5 out of 10 arcade sushi rating

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