MLB Slam! Review
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Glink ItOne of the bare
necessities of any console is to have plenty of sports games. EA has already
pledged its support to the N-gage and they are going to release their highly
popular and addictive NCAA 2004 later this year (or early next year). To help
fill in the sports gap, THQ decided to release MLB Slam for the N-gage. Will
this game fill your appetite for baseball until the new season arrives? Read on
to find out!
There are a few modes to play in MLB Slam and they are: Quick Match, Spring
Training, Post Season, Homerun Derby, and Full Season. Quick match allows
players to play a quick game, and get their baseball fix. Spring Training allows
players to choose their team’s using the latest MLB rosters. In Post Season
players can skip the whole full season and go into the Post Season.
Homerun Derby is one of the best things in this game. This is where players can
step up to the plate and see if they are the best hitter in the league. First
players choose a team and the best hitter will step up to the plate. Every hit
that is not a homerun counts as an out for you, and there is a total of ten
total outs. After ten outs your opponent comes to bat and tries his luck. After
three rounds the one with the most homeruns wins.
Full Season allows gamers to play an entire season of baseball (all 162 games).
The season follows the entire (and official) 2003 schedule including all
inter-league games and even the Post Season! In this mode players will be able
to choose everything, from battle order to the field lineup. If you don’t want
to play through a certain game, you can choose to simulate it and the winner
will be determined by the statistics alone.
One of the best things about this game is that players will have the opportunity
to go up against all 30 Major League Baseball teams with all of the players. The
only problem with this is that everyone looks the exact same, with the jerseys
being the only difference. This is only a minor gripe, but what is the fun of
having all the players in the game if they look exactly alike?
MLB Slam is rated E for everyone.
Gameplay: 6.3
The pitching and batting is good, but the outfield and baseline controls are
horrid. To be perfectly honest gamers will find more pleasure in the homerun
derby than the main game.
Graphics: 6.2
Unlike other games currently available MLB Slam is entirely 2D. The graphics are
fine, but this is not the game to impress your friends about the graphical
capabilities. The sprites are very basic and it is not detailed in any sense.
While it features all the teams and players there is very little difference
between them other than the team jerseys.
Sound: 5.2
There is not a whole lot of music or sound effects that go on in this game.
There is the occasional commentary, and the crowd noises but there is nothing
out of the ordinary.
Difficulty: Easy
There are three different difficulties levels, Rookie (easy), Pro (normal), and
All-Star (hard). Even under the All-Star mode, the game still is easy.
Concept: 6.4
There is nothing extra ordinary found in this game, just a simple baseball game.
I really liked the addition of downloadable real-life statistics about what is
going on in the current baseball season.
Multiplayer: N/A
MLB Slam supports two playing using the Bluetooth technology. At the time of
this review I didn’t get a chance to review this aspect of the game.
Overall: 6.1
While this game has a few interesting perks, the game just fails to be good
where it counts. The sloppy outfield and base controls really puts a damper on
the entire game. If you are a die-hard baseball fan, pick this game up,
otherwise rent this game to get your sports fix.