Stee-rike! Zombie Baseball

I like the occasional rough-around-the-edges flash game. Where there isn't finesse, there's originality.

Zombie Baseball is a mildly gory game with a zany premise: Rapunzel-style, some hot girl is letting... baseballs?!? down to you. And, with your choice of two bats at a time, you're using these baseballs to hit zombies away.

Things start out slow and clumsy on all sides, but with some practice you can start knocking heads off the zombies with line drives. As you progress you can pick up a second bat with special powers and also upgrade Rapunzel and your own stats (strength and swing recovery).

My only beefs with the game are that there are no continues, and that the hitting strength curve is too high when you max out. At the end of the curve, you're hitting homers with every swing, when all you're trying to do is hit the zombies coming for you. Still, if you keep your batting strength (which, strangely, doesn't seem to do extra damage) at around four bars, you'll do fine.

Excitement: B. Things get hairy if a lot of zombies get close. Fortunately a few of the special bats help by drilling through zombies, igniting them, and eventually setting off nukes.

Originality: A Zombies and baseball have never crossed my mind.

Graphics: B Some of the later zombies are downright freakish. Points off for taking a lot of graphic detail off what's usually beyond the edge of the screen.

Controls: A- Solidly responsive. But if zombies get too close and you're recovering from a powered up swing, you're pooched. You'd think you could hit them away with the bat... :D

Sound: C Good zombie effects, but please stop making those annoying "Maximum ATTACK" and "Come on, come on!" phrases repeat so much. Great nuke effect.

Replay value: B+ It's easy to play through 20 rounds without losing the rest of your day.

Overall value: A-

Play Zombie Baseball at http://www.newgrounds.com/portal/view/466365.