Baseball Superstars 2012 for iPhone and Touch

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As we approach summer, I had to keep with last week’s theme to celebrate baseball season. Not to gloat…but yeah I will…my 1st grader ripped a double in the first inning of his last baseball game this weekend! The game of baseball brings me back to a wonderful time in my life that shaped who I am today. If you have already mastered Flick Home Run! and looking for a more complete baseball game for iOS, I have found the solution. Baseball Superstars 2012 can take you back to those awesome summer days as a ball player as well as take you back to a time when baseball video games were simple, yet fun. Let’s take a look.

BASEBALL IN CRYSTAL-CLEAR HD
See more, play better – Enhanced details and clarity make an eye-opening ballgame optimized for Retina displays.

SMART CONTROLS & INTELLIGENT AI
New gesture and tilt controls allow intuitive pitching and batting. Smart AI teammates make exciting baseball plays, split-second catches and laser-precision throws.

TOTAL TEAM MANAGEMENT & CUSTOMIZATION
Customize your team logo, stadium, uniform and equipment. Recruit, combine and level up players to assemble the best team.

EXPANDED MY BATTER & MY PITCHER MODE
Train to earn skill points, new special moves and stat-boosting nicknames as you rise from rookie to Superstar.

NETWORK MATCHES
Go up against other users’ teams around the world in PVP matches.

COLLECT SUPER PLAYERS, ACHIEVEMENTS AND MORE
Meet the challenges of new super players to have them join your team. Go after the multiple story endings and over 30 Game Center achievements.

Baseball Superstars 2012 has an old school platform game feel but adds clear colorful graphics to make the game modern. The characters are individualized in appearance as well as skill and each team has different strengths. Various pitchers have different styles and wind ups and each batter has different looks and skill levels. Some of the new sports games seem so worried about the realistic look and physics of the games, they forget to add in fun. There is something to say for an old-fashioned arcade style baseball game that is just plain enjoyable.

I was concerned with controls since the iPhone is such a small form factor. While on defense, players usually have to pitch, field and throw runners out. That is a lot of movement on a tiny screen. Batters have to swing and control all of the runners. Baseball Superstars 2012 takes care of that problem by only requiring the pitching and hitting. While that may sound boring, it is actually the two best parts of playing a baseball video game and is quite enjoyable.

Batting takes a bit of practice, but becomes a lot of fun quickly. A target area appears in the strike zone and must match up with the target of the ball when it reaches the hitting zone. To line up the target simply tilt the screen to move it to the desired location. Tap the screen to swing. If the target is in line with the ball and the timing is correct, the ball will be hit. The game does a good job of adjusting the flight of the ball according to where contact is made. Time all of it perfect and a cool animation will reward you with a home run.

Each player has different pitching abilities and even pitch choices. The ball is pitched by swiping or tapping a grid that appears before the wind up. There is usually four pitches available plus a fastball and each pitch is listed on the bottom of the screen with instructions on how to throw it. Pitch selection and placement is key against the computer. I noticed the batter will punish you if the same pitch or spot is used over and over. Just like real baseball.

There are plenty of game modes, power ups and super players to unlock during the game to keep it fresh. You can even choose a team and train them to increase their abilities. All of that aside, Baseball Superstars 2012 is just plain fun. It boils down to timing at the plate and begin tricky on the mound just like a real baseball game. Go get the game here in the app store for free and get your summer started right on the baseball diamond.

What I like: Old fashioned arcade baseball fun!

What can be improved: If I quit the app and come back later, I often have to restart a game. Not good when you are winning in the 7th inning.

We are all feeling the financial pinch! Blue Plate Special is a weekly review of bargain apps for the iPhone and iPod Touch. Nothing over $.99.

Current App Bargains

Superimpose:

On sale from $1.99 to free.

Just with a few taps, create professorial grade superimposed or juxtaposed photos on your iPhone! You don’t need a computers and expensive software to superimpose one photo on top of another any more.

Here is how it works…

1. Load a background image.
2. Load a foreground image.
3. Mask out unwanted portion of the foreground image using wide range of masking tools.
4. Smoothen the edges with smoothen tool inside the app, if required.
5. Move, Scale, Resize, Rotate, Flip the foreground to place it on the right location on the background image.
6. Adjust the colors/exposure/contrast/hue/saturation etc. of the foreground and the background images if required to match both the images in terms of colors.
7. You are done! Save it to the photo library at full resolution or share it on Facebook, Twitter or Tumblr.

You can also use this tool to do serious photo editing tasks like blending textures or overlaying borders or to do double exposure with adjustable transparency and 18 blending modes.

Masking in the app is the most powerful one available on the app store, just tap on an area of the photo, and the app will mask out all the connected area with similar colors. Or you can use brush, lasso, global color similarity, rectangle, ellipse, linear, bi-linear or radial gradient masking tools. Mask a portion with this tool and that portion of the foreground image will become transparent and reveal the background.

Puppet War HD

On sale from $1.99 to free.

ARRIVED FOR THE IPAD AND IS NOW IN GLORIOUS HD! Battle the evil puppets ON A BIG SCREEN in this totally crazy, action packed, 3d FPS shooter game! Blow their heads off,chop them up or burn them with the flame thrower to SAVE HUMAN KIND FROM PUPPET WORLD DOMINATION!

? Puppet War is one of the most challenging and hilarious FPS game experience on the iPhone! ?

***Game featured by Apple on the noteworthy FPS games category***

? Now with: EPISODE 2 – CONQUER THE STUDIO for FREE! (unlocks on level 35) ?

Episode 2 features loads of new content: 10 new WEAPONS like the FLAME THROWER & SNIPER RIFLE! New PUPPETS like the VAMPIRE and SOLDIER Puppets! New BIGGER MAPS! BOSS fights! Special perks, UPGRADEABLE Weapons and more!

THE EPIC WAR OF MAN VS PUPPETS CONTINUES!

SoundBox for YouTube

On sale from $.99 for free.

YouTube has transformed the music industry, with an infinite amount of free music. Soundbox transforms the way you listen to music on YouTube.

Soundbox is
? A Music Player just for Youtube.
? Infinite Music
? Designed for your iPad

*** Featured In New and Noteworthy (India) and What’s Hot (USA) by Apple ***

Star Features:
? Access and collect music from the largest music libraries in the world – YouTube
? Organize music videos by Song/Artist/Album
? Create playlists. Autoplay Videos. Shuffle and Repeat
? Browse the web. Yes! We built a browser right into the media player, so that you control your music even while you surf

Experience the new Soundbox 2.0 today. You’ll love it!

NOTE: This version is currently only supported by iOS 5 and above.

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About the Author

Travis Ehrlich
Travis is a high school teacher and coach in a small South Texas town. His love for gadgets began at a very early age, and he has been a cross between a jock and a geek for most of his life. He has two boys and a wonderful wife who lets him be a gadget freak. He is a Mac convert and has drank the whole pitcher of Kool-Aid! He is also an avid guitar player and loves the outdoors, especially hunting with both a bow and rifle.