Apple Arcade Hold onto your socks It s Ballistic Baseball
Apple Arcade: Hold onto your socks! It's Ballistic Baseball Eurogamer.net If you click on a link and make a purchase we may receive a small commission. Read our editorial policy. Apple Arcade: Hold onto your socks! It's Ballistic Baseball Thwack! Feature by Christian Donlan Features Editor Published on 21 Oct 2019 4 comments Apple Arcade's been busy since its launch, with a bunch of new games. Oddly, the one that's made the most impact for me is by Gameloft, of all companies. It's a wonderfully pared-back version of a beloved sport. It's Ballistic Baseball! Baseball, as far as Ballistic Baseball's concerned, is about two things: batting and pitching. Everything else - fielding, running the bases - is handled for you. When you're pitching, you pitch. When you're batting, you bat. That's it. And it's pretty wonderful. Pitching sees you choosing where to put the ball, choosing which pitch to use and then getting the timing right for accuracy. Batting is equally all about positioning and swinging at the right moment. The sound effects are great with that echoing snap that defines baseball and the players are pleasantly caricatured. I love the fact that you can choose where to play, even opting for a Field of Dreams style cornfield, and I also love you can set the game length to a single inning so that you can have a game on even the shortest commute. What really stands out, though, is the commentary. Seriously, this is wholesome stuff. Hit a home run and the game with announce, "Hold onto your socks!" Get caught out on a flyball, and the game will tell you how easy you're making things for the other team. You can play online and against friends, but the whole thing is so brisk I quite like playing against the AI. Give me a diamond, the cool grass out of the outfield, and ten minutes to kill and I am very happy. Oh yes, and hold onto your socks. Become a Eurogamer subscriber and get your first month for £1 Get your first month for £1 (normally £3.99) when you buy a Standard Eurogamer subscription. Enjoy ad-free browsing, merch discounts, our monthly letter from the editor, and show your support with a supporter-exclusive comment flair! Support us View supporter archive More Features Digital Foundry Nvidia GeForce RTX 4090: a new level in graphics performance The Digital Foundry video review - and how the new GPU champion delivers for 4K 120fps gaming. 14 Feature Evercore Heroes wants to wind people up the right way "There's less rage at them, because they didn't end your fun." Feature What games get wrong about horses And what they could do about it. 34 Feature Shout out to all the Overwatch supports - where would we be without you? Merci. 55 Latest Articles Digital Foundry Sennheiser's legendary HD 599 open-back headphones are just £70 at Amazon in the Prime Early Access Sale Comfortable with neutral sound and a wide sound stage. Preview Football Manager's new Console edition is the best you'll get without a PC Getting Touch-right. 1 Splatoon 3 Amiibos will be out next month Ink-coming! 3 Fans think Phil Spencer's shelf is teasing the Xbox Game Pass streaming box UPDATE: Xbox confirms old Keystone prototype. 61 Supporters Only Premium only Off Topic: Take a minute to appreciate Cookin' with Coolio's incredible scallops recipe. What a great book. Premium only Off Topic: Reading City of Glass in comic form "Where exactly am I going?" Premium only Off Topic: Il Buco is a transporting film about a really big hole Underlands. Off-Topic Netflix handled Sandman brilliantly It was Dreamy. 9 Buy things with globes on them And other lovely Eurogamer merch in our official store! Explore our store