I like it when games have “3D” in the title. It’s all nostalgic and cute. You just want to pat them on the head and give them a shiny apple and tell them to run along home before they catch polio.

That aside, Baseball Slugger is comfortably the best game I’ve played for the iPhone. The controls just work. There’s no getting used to them, or being pleasantly surprised with how well they work, all things considered. None of that. You tilt, you tap, your guy swings his bat and either you hit the baseball or you don’t.

Aim your bat. Time your swing. That’s it. Nothing else to worry about. It just works.

I’ve been playing the Arcade mode for a day or two, but last night I decided to try out the online multiplayer.


That’s me there, just about to start playing against a chap called Ticookie. We played a few games and he beat me every time. In fact, everyone beat me, except one poor sod who actually managed to lose against me. My ranking points flew away like rocket-propelled birds as I lost over and over and over and over again. Yet I couldn’t stop playing. Arcade mode is great, but when you’ve got that little window up there showing a real other person and you’ve got the bars under the player names filling up something kicks in and grabs you and won’t let go.

You’re not taking turns, you see. Your playing your game, he’s playing his and you fill up your power bar (or whatever it’s actually called) by hitting the ball and getting points. Whoever fills the bar first wins, obviously enough. It’s a system that keeps things working, minimises the effect of any lag, but provides real competition. It doesn’t hurt that getting into a match is very quick and it’s easy to ask for a rematch after a round. It’s brilliant, just brilliant.

If you’ve got an iPhone and you’ve not got this game you’re DOING IT WRONG in caps. Just get it. Now.