MLB Slam! is the first baseball game for the N-Gage, and, to be blunt, it's horrible. While it does attempt to stand up to other stat-heavy sports games by offering realistic roster and player statistics, the game itself is so simplistic that these numbers don't even come in to play in the slightest. Baseball fans looking for a realistic experience will be sorely disappointed by this game, and even the most casual of players will be bored within minutes by a baseball game that simply isn't fun to play.
Featuring all 30 Major League Baseball teams with rosters accurate for the 2003 season, MLB Slam! offers baseball fans the chance to play as their favorite teams with all the players you'd expect. It also has a handful of modes, such as the ability to play a full season or to play against other player via the N-Gage's built-in Bluetooth capabilities. However, the realism stops here. As a baseball game, and the first offering of its kind for the N-Gage, this game is far behind the times in terms of gameplay. While it is easy enough to pick up and play, it is also addled with bugs and quirks that make the game both simplistic and frustrating at the same time.
As previously mentioned, every MLB team is represented with an accurate roster. However, the players on the field and in the batter's box all look the same, save for a change in skin tone when appropriate. In addition to this, all batters share an identical strike zone, and they perform identically regardless of their real-life skills at the plate. Hitting a ball is as easy as moving a target to where the pitch will cross the plate and pressing the swing button at the correct time. Within just a few innings, you'll find yourself scoring a huge number of runs with little opposition. |
